Thursday morning, GPS specialist Garmin Ltd. (GRMN) said it lost a patent dispute with Japanese firm Pioneer Corp. The District Court of Dusseldorf in Germany found that two patents owned by Pioneer were infringed by a certain functionality in Garmin's software.

However, Garmin says it has already worked out "minor software revisions that eliminate the narrow functionality at issue in the litigation." As a result, the company doesn't expect any significant impact on its ability to import and sell its navigational products.

Continue reading Garmin Slumps After Patent Defeat

Garmin Slumps After Patent Defeat originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 23 Dec 2010 12:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

AMR (AMR) operating unit American Air pulled the ability to buy its tickets from travel site Orbitz.

"Effective December 21, 2010, schedules and fares for flights on American Airlines and American Eagle are no longer available on Orbitz.com or websites powered by Orbitz.com", the company said. Tickets will still be sold through travel agencies and at the firm's own website -- AA.com.

Continue reading American Air Pulls Tickets from Orbiz

American Air Pulls Tickets from Orbiz originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 22 Dec 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Financial Times reported on a U.S. investigation that claims that BP (BP) and Halliburton (HAL) knew that the cement used to seal the failed well was unstable.

The lawyers suing BP and Halliburton call this evidence a "game changer" and says it opens up the companies to penalties and court awards running into the billions of dollars.

The case rests on a finding by a U.S. federal panel that the cement used may have caused the fatal explosion on the Deepwater Horizon.

Continue reading BP and Halliburton Face New Charges: Case Rests on Cement

BP and Halliburton Face New Charges: Case Rests on Cement originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 01 Nov 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Securities and Exchange Commission pretty much fell asleep for the past two years. Now, there's talk that the agency plans to get tough on violators whose greed and recklessness took this country to its knees. The Federal Reserve had to pledge or spend $12.8 trillion to bail them out.

The $12.8 trillion is gone and we have a country with 17 million unemployed and underemployed. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke could have done much better just taking that $12.8 trillion and help those in need. All he had to do was use one good bank for Americans to switch their money into, and let the greedy ones take a hit. With $12.8 trillion Bernanke could have put this country back on its feet again.

Continue reading SEC, Asleep During the Financial Meltdown, Vows to Get Tough

SEC, Asleep During the Financial Meltdown, Vows to Get Tough originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 27 Aug 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Over a year ago, two Bloomberg reporters filed under the Freedom of Information Act to obtain information from the Federal Reserve on their bailout activities during the market crash of 2008-09. The Federal Reserve has blocked their attempts maintaining that disclosure would harm the financial institutions involved. The latest attempt at blockage was at the U.S. Court Appeals Court.

Continue reading Fed Loses Appeal and Must Disclose Information on Bailouts

Fed Loses Appeal and Must Disclose Information on Bailouts originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 23 Aug 2010 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Mark Hurd, the former chief executive of Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), could receive as much as $40 million in severance benefits.

A loophole in Hurd's contract could bring him this big payout. It seems that his contract did not include specific language that would permit the company to fire him "for cause." Most contracts for chief executive contain specific language that detail the conditions under which he could be fired, including breaches of the company's ethical code.

Continue reading HP CEO Hurd's Severance Could Total $40 Million

HP CEO Hurd's Severance Could Total $40 Million originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 15 Aug 2010 11:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Rambus (RMBS - option chain) shares are rising today after the company announced it has signed a patent licensing agreement with NVIDIA Corp. (NVDA), under which RMBS grants NVDA a patent license for certain memory controllers at a 1% royalty rate for SDR memory controllers and a 2% royalty rate for other memory controllers. However, neither company has signed a release of liability or dismissed any litigation between them. RMBS had earlier charged that NVDA has infringed on some of its chip patents. If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on RMBS.

Continue reading Rambus Licenses Patents to NVIDIA

Rambus Licenses Patents to NVIDIA originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 13 Aug 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Facebook Ownership in Question as Man Claims 84% Stake

Facebook Ownership in Question as Man Claims 84% Stake originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 14 Jul 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

As Apple (AAPL) continues to rack up huge profits, so are its attorneys. Hey, with a slowing economy, a smart idea is to sue growing companies, right?

