A Jury Ordered Facebook To Pay $500 Million In Damages For Copyright Infringement

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A Dallas jury has ruled that Facebook owes $500 million in damages to a Dallas-based game maker that complained its inventions were stolen by Facebook's Oculus VR division.

Facebook, which acquired Oculus for $3 billion in 2014, said it plans to appeal the ruling.

ZeniMax claimed in its lawsuit that it had been the first to develop much of the technology used in the Oculus virtual reality headsets, and that one of its former employees, John Carmack, had given it away to Oculus&039;s founder Palmer Luckey. Carmack later became the chief technical officer at Oculus.

ZeniMax sought several billion in damages, claiming Facebook stole its trade secrets.

While the lawsuit is over two tears old, it attracted national attention a few weeks ago when Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg was put on the stand in a Dallas courtroom. “The idea that Oculus products are based on someone else’s technology is just wrong,” Zuckerberg said in response to questions from a ZeniMax attorney.

The jury, however, concluded that Oculus and its founders Luckey and Brendan Iribe had infringed on ZeniMax&039;s copyrights. The jury further ruled that Carmack had contributed to ZeniMax&039;s infringement. Iribe was recently moved from the head of Facebook&039;s virtual reality group.

The jury ruled against claims that Oculus had stolen trade secrets.

“The heart of this case was about whether Oculus stole ZeniMax&039;s trade secrets, and the jury found decisively in our favor. We&039;re obviously disappointed by a few other aspects of today&039;s verdict, but we are undeterred. Oculus products are built with Oculus technology,” a spokesperson for Facebook&039;s Oculus division said in a statement. “We look forward to filing our appeal and eventually putting this litigation behind us.”

During his testimony, Zuckerberg — whose legal battles over Facebook&039;s origins are now Silicon Valley legend — tried to cast doubt on ZeniMax&039;s claims. “It is pretty common when you announce a big deal or do something that all kinds of people just kind of come out of the woodwork and claim that they just own some portion of the deal,” he said.

Quelle: <a href="A Jury Ordered Facebook To Pay 0 Million In Damages For Copyright Infringement“>BuzzFeed

The ACLU Just Joined A Silicon Valley Startup Incubator

Sam Altman, president of Y Combinator.

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The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has joined the winter 2017 class of startups hosted by Silicon Valley startup incubator Y Combinator (YC), which in the past helped companies like Twitch, AirBnb, and Reddit achieve and manage initial growth. The ACLU, a 97-year-old nonprofit, falls outside the profile of a typical YC company, but the incubator has invited nonprofits to participate since 2013.

In a statement, ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero said, “We’re thrilled to have the help of Y Combinator to help us reach new audiences and be at the leading edge of technology. Beyond financial contributions, the Silicon Valley community can help organizations like ours harness recent membership surges and spread the word about what the ACLU is doing.”

The ACLU raised $24 million this past weekend — six times its average amount of annual donations — after it wrested a stay on President Trump&#039;s immigration order from a New York federal court.

Public outrage over the order, which barred refugees and immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the US, fueled protests at airports around the country. The crowds there were jubilant at the news from the ACLU. Several prominent figures in the tech industry matched donations to the ACLU. Most notably, Lyft gave the organization $1 million in a deftly timed move in its perpetual fight with Uber, which recently turned political.

The ACLU and Y Combinator began speaking weeks ago when YC partner Kat Manalac reached out to Romero for feedback about YC’s upcoming call for civic tech startups. Manalac told BuzzFeed News that Romero responded with a request for help on the ACLU&039;s own projects, which led Manalac to recommend it for YC&039;s incubator, and YC founder Sam Altman and Romero “worked out the details yesterday.” Several YC mentors will travel to New York to work with the ACLU.

In a statement, Altman wrote that YC itself will donate to the ACLU and give it “full access to the Y Combinator network and community.” The accelerator won&039;t have any financial interest in the ACLU. As part of its participation in the program, the nonprofit will also present to venture capitalists at YC Demo Day in March.

Altman wrote that the ACLU plays “a particularly important role now“; he invited engineers in particular to work with the organization, signaling that the nonprofit may have come to Silicon Valley specifically to attract some help from the area&039;s technical talent. Altman said on Twitter that 25 startup founders responded positively to the call.

YC has funded nonprofits before, declining to take its usual equity stake in favor of a donation. The incubator put out a call for civic technology companies in 2014, but the niche industry faces funding problems, and VCs are hesitant. Nevertheless, Altman put out a similar call the same day that the ACLU was accepted.

