Los Angeles Intellectual Property Law Blog

Two corporate giants fighting intellectual property battles in the courtroom have reached a surprising settlement in a patent infringement lawsuit related to e-reader technology. Microsoft sued a number of companies, including Barnes & Noble, for infringing Microsoft patents that protect e-reader technology. Announcing its settlement with Barnes & Noble, Microsoft announced plans to join forces with its former litigation opponent to create a new subsidiary dedicated to e-reading and education.

Barnes & Noble will own 82.4 percent of the new subsidiary, which has been dubbed "NewCo" until a more enduring name can be chosen. Microsoft will own 17.6 percent of the start-up and will make a $300 million initial investment. The company will create a Windows 8 version of a Nook e-reading app, but no Microsoft employees will move to NewCo. A Windows 8 version of the Nook will help readers access one of the world's largest digital collections of media, including newspapers, magazines and e-books.

These days the term "iPad" is synonymous with Apple Inc., the consumer electronics giant headquartered to the north of Los Angeles. However, soon that may not be the case in China where Apple risks losing its trademark on the popular device. According to the National Copyright Administration, the Chinese government believes that Shenzhen Proview Technology is the current owner of the trademark.

Apple is currently in the process of appealing a decision made by a lower Chinese court in which Apple was not found to be the rightful owner of the iPad trademark. According to at least one major news source the Guangdong High Court is in the process of arranging a settlement between the parties in the case.

The long raging legal dispute between Oracle and Google has finally reached a California courtroom. This feud has lasted so long, like the Hatfields and McCoys, that many have likely forgotten the original crux of the disagreement. After the presiding judge tried one last time to encourage a settlement, both parties favored a trial.

On the surface, this case will decide whether Google's Android operating system violates patents and copyrights owned by Oracle for its Java programming language. However straightforward this issue may at first appear, there is a more complex and far reaching issue that will generate long-term effects.

A copyright infringement lawsuit against YouTube has been resurrected by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. The popular online video site could face a civil copyright infringement trial against plaintiff Viacom, which has offices in Los Angeles.

Viacom, the owner of Paramount Pictures, sued YouTube in 2007 for hosting copyright-protected film and television show clips uploaded by YouTube users. The lawsuit alleges infringement of copyrights on original content such as "SpongeBob SquarePants" and "The Daily Show," from Comedy Central. YouTube is owned by Google, Inc.