Court Case | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net KitGuru.net - Tech News | Hardware News | Hardware Reviews | IOS | Mobile | Gaming | Graphics Cards Wed, 31 Aug 2016 08:18:22 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cropped-KITGURU-Light-Background-SQUARE2-32x32.png Court Case | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net 32 32 Catch up on Dotcom’s livestreamed extradition appeal here https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/catch-up-on-dotcoms-livestreamed-extradition-appeal-here/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/catch-up-on-dotcoms-livestreamed-extradition-appeal-here/#comments Wed, 31 Aug 2016 08:18:22 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=304665 The Kim Dotcom extradition appeal is an ongoing legal battle between the German national and the combined might of the NZ and U.S. governments, but it's not happening quietly. You can watch a replay of the livestream now, in preparation for its continuance Thursday (NZ time) early tomorrow. Dotcom's legal team had to battle to …

The post Catch up on Dotcom’s livestreamed extradition appeal here first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
The Kim Dotcom extradition appeal is an ongoing legal battle between the German national and the combined might of the NZ and U.S. governments, but it's not happening quietly. You can watch a replay of the livestream now, in preparation for its continuance Thursday (NZ time) early tomorrow.

Dotcom's legal team had to battle to have the trial livestreamed, something that they feel makes the case more open and will help shine an international light on some of the practices of the courts and governments involved in the case. Although the U.S. government tried to prevent it, the stream was eventually given approval, a first for this sort of a case.

You could have watched the stream live in the early hours of this morning – owing to the time difference between territories – but there is now a recording. It won't be online forever, as the judge ruled that it should be deleted after a set period of time, though we would be very surprised if someone didn't rip it before that occurs.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYxPMYbGiEM']

The stream wasn't overly long, clocking in at 2:25 hours, but it is a court case, one related to copyright, judges and legal precedents, so it's rather stale. However there is a lot at stake with this trial, including potential abuse of copyright law and a test of U.S. legal pressure outside its borders.

This was just day three of the appeal, which is expected to go on for the next six weeks.

KitGuru Says: It's interesting to take a peek at how this latest legal tussle between Dotcom and the various involved governments continues, but it is pretty dry. If you guys spot something interesting in the stream, do let us know, as I can't sit through the whole thing. 

The post Catch up on Dotcom’s livestreamed extradition appeal here first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/catch-up-on-dotcoms-livestreamed-extradition-appeal-here/feed/ 2
Helping others cheat at League of Legends could get you sued https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/jon-martindale/helping-others-cheat-at-league-of-legends-could-get-you-sued/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/jon-martindale/helping-others-cheat-at-league-of-legends-could-get-you-sued/#comments Fri, 12 Aug 2016 07:43:52 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=302705 Much like real world sports, the last thing Esports needs is a reputation for harbouring cheaters, which is perhaps why Riot Games is going so hard against the makers of League of Legends cheating software. It's now launched a lawsuit against the developer, LeagueSharp. LeagueSharp is a service that for a set monthly fee, will …

The post Helping others cheat at League of Legends could get you sued first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
Much like real world sports, the last thing Esports needs is a reputation for harbouring cheaters, which is perhaps why Riot Games is going so hard against the makers of League of Legends cheating software. It's now launched a lawsuit against the developer, LeagueSharp.

LeagueSharp is a service that for a set monthly fee, will help improve player's abilities. For £11.50 every 30 days, you can have scripts injected into your game that improve your accuracy and help you spot other players. However the big package is the £40 a month offering, which uses botting to level up your character faster than would be otherwise possible.

So now it's being sued. Purportedly, Riot did attempt to take the high road and negotiate with LeagueSharp outside of the court room, but received no response to its communication. There is however some suggestion that LeagueSharp disseminated personal information about a Riot employee, even posting aggressive messages on their Facebook page.

leaguesharp

It's not clear if this will be included in the court case, but the official legal suit cites copyright infringement, because LeagueSharp must have reverse engineered the game to be able to bot so effectively. It also calls LeagueSharp a huge threat to the LoL game, suggesting that its thousands of customers break the game for millions of others.

Three German nationals have been named in the suit, as well as a Peruvian company, which Kotaku claims is technically the owner of LeagueSharp, though likely a shell company for some other entity.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Do any of you guys cheat at online games? I really don't understand the mentality. So you win, but where is the sense of achievement?

