Search for "lawsuit" - 14/15 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Found 145 articles

Mar

Verizon Suing The Pants Off Of SMS Scammers

Posted by Will Shanklin in News, Verizon Wireless

Have you ever been annoyed by SMS spam that attempts to convince you to pay for new Paris Hilton ringtones or something else you probably don't want? It appears that Verizon Wireless has too, as they have filed a federal lawsuit outlining a fraudulent SMS scheme that targeted its customers.

Among the violations that the scammers allegedly performed on Verizon customers:

misappropriating approved short codes for unapproved “shadow” campaigns that did not comply with Verizon Wireless’ consumer protection and disclosure policies
blocking certain IP addresses from accessing the websites associated with these shadow campaigns
re-directing visitors to shell websites, preventing Verizon Wireless and its auditors from finding the shadow campaign websites in the normal course of monitoring Premium SMS campaigns for compliance

Customers who think they might have been on the receiving end of this scheme and think they might be entitled to a refund can visit www.premiumsmsrefunds.com to get the full scoop.

Jan

Updated: Oracle vs. Google: It's Not Looking Good For Android

Posted by David Ruddock in Editorials, News

Update: In response to the ZDNet article, it seems like Mueller may well have been incorrect about the "additional instances" of possible infringement he claims to have found. Exhibit J (linked as "6 pages of code") from Oracle's amended complaint is not addressed in the ZDNet article. We make no claims as to the validity of Oracle or Mueller's assertion; we are merely commenting on the situation.

Many people are confused about what it is Mueller is saying about copyrighted code, and it's an understandably complex topic, one I don't claim to fully comprehend. Those who offer evidence that "debunks" Mueller's additional files clearly know a lot more about code than I do.

Dec

"Android Data" Trademark Withdrawn From Erich Specht, Google Free To Continue Calling Android "Android"

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Android OS, Google, News

If you were worried that Google would no longer be able to call its mobile operating system "Android," fear not.

From 1998 to 2002, a gentleman by the name of Erich Specht ran a company called "Android Data." Android Data went bankrupt in 2002, and Erich hasn't used the name since. However, when he heard of Google's use of the "Android" name, he put together a website to "prove" that Google had infringed on his trademark. Shortly after, he sued Google, Android Inc., and the Open Handset Alliance for infringing on the name for $94 million.

Luckily for us Android enthusiasts, the judge in charge of the case wasn't convinced and consequently threw both the lawsuit and Erich's original trademark out the window, stating that the latter could result in confusion with Google's trademark and that Erich had used his mark "as a sword" against Google.

Dec

Sprint Launches WiMax Network Along The Colorado Front Range And In Bridgeport, Connecticut

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Epic 4G, EVO 4G (Supersonic), News, Sprint

Aspen, loads of snow, and now coverage from Sprint and Clearwire's WiMax network... yeah, Coloradans pretty much have it all. Just over an hour ago, the nation's third largest carrier announced that its 4G network is now live along Colorado's Front Range (which includes such cities as Denver, Boulder, Fort Collins, and Greeley) as well as in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Sprint's already got two mighty fine devices - the HTC EVO 4G and the Samsung Epic 4G - on its WiMax network, and if the Shift 4G is as good as it looks, the carrier's subscriber base could be set to increase even more than it already has.

Dec

Sprint Taken To Court Over $10 Monthly "Premium Data" Fee

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in News, Sprint

Looks like Sprint's $10 per month "premium data" fee (I like to call it the "4G tax") is coming back to bite them - a class action lawsuit was recently filed against the carrier.

Customers of the HTC EVO 4G as well as the Samsung Epic 4G may be "interested to know" that they can call the law offices of Scott A. Bursor at 646-504-7781 to confirm that they have indeed been charged the $10/month fee. His plaintiffs' argument is that Sprint's customers are already promised unlimited data within the $69.99 "Simply Everything" package.

Thing is, while the plaintiffs certainly do have the right to sue, I have my doubts about this here lawsuit making it anywhere.

Oct

The Direction Android Smartphones Are Headed, Why It Might Be Bad, And How Google Can Stop It

Posted by David Ruddock in Editorials

We constantly hear about how smartphones are the evolutionary next-step in personal computing. Laptops sat atop this pedestal in the late 1990's, and tablets may soon come to share this title with their smartphone cousins.

But there's a glaring issue with smartphones: the players in the smartphone industry are to smartphones what Taco Bell is to choice of meat in your burrito. There's not a whole lot of wiggle room, and it's an increasingly take it or leave it sort of affair. HTC's new boot restore on the G2 and Desire Z, Motorola's eFuse bootloader protection, and Apple's extensive efforts to thwart jailbreaking on every iPhone software update are all evidence a trend that is decidedly against the spirit of personal computing.

Oct

Android At War: Google Mounts A Defense Against Oracle, But Can They Win? An Analysis

Posted by David Ruddock in Editorials, News

As we previously reported, Oracle America has filed suit against Google for (primarily) patent infringement. If you're not familiar with the case, I'll quickly summarize.

Oracle claims Google is in violation of seven U.S. patents previously filed by Sun Microsystems as part of the Java platform. Oracle now owns Sun. The alleged infringer, more specifically, is Android. If you want a more detailed explanation, read the next paragraph. If not, look at the pretty picture and continue.

The patents generally relate to the Java virtual machine (JVM). Apps on your Android phone run through the Dalvik VM (DVM), a Google / Open Handset Alliance developed alternative to JVM that utilizes portions of an open source Java implementation known as Apache Harmony.

Sep

Appcelerator & IDC's Q4 Mobile Developer Report: Android's Hitting Its Stride, Likely To Conquer Electronics Landscape

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Android OS, Apps/Games, News

In June, Appcelerator surveyed 2,700 mobile developers and published the results in a report that we covered. The June report showed that developers prefer to develop for iOS, but that they had a more positive long-term outlook on Android; fast forward three months, and Android has widened its lead in long-term outlook. Further, developers see Android as being more capable, more open, and offering better support for multiple devices.

After running June's report, Appcelerator wanted to get a better look at the "why" behind the results as well as a more in-depth look at how developers view a wider range of devices.

Aug

Google To Oracle: We'll Fight For Android

Posted by David Ruddock in News

Them’s Fightin’ Words

As you may have heard, Oracle (who now own Sun and the Java programming language) filed a patent infringement suit against Google related to the use of Java on the Android platform (particularly in the Dalvik VM, details on TechCrunch if you’re interested). Google has responded to Oracle’s suit, and they are ready to make a stand:

We are disappointed Oracle has chosen to attack both Google and the open-source Java community with this baseless lawsuit. The open-source Java community goes beyond any one corporation and works every day to make the web a better place. We will strongly defend open-source standards and will continue to work with the industry to develop the Android platform.

Aug

Samsung Captivate/Vibrant Now Rootable With One Click™

Posted by Brian O'Toole in Captivate, Development, Vibrant

Android dev TGA_Gunnman has been added to Amazon’s hit list for this latest in a litany of single-click phone unlocking methods. In spite of the impending lawsuit (not really), his Samsung Galaxy S One-Click Root program does exactly what it says on the, err, titlebar.

There are separate versions for the Captivate and Vibrant, so make sure you get the right one. All users have to do is download the program - currently Windows only - run it, and click the One Click Root button with their Captivate/Vibrant connected up to USB. Now all you have left is to sit back and wait for the custom ROMs to start rolling in (since there aren’t any yet).