Sony has admitted that potentially 1.6 million of its Bravia-brand TV sets may have safety issues relating to overheating, but has denied recalling the products from the market. In a statement about the issue, the UK PR manager for the company, David Edwards, explained the situation: “The issue came to our attention through reports in …
The micro-blogging platform Twitter has secured the rights to the trademark for the word ‘Tweet’, and has subsequently dropped its trademark infringement lawsuit against marketing company Twittad. Twittad, a service designed to help members of Twitter get paid for tweeting ads, had previously applied for and received the trademark for the phrase ‘Let Your Ad …
The electronic commerce giant Amazon has reportedly been hit with a patent infringement lawsuit over its Kindle Fire tablet computer, just weeks before it goes on sale. The lawsuit has been filed by Smartphone Technologies, an Acacia Research Group owned-firm which already has lawsuits ongoing with RIM, Apple and many others over patents. The company …
The makers of Stella Artois Cidre, a relatively new product on the market, have been forced to recall three batches after two customers complained that a bottle had exploded and caused them to sustain minor injuries. Tests were carried out on the batch codes and it was found that they contained yeast contamination. This could …
The world’s largest custody bank, Bank of New York Mellon (BNY Mellon), is reportedly facing separate lawsuits from both the US Department of Justice and the city and state of New York. The lawsuits centre on the allegation that for ten years, BNY Mellon has through currency transactions, defrauded US banks, pension funds and millions …
The personal radio service Pandora is reportedly facing a class action lawsuit in the US, after several users complained that it was breaching privacy laws. According to the lawsuit, Pandora is breaching a federal law passed in 1988 which bans companies from giving out or disclosing details of book, sound recording or video purchases or …
BBC Worldwide has reportedly won its copyright infringement lawsuit against the Italian media company Mediaset over the format of Strictly Come Dancing. According to the BBC’s lawsuit, Mediaset unlawfully copied the format of its popular show Strictly Come Dancing to develop its new ‘Baila!’ programme. This idea for this show was thought up by Mediaset …
The Government’s Minister for Intellectual Property, Baroness Wilcox, has announced the launch of a new guide for businesses on how to avoid falling foul of intellectual property laws. The guide, entitled ‘Preventing Infringement of Intellectual Property (IP) Rights in the Workplace’, is designed to give companies and their employees advice on IP laws and how …
The retail giant Marks & Spencer has been fined a total of £1 million after it was found that the company put customers and employees in danger by potentially exposing them to asbestos during a store refurbishment. The company received the fine after inspectors found that an expensive refurbishment of one of its stores in …