Like many of its fellow tech companies, YC traveled a bumpy road during election season and after. Peter Thiel, the tech billionaire and prominent Trump supporter who is now a member of the president&039;s transition team, sits on Y Combinator&039;s board, which has drawn criticism from many in Silicon Valley. Sam Altman vigorously defended Thiel&039;s role in YC, though Altman himself did not vote for Trump.

After Trump&039;s victory in November, Altman told BuzzFeed News he was “officially very worried.” Most recently, Altman has come out strong against Trump&039;s immigration order, offering support and a job to recently fired attorney general Sally Yates.

Quelle: <a href="The ACLU Just Joined A Silicon Valley Startup Incubator“>BuzzFeed

Apple Sales Hit An All-Time High Over The Holidays

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Apple&#039;s sales reached an all-time high in the final three months of 2016, with the company reporting record sales of its iPhones, Mac computers and Apple watches.

Revenue hit $78.4 billion for the quarter, slightly up from the $76 billion the company made in the same period of 2016. The quarter was a crucial test for Apple, whose sales typically peak during the holiday season, and whenever it rolls out a brand new phone. The new iPhone 7 was released just a few days before the start of the quarter.

Apple

iPhone sales rose by 5% over the year prior, but overall profit dropped by 2.6% to $17.9 billion. Apple shares are up 25% in the last year, but its stock is still trading below the all-time high it reached in 2015. In after-market trading on Tuesday, the company&039;s shares were up almost 3%.

Beyond the iPhone, Apple&039;s software services business continues to boom — it generated over $7 billion in revenue in the three-month period, up 18%. The services business includes iTunes purchases and Music subscriptions, AppleCare, and Apple Pay. The company&039;s “other products,” segement, which includes the Apple Watch, saw a 8% decline in revenue, while the iPad had a 22% drop.

One year ago, powered by the release of the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, Apple reported the most profitable quarter in corporate history, earning $18.4 billion in profits on $76 billion of revenue.

Since then, the company reported its first annual decline in sales since 2001, raising questions among observers if Apple, despite continued sky-high profits that would be the envy of any other company, could still provide the massive growth it had experienced since the dawn of the iPod.

While the growth figures reported today were positive, it&039;s not the type of strong sales growth that&039;s typically been associated with brand new iPhone releases.

“We’re thrilled to report that our holiday quarter results generated Apple’s highest quarterly revenue ever, and broke multiple records along the way. We sold more iPhones than ever before and set all-time revenue records for iPhone, Services, Mac and Apple Watch,” Apple chief executive Tim Cook said in a statement.

Quelle: <a href="Apple Sales Hit An All-Time High Over The Holidays“>BuzzFeed

The Fate Of Net Neutrality Is Still Up In The Air In The Trump-Era FCC

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Some of the most pressing questions about the way Americans interact with each other online and connect with their favorite services remain unanswered Tuesday, following the first meeting of the Federal Communications Commission in the Trump Era.

Ajit Pai, the new FCC Chair who was selected by President Donald Trump, declined to answer key questions on internet and telecom policy including the fate of Net Neutrality, the AT&T-Time Warner merger and a proposal backed by the Obama administration to overhaul the market for cable boxes.

“We haven&#039;t made any determinations at this time,” Chair Pai said, referring to the future of Net Neutrality rules. “My present position is pretty simple: I favor a free and open internet and I oppose Title II.”

Established in 2015 under President Obama, network neutrality rules require internet service providers like Comcast and Verizon to treat all web traffic equally. Heralded by the Obama administration, internet giants, and consumer advocates, the open internet rules were designed to protect websites and services like Netflix from being slowed, blocked or up-charged by broadband providers. The rules came into effect after broadband companies were designated so-called Title II services. The reclassification allows the government to impose more robust regulations on internet providers. It was aggressively opposed by telecom companies and by Republican members of Congress and the FCC.

Chair Pai voted against the open internet rules when he was an FCC commissioner, and he has argued that market-based solutions, not government regulations, will better ensure an open and competitive web. “The Internet has become a powerful force for freedom, both at home and abroad,” Pai wrote in 2015. “So it is sad to witness the FCC’s unprecedented attempt to replace that freedom with government control.”