The post Helping others cheat at League of Legends could get you sued first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/jon-martindale/helping-others-cheat-at-league-of-legends-could-get-you-sued/feed/ 4
HP awarded £2.25 billion in four year Oracle trial https://www.kitguru.net/professional/development/jon-martindale/hp-awarded-2-25-billion-in-four-year-oracle-trial/ https://www.kitguru.net/professional/development/jon-martindale/hp-awarded-2-25-billion-in-four-year-oracle-trial/#comments Fri, 01 Jul 2016 11:30:02 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=297886 As is the case with every major court case between industry giants, the legal battle between Oracle and Hewlett Packard (HP) has been ongoing for more than four years at this point. However a jury has finally awarded damages, mandating that Oracle pay HP a total of $3 billion (£2.25 billion) in damages for an …

The post HP awarded £2.25 billion in four year Oracle trial first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
As is the case with every major court case between industry giants, the legal battle between Oracle and Hewlett Packard (HP) has been ongoing for more than four years at this point. However a jury has finally awarded damages, mandating that Oracle pay HP a total of $3 billion (£2.25 billion) in damages for an unfulfilled contract.

The trial stems from a contract dispute in 2011 between HP and Oracle. The latter company decided to stop developing software for the Itanium Intel CPU platform, as the chip giant had made it clear that the processor was nearing the end of its live-cycle.

oracle

Source: Wikimedia

HP contested this, citing a contract that stated Oracle would continue to support its Itanium based servers, as halting it would lead to them becoming obsolete. Although Oracle disagreed, a judge ruled in 2012 that it was in breach and it's taken until now for damages to be awarded.

The total was rather astronomical, representing a third of Oracle's net income in 2015, so it's no surprise that Oracle has announced plans to appeal the decision, potentially adding more years to this lengthy trial. Its main defence will be that despite early denials to continue software development, it did resume it and has provided software for the Itanium servers since 2012 (thanks Reuters).

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: It seems clear that the big winners here are the lawyers, who managed to get themselves years of work out of the long-running trial. 

The post HP awarded £2.25 billion in four year Oracle trial first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
https://www.kitguru.net/professional/development/jon-martindale/hp-awarded-2-25-billion-in-four-year-oracle-trial/feed/ 3
EU Court rules bosses can read employee private messages https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/security-software/jon-martindale/eu-court-rules-bosses-can-read-employee-private-messages/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/security-software/jon-martindale/eu-court-rules-bosses-can-read-employee-private-messages/#comments Wed, 13 Jan 2016 11:10:06 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=280514 If you access Facebook messenger, Twitter DMs, Skype or any other messaging service during work hours, be careful, as there is now legal precedent for your boss to look over your shoulder. In a landmark ruling that could have serious repercussions for in-work privacy, the European Court of Human Rights has ruled that any employer can …

The post EU Court rules bosses can read employee private messages first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
If you access Facebook messenger, Twitter DMs, Skype or any other messaging service during work hours, be careful, as there is now legal precedent for your boss to look over your shoulder. In a landmark ruling that could have serious repercussions for in-work privacy, the European Court of Human Rights has ruled that any employer can access worker communications.

“It is not unreasonable for an employer to want to verify that the employees are completing their professional tasks during working hours,” the court ruled (via the Telegraph).

This brings an end to a case that has lasted as long as eight years, where a Romanian man complained that he was fired because his employer read through his Yahoo chat logs. He argued that the chat logs were his private communications and could not be snooped on by the company, but the court ruled otherwise, claiming that the firm had monitored him within a respectably “limited scope.”

yahoo

On top of that, the man had been asked to create the Yahoo account to communicate with customers, so was supposed to be using it for work purposes. While he did, he was also found to have chatted with his fiancée at various times.

While this case is likely to he used a precedent in future cases where workers feel that their personal privacy has been violated, some have urged caution, suggesting that much of the court's decision was related to the fact that the fired employee claimed all communications were work related. Clearly that wasn't the case.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Do you use private messaging tools at work? What is your company's policy on private chats in the work place?

