Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Apple faces $600m damages claim

Apple has asked a court to reconsider an impending decision that could cost it more than $600m (�379m) in damages.

On 1 October, a US jury found in favour of Mirror Worlds in a patent wrangle over technology to display documents on computer screens.

Mirror Worlds alleged that Apple had infringed four of its patents.

After weighing evidence the jury said three had been infringed and awarded the company $208.5m damages for each one.

Apple is asking for a delay to the judge's final decision saying there were unresolved issues with two of the three remaining patents in the case. If the court agrees damages will be reduced to $208.5m.

However, if the judge decides three patents have been infringed the damages award of $625.2m would be among the largest in US legal history.

In closing arguments made in the court and reported by the Bloomberg news agency, Apple said there were grounds for believing the patents were not valid and therefore whether they had been infringed.

It added that the patents had been sold and any damages awarded should reflect that market value. The patent package is believed to have been sold for $5m.

The row revolves around technology Apple has used in three products; Spotlight, Time Machine and Cover Flow. Two of the patents cover ways to display similar documents in a pile that users can then flick through.

Both Apple and Mirror Worlds have been asked to submit documents to the court concerning the damages ruling.

Mirror Worlds founder David Gelertner said he was "tremendously grateful" to his lawyers after hearing the verdict.

Apple has yet to respond to a request for comment on the case.



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Tablet PC for developing nations

The One Laptop Per Child organisation has been given a $5.6m (�3.5m) grant to develop a tablet version of its educational computer.

The cash comes from chip maker Marvell which became a supporter and sponsor of OLPC in early 2009.

The OLPC organisation said the grant meant it had all the development cash it needed to produce its next machine.

OLPC said it would show off the first development work on the new machine at the CES show in January 2011.

The cash handed over by Marvell will fund development of a tablet version of the XO - the rugged computer designed to boost education in developing nations.

The device is code-named XO-3 as it will be the third device the OLPC organisation has produced. It previously scrapped plans for the XO-2 which was to resemble an electronic book.

Early prototypes of the XO-3 will likely be based on the Moby machine that Marvell already makes. The finished XO-3 should be ready in 2012.

The OLPC organisation was created with the intention of making a laptop costing only $100 that would be bought in huge quantities by poorer nations keen to get children using computers.

The final machine produced by OLPC in 2007 ended up costing about $199 and did not sell in the huge quantities the group wanted. To date about 1.4 million XO laptops have been distributed.



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