While Pai did not elaborate on his comments at the meeting, experts tell BuzzFeed News that a Republican-controlled FCC could work to dismantle net neutrality in several ways: by simply ignoring violations and not enforcing the open internet rules; overturning them through the FCC; or pressing Congress to rewrite telecom law.

“If Ajit Pai&039;s past record is any indication of how he&039;ll be as chairman, he won&039;t be doing much policing of that industry,” Joshua Stager, policy counsel for New America&039;s Open Technology Institute told BuzzFeed News. “He thinks that the telecom industry can police itself just fine.”

When asked to comment whether the FCC should review the AT&T-Time Warner mega-merger, Chair Pai declined. The $85 billion deal is currently under review by the antitrust division of the Justice Department. Unlike the DOJ, which can sue to block a deal when the transaction is found to be anticompetitive, the FCC standard for approving a deal is broader. Businesses have to show the commission that the deal serves the public interest, a threshold that some experts say is harder to clear than the DOJ&039;s.

Pai also declined to share details on the fate of the set-top box proposal, a plan created during the Obama-era FCC to open up the cable box market to technology companies. Former FCC Chair Tom Wheeler, who backed the plan, saw it as a much needed corrective to exorbitant rental fees and outdated interfaces that cable customers were more or less stuck with. Pai said the proposal is one of 23 items the FCC is reviewing that were carried over from the last administration. The plan is not expected to advance under the leadership of the new chair.

Quelle: <a href="The Fate Of Net Neutrality Is Still Up In The Air In The Trump-Era FCC“>BuzzFeed

Amazon And Expedia Attack Trump's Immigration Order In Court

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The attorney general of Washington state filed a lawsuit Monday challenging President Donald Trump&#039;s controversial immigration order, and he&039;s counting two Washington-based companies as courtroom allies: Amazon and Expedia.

Both companies submitted sworn statements as part of the lawsuit, each highlighting the business harms they face as a direct result of Trump&039;s travel ban. The legal battle marks the latest move in escalating tensions between technology companies and the Trump administration that has thus far played out only in public statements.

“Expedia believes that the executive order jeopardizes its corporate mission and could have a detrimental impact on its business and its employees, as well as the broader U.S. and global travel and tourism industry,” Robert Dzielak, Expedia&039;s executive vice president and general counsel, wrote in a declaration.

According to Dzielak, more than 1,000 Expedia customers who hold passports from one of the 7 affected countries — Syria, Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Libya, and Yemen — have current bookings that begin, end, or connect in the United States. Dzielak noted that it&039;s unclear which of its customers will be affected, and how, posing additional burdens to the company as it tries to interpret and monitor how the executive order is being applied. In addition, Expedia said that several of its employees based in the US and abroad will be prevented from traveling.

“The direct financial impact to Expedia resulting from the Executive order ranging from increased business costs to the broader impact on the global travel market is not yet known,” Dzielak wrote.

Ayesha Blackwell-Hawkins, Amazon&039;s senior manager of mobility and immigration, said the executive order “immediately — and negatively — impacted employees, dependents of employees, and candidates for employment with Amazon.”

Amazon is aware of 49 employees born in one of the seven countries, 47 of whom are citizens of another country, while the remaining two have permanent legal residents elsewhere.

“One example of an impacted employee is a senior Amazon lawyer who was born in
Libya but has been a UK citizen for many years,” Blackwell-Hawkins wrote. “This employee had plans to travel to the United States for business during the month of February. We have instructed the employee to cancel her plans and remain in the UK rather than risk being denied entry to the United States.”

Amazon said it is aware of 10 dependents of employees who were born in the countries affected but live in the US lawfully.

In addition, Amazon has extended employment offers to seven people born in Iran but who are currently citizens of other countries: Germany, Canada and Australia. According to Blackwell-Hawkins, Amazon is “assessing alternatives,” possibly placing them in other countries outside the US.

In an email to employees Monday, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, said his company would explore legislative options to challenge the immigration order. “We are working other legal options as well,” he wrote.

A spokesperson for Microsoft, another Washington-based business, told BuzzFeed News: “Microsoft has been supportive and has provided information to the Attorney General and is willing to provide further testimony if necessary.”

Earlier in the day, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer defended the president&039;s immigration order. “The majority of Americans agree with the president,” he said. “They recognize that the steps that he&039;s taken were to keep this country safe and to make sure that we didn&039;t look back and say &039;I wish we had done the following.&039;”

Here are the declarations in full:

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