The post EU Court rules bosses can read employee private messages first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/security-software/jon-martindale/eu-court-rules-bosses-can-read-employee-private-messages/feed/ 6
New York Taxi companies sue city over Uber growth https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/new-york-taxi-companies-sue-city-over-uber-growth/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/new-york-taxi-companies-sue-city-over-uber-growth/#comments Wed, 18 Nov 2015 10:44:07 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=275487 Another town, another group of taxi companies and another Uber-centric lawsuit. Once again taxi companies are unhappy that Uber, the ride sharing application that has turned everyone into for-hire drivers, is taking all of their business, so they're suing New York City and its transport authority for allowing the app-based travel firm to operate within …

The post New York Taxi companies sue city over Uber growth first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
Another town, another group of taxi companies and another Uber-centric lawsuit. Once again taxi companies are unhappy that Uber, the ride sharing application that has turned everyone into for-hire drivers, is taking all of their business, so they're suing New York City and its transport authority for allowing the app-based travel firm to operate within the city, circumventing yellow-cab exclusivity.

The suit highlights that 22 taxi companies run by Evegeny Freidman had gone bankrupt in this year alone, because of the growth of Uber and the fact that it isn't restricted by the same regulations and licensing systems as traditional taxi firms.

taxi

Source: Wikimedia

“Defendants' deliberate evisceration of medallion taxicab hail exclusivity, and their ongoing arbitrary, disparate regulatory treatment of the medallion taxicab industry, has and continues to inflict catastrophic harm on this once iconic industry, and the tens of thousands of hardworking men and women that depend on it for their livelihood,” the complaint reads (via Reuters).

The suit demands that the city provide actual and punitive damage compensation to these companies, for allowing violations of their equal protection rights under the constitution. It also seeks to roll back restrictions and required payments on the industry, allowing it to directly compete with Uber for service.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: The whole taxi industry in New York is ridiculous. The “medallions,” required to operate a taxi in the city can cost upwards of $700,000 and no new ones are issued. No wonder taxis can't compete with Uber. Kudos to the taxi companies for asking to have their restrictions relaxed, rather than have Uber crippled in order to make things fairer. 

The post New York Taxi companies sue city over Uber growth first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/new-york-taxi-companies-sue-city-over-uber-growth/feed/ 2
New Zealand can’t find Kim Dotcom’s extradition notice https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/new-zealand-cant-find-kim-dotcoms-extradition-notice/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/new-zealand-cant-find-kim-dotcoms-extradition-notice/#comments Wed, 30 Sep 2015 10:16:12 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=270052 Kim Dotcom's long awaited extradition trial has been ongoing for the past week, giving those who have followed his continued delaying tactics a light at the end of the tunnel: whether he goes or stays, at least soon there may be some resolution to the problems that have tied up user files in servers all …

The post New Zealand can’t find Kim Dotcom’s extradition notice first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
Kim Dotcom's long awaited extradition trial has been ongoing for the past week, giving those who have followed his continued delaying tactics a light at the end of the tunnel: whether he goes or stays, at least soon there may be some resolution to the problems that have tied up user files in servers all over the world for almost four years. However the latest development is a bizarre one, as the Crown Court can't seem to find the documents that called for Dotcom's extradition in the first place.

This came to light because as part of the hearing, witness for the Crown, Fiona Parkes, produced copies of the origianl extradition order as evidence. However they were not date stamped, so dotcom's lawyer Ron Mansfield, requested the originals. She did not have them, nor did she know if the originals still existed.

Yesterday also saw a gaff for the prosecution, when a Justice Ministry employee was unable to confirm if the arrest warrant had been looked over by a member of their department before the raid on Dotcom's mansion in January 2012, as per RadioNZ. This could be a big problem for the Crown, as the active Justice Minister is meant to see copies of warrants and supporting evidence prior to them being acted on.

kimdotcom
Kim Dotcom continues to take it exceedingly seriously

Despite these setbacks, the Crown – representing the United States – continues to claim that Dotcom and his fellow MegaUpload operators made millions of dollars through encouraging copyright infringement on their file locker site and even handed out money to those that shared such content, to help seed the site during its early days.

Dotcom denies that any of that took place.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: It seems hard to imagine how Dotcom could be extradited considering all of the miscarriages of justice that have taken place since his arrest. Still, stranger things have happened and the U.S. is very determined to get him stateside.

