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A Brief History Of Verizon And Google Wallet, And Why The Carrier Is Still Allowed To "Block" It

David Ruddock — Wed, 01 May 2013 14:01:00 +0000

In September of 2011, Google introduced a product called Wallet. Android lovers were understandably thrilled by the idea of paying for things with their Android phones. A month later, Google introduced a product called the Galaxy Nexus, and it had Google Wallet, and Android lovers were, once again, thrilled. A few days after that, Verizon announced its own version of the Galaxy Nexus. There was yet more thrillilation.

Some of the thrill was short-lived, though, as it was discovered that Verizon's version of the Pure Google Experience™ would not include a pure Google Wallet experience. In fact, it lacked a Google Wallet experience of any kind.

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A Brief History Of Verizon And Google Wallet, And Why The Carrier Is Still Allowed To "Block" It was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

In California, Using Your Maps App Is Just As Illegal As Texting While Driving, Court Says

Eric Ravenscraft — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 14:49:53 +0000

Texting and driving is a pretty heinous crime. Bad enough that it's spawned entire ad campaigns devoted to educating the public on the dangers of such acts. Of this, you are no doubt aware. What you may be less aware of is the fact that figuring out where you're going is exactly as dangerous as sending someone a message that says "Doesn't the Peachoid look like a giant..."

California, despite having no known Peachoids, knows this very well and a court has ruled that using a mapping application is just as bad (and illegal) as texting behind the wheel. This isn't the first time California has come down hard against GPS in cars.

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In California, Using Your Maps App Is Just As Illegal As Texting While Driving, Court Says was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

Google Launches Open Patent Pledge, Promising Free Use Of Patents For People Who Don't Sue

Eric Ravenscraft — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 21:23:08 +0000

Google has announced a new initiative today that might, if we're lucky, slowly lead to some meaningful changes in how patent litigation is approached. Or, alternatively, make it easier to highlight the jerks who are ruining it for everyone. The Open Patent Non-Assertion (OPN) Pledge gives would-be inventors a pool of patents that Google promises to never sue anyone over, "unless first attacked." That last part is where eyebrows go up, though.

First, some context: there are 10 patents in the mix, which already isn't a lot. The company says more will be added over time. For these ten patents, Google is ensuring that any company, group, or developer working on open source software may use the technology without worry of being sued by the search giant.

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Google Launches Open Patent Pledge, Promising Free Use Of Patents For People Who Don't Sue was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

DxO Labs Issues DMCA Takedown Requests On 12 GitHub Repositories, Some CyanogenMod Repos Affected

Cody Toombs — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 18:23:00 +0000

A French image processing company by the name of DxO Labs has filed a DMCA takedown request targeting 12 GitHub repositories containing device-specific code for ROMs, most of them maintained by CyanogenMod team members. The notice is vague, only citing:

[3] I have a good faith belief that the file downloads identified below (by URL) are unlawful under these copyright laws because among other things, the files circumvent effective access controls and/or copyright protection measures;

[4] Reason:

Content Type: "Custom Firmware" files

Violation(s): Trafficking a device that circumvents effective access controls and/or trafficking a device that circumvents effective copyright protection measures.

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DxO Labs Issues DMCA Takedown Requests On 12 GitHub Repositories, Some CyanogenMod Repos Affected was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

AT&T: 'We Unlock Our Customers' Devices', Claims New Ban Will Not Negatively Affect Any Of Its Customers

Eric Ravenscraft — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 18:40:55 +0000

Most of the time, major corporations like to cushion their words so that, in the event of a PR disaster, it's easier to walk back its statements. Today, an AT&T exec in charge of public policy decided to throw that caution to the wind and announce in no uncertain terms 'the Librarian’s ruling will not negatively impact any of AT&T’s customers.' Well. That sure is blunt.

We're not apt to take any AT&T rep at their word, and there are certainly some things to raise eyebrows over. For starters, at one point in the post, the author says the following:

As we make clear on our website, if we have the unlock code or can reasonably get it from the manufacturer, AT&T currently will unlock a device for any customer whose account has been active for at least sixty days; whose account is in good standing and has no unpaid balance; and who has fulfilled his or her service agreement commitment.