Well, one of the many suits involves Apple's exclusive relationship with AT&T (T) to provide the phone and broadband services for the iPhone. Basically, the contention is that the alliance was meant to keep higher prices with minimum two-year subscription agreements as well as restrictions on technology development for a five-year period. Oh, there are also claims that Apple has a monopoly on the app store and has made it incredibly difficult to move to another mobile phone provider.

Continue reading Apple-AT&T Monopoly Suit Goes Class Action

Apple-AT&T Monopoly Suit Goes Class Action originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 12 Jul 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading McDonald's Facing Lawsuit over Happy Meal Toys, Parental Authority Flies out the Window

McDonald's Facing Lawsuit over Happy Meal Toys, Parental Authority Flies out the Window originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 23 Jun 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Thursday, BusinessWeek reported that authorities have arrested 485 people since March in what is called Operation Stolen Dreams.

The U.S. Justice Department is running Operation Stolen Dreams, which focuses on putting the squeeze on mortgage fraud. According to the report, the enforcement effort has net 1,215 criminal defendants responsible for $2.3 billion in losses face some sort of legal action. Operation Stolen Dreams also includes 191 civil cases that has recovered more than $147 million.

Continue reading Operation Stolen Dreams Starts Mortgage Fraud Crackdown

Operation Stolen Dreams Starts Mortgage Fraud Crackdown originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 18 Jun 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading BP Trades Lower as CEO Testifies Before Congress

BP Trades Lower as CEO Testifies Before Congress originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 17 Jun 2010 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It's been a few weeks now that Google (GOOG) and its Street View mapping service has been in the spotlight after it was discovered that the search giant collected and stored personal data from unencrypted Wi-Fi networks. Now, Google's intentions are in question.

"This was a failure of communication between and within teams," the BBC quotes a Google spokesperson. It is the first line of defense in what has already become an international scandal striking directly at the heart of Google and allegations of serious misconduct by that company. The BBC report indicates that Google's actions of collecting and recording the personal data is in violation of the data interception laws of as many as 30 countries.

Continue reading Google Intentions over the Street View Data Collection Now Questioned

Google Intentions over the Street View Data Collection Now Questioned originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 10 Jun 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Criminal Investigation Launched over BP Oil Spill

Criminal Investigation Launched over BP Oil Spill originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 01 Jun 2010 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Earlier this week, the Supreme Court rejected the NFL's request for "broad antitrust law protection," deciding that each team must be considered separate when selling NFL branded items. This means that each team must be considered its own entity when it sells branded items like jerseys and caps.

The court's decision was unanimous, and it reversed a lower court's ruling that threw out an antitrust suit filed against the NFL by American Needle, which lost its contract for making official NFL hats to Reebok International.

Continue reading JockStocks: What Supreme Court's Antitrust Decision Means for the NFL

JockStocks: What Supreme Court's Antitrust Decision Means for the NFL originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 28 May 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Last week's ratification of the Durbin Amendment by U.S. lawmakers seemed to put Visa (V) on edge, with the credit card company now facing the prospect of curtailed interchange fees. (Of course, the firm's written statement cited concerns about potential harm to consumers -- a nice touch.)

So, with the forecast looking gloomy on the home front, perhaps it's no surprise that Visa is now trying to woo another major world power. According to Japan's The Nikkei, Visa "will urge the Japanese government to use credit cards for all of its purchases, from stationery items to parts for fighter jets, saying it would save the country a lot of money."

Continue reading Visa Execs Launch Full-Court Press on Japanese Government

Visa Execs Launch Full-Court Press on Japanese Government originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 24 May 2010 15:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Home Depot Slammed for $20 Million

Home Depot Slammed for $20 Million originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 13 May 2010 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Goldman Sachs

Continue reading Goldman Sachs in Settlement Talks with the SEC

Goldman Sachs in Settlement Talks with the SEC originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 07 May 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Will Goldman Sachs Face Criminal Charges Soon?

Will Goldman Sachs Face Criminal Charges Soon? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 03 May 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Goldman Sachs (GS) is plotting its legal defense against the SEC's charges, and the point man is co-general counsel Greg Palm.

So far Palm's legal strategy is to place all the blame on one employee: Fabrice Tourre. In a statement, Palm said: "If we had evidence that someone here was trying to mislead someone, that's not something we'd continue at all and we'd be the first to take action."

Continue reading Goldman's Legal Defense: Blame a Scapegoat?

Goldman's Legal Defense: Blame a Scapegoat? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 21 Apr 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.