The post New Zealand can’t find Kim Dotcom’s extradition notice first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/new-zealand-cant-find-kim-dotcoms-extradition-notice/feed/ 2
Silk Road founder to face sentencing https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/silk-road-founder-to-face-sentencing/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/silk-road-founder-to-face-sentencing/#respond Fri, 29 May 2015 10:30:51 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=251705 The trial of Ross Ulbricht has been ongoing for well over a year at this point, with lawyers from both sides going back and forth in an attempt to prove and disprove that he was the founder and administrator of the Silk Road Drug marketplace. Now though, with him being found guilty for many of the non-violent …

The post Silk Road founder to face sentencing first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
The trial of Ross Ulbricht has been ongoing for well over a year at this point, with lawyers from both sides going back and forth in an attempt to prove and disprove that he was the founder and administrator of the Silk Road Drug marketplace. Now though, with him being found guilty for many of the non-violent charges against him, he faces sentencing, with his jail term likely to stretch into decades.

Charges included conspiracy to commit drug trafficking, money laundering and computer hacking, but the prosecution has pegged him as a drug kingpin and it hopes to see him put away for the rest of his life. There is already a 20 year mandatory sentence for the 31 year old. He previously pleaded with the judge to at least leave him his old age, much of which may be eaten in to by the time he leaves prison.

rossu

Ulbricht, who operated under the pseudonym of Dread Pirate Roberts while he managed the site, is expected to appeal the conviction, though how successful that will be considering he has all but admitted running the site remains to be seen. He also didn't curry much favour with the jury, since it is alleged that he attempted to have several people killed, though no evidence exists that any action took place beyond his conversation transcripts discussing them.

The defence previously claimed that while Ulbricht did found the site, he left when it became too stressful, but returned when lured back by the owners to become the fall guy, as per Reuters. If that statement is true, the real administrators of the site remain at large.

Discuss on our facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: One of the more interesting claims raised by that of Ulbricht's lawyers during the trial, was that the website made drug use safer by making it possible for people to buy and sell substances without meeting in person, where the potential for violence is greater. What do you guys think?

Image source: Free Ross

The post Silk Road founder to face sentencing first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/silk-road-founder-to-face-sentencing/feed/ 0
Google to pay $19 million to settle in-app purchases case https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/google-to-pay-19-million-to-settle-in-app-purchases-case/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/google-to-pay-19-million-to-settle-in-app-purchases-case/#comments Fri, 05 Sep 2014 10:19:33 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=210458 Google is set to pay out at least $19 million to refund parents who were billed for in-app purchases made by children that weren't authorized to do so. The case has been going on for some time now but it looks to be coming to a close as Google considers settling the case. The terms …

The post Google to pay $19 million to settle in-app purchases case first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
Google is set to pay out at least $19 million to refund parents who were billed for in-app purchases made by children that weren't authorized to do so. The case has been going on for some time now but it looks to be coming to a close as Google considers settling the case.

The terms of the settlement would require Google to change its billing practices, making it so that parental consent must be given before any in-app purchases can be made or charged. In addition, Google would have to contact everyone who has received an in-app charge, informing them of the refund process within 15 days of a court order.

GooglePlayLink-600x311

This is the third case overall to involve parents complaining about charges incurred by children with access to apps containing micro-transactions. So far, Apple settled its case with the FTC, paying out over $30 million, it also added in parental controls that could block a user from making any in-app purchases. Amazon is currently facing a similar case, which was filed in July.

FTC Chairwoman, Edith Ramirez, gave a statement, saying that consumer protection laws should still apply on in-app purchases:

As more Americans embrace mobile technology, it’s vital to remind companies that time-tested consumer protections still apply, including that consumers should not be charged for purchases they did not authorize.”

Charges in the Google case range from as little as 99 cents to $200 and many of these purchases were made within children apps.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: While the likes of Google and Apple have put extra security measures in place over the last year or two, keep in mind that this specific lawsuit dates back to 2011, when in-app purchases were still relatively new and proper protection wasn't necessarily in place. Additionally, a lot of these charges were made within apps aimed at children- Kids apps shouldn't even have a micro-transaction option, that seems like developers just trying to take advantage. What do you guys think of this? Should stricter rules be placed on in-app purchases? 

Source: TC

The post Google to pay $19 million to settle in-app purchases case first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/google-to-pay-19-million-to-settle-in-app-purchases-case/feed/ 1
Movie studios want to freeze Dotcom assets, again https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/movie-studios-want-to-freeze-dotcom-assets-again/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/movie-studios-want-to-freeze-dotcom-assets-again/#respond Thu, 29 May 2014 09:30:06 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=195728 It was announced last month that Kim Dotcom would be likely to regain all of his frozen assets, after New Zealand's high court ruled that it would not extend the foreign restraining order against them, thereby giving a real timeframe that would see Dotcom's cars, personal property like laptops and desktops, as well as his …

The post Movie studios want to freeze Dotcom assets, again first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
It was announced last month that Kim Dotcom would be likely to regain all of his frozen assets, after New Zealand's high court ruled that it would not extend the foreign restraining order against them, thereby giving a real timeframe that would see Dotcom's cars, personal property like laptops and desktops, as well as his many millions in liquid funds, returned to him. Understandably peeeved at this, the movie studios have appealed the decision but to give them a better chance to stop the thawing, they're also filing new civil proceedings in several parts of the world.