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AT&T: 'We Unlock Our Customers' Devices', Claims New Ban Will Not Negatively Affect Any Of Its Customers was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

Now We're Getting Somewhere: U.S. Senator Introduces Bill To Allow Carrier Unlocking Phones For Interoperability Purposes

Eric Ravenscraft — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 15:50:24 +0000

Two days ago, the White House announced its support for carrier unlocking handsets. The administration promised an FCC/NTIA investigation as well as a willingness to "work with Congress" on legislation to fix the problem. So, we can probably count on the President's support of the new Wireless Device Independence Act, introduced last night by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR). The bill, which is only three pages long, has a simple goal: amend the DMCA such that it explicitly allows the unlocking of cell phones, obviating the need for a tri-yearly exemption.

The following language would be added to the DMCA's section on anti-circumvention policies:

SEC.

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Now We're Getting Somewhere: U.S. Senator Introduces Bill To Allow Carrier Unlocking Phones For Interoperability Purposes was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

Judge Koh Vacates $450m From The $1b Samsung Owes Apple, Second Trial To Reassess Damages

Eric Ravenscraft — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 22:09:20 +0000

Last year, Apple won what was perhaps the largest legal victory in its war on Android when a court ruled that Samsung infringed its patents on a significant number of devices and owed the Cupertino company in excess of a billion dollars. Today, however, that same judge is vacating $450m from that total until a second damages trial with a new jury can commence.

That amount won't be stripped away entirely, mind you. The problem comes from the fact that the jury made some errors when it passed judgment on 14 of the infringing devices. Samsung's lawyers broke down the numbers for its damages and discovered that there were certain flaws in the way they were calculated.

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Judge Koh Vacates $450m From The $1b Samsung Owes Apple, Second Trial To Reassess Damages was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

Judge Koh Rules Samsung Did Not Willfully Infringe Apple's Patents (But Yes, It Still Infringed Them)

David Ruddock — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 03:59:14 +0000

Finally ruling on a hearing held in early December, Judge Koh decided that Apple's billion-dollar verdict won't be getting any bigger - having formally ruled that Samsung did not infringe Apple's patents willfully. Willful infringement is a concept in patent law that is largely self-explanatory (at least in a non-technical sense): did the defendant purposefully or with wanton disregard for obvious risk infringe the plaintiff's patents?

The jury in this trial held that Samsung did willfully infringe. Judge Koh disagreed, overruling the jury's findings on the matter. This finding most likely will not adversely affect Apple's damages award, as willful infringement damages are assessed by a judge, not a jury.

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Judge Koh Rules Samsung Did Not Willfully Infringe Apple's Patents (But Yes, It Still Infringed Them) was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

US DOJ Requests Delay Of FCC Approval Of Sprint / Softbank Merger For Further Review

David Ruddock — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 18:10:00 +0000

According to Bloomberg, the US Department of Justice has just announced that it will submit a deferment request for the Sprint / Softbank merger to the FCC. Telecom acquisitions in the United States require approval from both the DoJ and the FCC, with the former agency focusing largely on potential anti-trust issues. Softbank officially announced the buyout in October.

It's not exactly a big surprise that the DoJ is looking at this deal cautiously. After the failure of the AT&T / T-Mobile merger for potential anti-trust and consumer protection concerns, the DoJ likely feels compelled to investigate a foreign takeover of a major US telecom with extra care.

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US DOJ Requests Delay Of FCC Approval Of Sprint / Softbank Merger For Further Review was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

FTC And Google Settle: Google To Stop Seeking Product Bans Against Competitors In The US, Take Disputes Out Of Court

David Ruddock — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 19:09:44 +0000

If you were wondering if this is the sort of legal story you should pay attention to on Android Police, let me make it easy: it is. This is probably the biggest legal story in the mobile sphere since Apple's victory over Samsung last August. Yeah, that important.

This morning, the FTC announced at a press conference that Google had settled its antitrust claims with the agency, and that Google agreed to two very important stipulations as part of that settlement relating to mobile.

First, Google and Motorola will cease seeking product bans for standards-essential patent infringement. I cannot underline enough how important this is to the mobile industry as a whole, at least in the US.

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FTC And Google Settle: Google To Stop Seeking Product Bans Against Competitors In The US, Take Disputes Out Of Court was written by the awesome team at Android Police.