The official reasoning for it, is that the studios and their media lobby groups, believe that with Dotcom's wide spread financial investments and businesses around the world, if/when his funds are unlocked, he would be likely to dissipate them to a variety of offshore accounts, thereby making them untouchable by the courts or anyone else.

“To ensure that Defendants’ New Zealand assets remain frozen even if the New Zealand Government loses the pending appeal, several of the Plaintiffs have initiated civil proceedings in New Zealand to freeze Defendants’ assets pending a judgement in the [case against Dotcom],” reads the filing (via TorrentFreak).

kimdotcom

This sort of legal filing has been made elsewhere too, with the lobby groups gunning for Dotcom assets in Hong Kong, as well as his current home of New Zealand. Hong Kong is where some of the original Megaupload servers were hosted, so Dotcom has had a financial stake there in the past. He also lived there in the mid 2000s.

Never far from the court room, the RIAA also recently announced it was sueing Dotcom and Megaupload for similar copyright infringemennt charges as the movie studios, further bogging down the proceedings. It's unclear if any of this extra legal rangling with affect the date and eventual outcome of Kim Dotcom's extradition trial, which would see him deported to the US if lost. Currently it's set for later this year, but has been pushed off so many times before, it wouldn't be surprising if it somehow doesn't happen until next year.

The results of these latest filings will be discussed in Hong Kong courts on 10th July and in New Zealand over the next couple of days.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: These lobby groups really are digging their heels in with this one. I know why they're doing it, but it's been going on for so long now, it seems to matter less and less. Perhaps that's what Dotcom's legal defence is banking on?

Image Source: Wikimedia

The post Movie studios want to freeze Dotcom assets, again first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/movie-studios-want-to-freeze-dotcom-assets-again/feed/ 0
Samsung dealt another blow in patent case https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/matthew-wilson/samsung-dealt-another-blow-in-patent-case/ https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/matthew-wilson/samsung-dealt-another-blow-in-patent-case/#respond Fri, 22 Nov 2013 16:31:13 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=163825 The Apple VS Samsung patent war is still on the go and it appears that Apple has just won another round as a US jury found Samsung guilty of infringing patents on some iPhone and iPad features. This time it'll cost them $290 million bringing the company's total debt to Apple up to $929.83 million …

The post Samsung dealt another blow in patent case first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
The Apple VS Samsung patent war is still on the go and it appears that Apple has just won another round as a US jury found Samsung guilty of infringing patents on some iPhone and iPad features. This time it'll cost them $290 million bringing the company's total debt to Apple up to $929.83 million but hey, at least it's not $1 billion.

Things started going south last year when Samsung was found liable for $1 billion but the judge only awarded Apple $640 million and ordered a retrial for the rest.

This ruling has stemmed from a shape – a rectangle to be exact. Yes, apparently Apple owns the rectangle and can sue you pretty hard for using it. Other than Apple's design patent on the rectangle, Samsung also infringed on a multi-touch gesture patent. It isn't quite over yet though, Samsung will surely drag this out with an appeal but if the verdict upholds, then maybe we'll see that ‘trucks full of penny's‘ rumour come true after all.

apple-vs-samsung-sales-war

Apple is clearly pleased with the ruling giving this statement: “For Apple, this case has always been about more than patents and money. It has been about innovation and the hard work that goes into inventing products that people love.”

On the flip side, Samsung isn't so pleased: “We are disappointed by today's decision, which is based in large part on a patent that the US Patent and Trademark Office has recently deemed invalid.”

Kitguru Says: I wish the patent war would just end already. Do you think Apple's claims are justified? Or do you think it's all a bit petty?

Source: The Inquirer

The post Samsung dealt another blow in patent case first appeared on KitGuru.]]>
https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/matthew-wilson/samsung-dealt-another-blow-in-patent-case/feed/ 0