Law

Woz on patent war fallout, Tim Cook, post-PC world, tight Apple ecosystem

Steve Wozniak, who with his friend Steve Jobs co-founded Apple Computer on April 1, 1976 , always has interesting things to say about his company, competition and the technology industry at large. In an interview yesterday, the outspoken gadget lover expressed concern over patent wars.

He argued that patent-related litigation often blocks off start-ups and young thinkers because big boys make sure they own it all.

He also isn't convinced that we'll stop using computers in the post-PC world and said it's too early to judge Tim Cook as Steve Jobs has stamped his mark on products that are three years in the queue...

Apple called back to Congress to discuss privacy concerns

The United States Congress is set to give Apple another look. AllThingsD reports that Congress has sent a letter to Apple's CEO Tim Cook requesting he sends a company representative to the Capitol to brief Congress on how Apple is protecting its users personal information on mobile devices.

While Apple was called to congress in February, this time around it's about the issue of apps being able to view customers' photos, location data, and more without their permission...

Department of Justice approves Apple’s acquisition of Nortel patents

The US Department of Justice has just approved the sale of Nortel patents to the group Rockstar Consortium, which is an alliance made up of Apple, Microsoft, Research In Motion, Ericsson and Sony. The acquisition is priced at roughly $4.5 billion and will give the group 4,000 patents, reports The Next Web.

The patents are vital, and cover areas like 4G, network, voice, and more...

Apple forced to stop suing Kodak over patents

In January, 131 year old camera company Kodak filed a lawsuit against Apple for violating four patents. Fast forward a month later, Apple went after the already bankrupt Kodak in court, counter suing the company. Apple claimed that Kodak actually stole the patents in question from Apple.

Today, the WSJ reports a New York judge has ordered Apple to stop filing lawsuits against Kodak. Kodak is failing as a company and is currently bankrupt... 

Apple responds to ABC’s iFactory documentary

In a special edition of ABC's Nightline program last night, correspondent Bill Weir traveled to Apple's main manufacture, Foxconn, to get an inside look at working conditions inside of the plant. During the program, Weir showed workers working on the assembly line, the dormitories they live in, and more.

Apple, Foxconn, and the FLA have today released statements to ABC regarding a few of the things said during last night's program. Apple responded to a claim one worker made, after she said that she carves the aluminum shavings from 6,000 iPad logos per day...

Workers claim Foxconn hid underage workers before FLA inspection

After facing criticism from both the media and human rights organizations, Apple has opened up the doors to its manufacturing plants for the world to see. This has allowed the Fair Labor Association in to do an inspection, and ABC to do a report.

If you haven't seen ABC's "A Trip to the iFactory" yet, you should really watch it. The documentary actually doesn't make Foxconn, Apple's largest manufacturing partner, look as bad as the media has made them out to be. But were they hiding anything?

Analyst arrested for leaking iPhone sales projections

How many times have you come across an Apple-related rumor that came from an analyst and his "supply chain" sources? Just look at all of the Apple TV gossip — most of it can be traced back to Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster.

While we tend to write off most of their predictions, there are some analysts that actually know what they're talking about. But we don't see them very often, because the ones that do provide accurate information, usually go to jail...

EFF Attorney Talks About The Legality of Jailbreaking

Last month, we told you about the danger of jailbreaking becoming a "legal violation" again this year. Two years ago, the US government ruled that the act of jailbreaking was legal. But that ruling could expire this year if it isn't renewed.

Leading the fight to keep jailbreaking legal is the EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation). And Gizmodo recently had a chance to sit down and talk with one of the foundation's staff lawyers, Mitch Stolz, about the whole matter...

Jailbreaking Could Become a Legal Violation This Year

Back on July 26th of 2010, the US government made the act of jailbreaking electronic devices legal by federal law. This cleared up a lot of the confusion surrounding jailbreaking, and opened the door for folks worried about its legality.

Over the last two years we've been enjoying this freedom, most recently hacking our iPhone 4S and iPad 2 devices. But according to the EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation), we could lose that freedom this year if we don't act...

Court Sentences Men Accused of Selling iPhone 4 Prototype to Gizmodo

It looks like the iPhone 4 debacle is getting one step closer to its end, as Brian Hogan, the man who found the iPhone 4 prototype last year, and Sage Wallower, the man who helped Hogan pitch the sale of the device to tech blogs, have been sentenced by the court.

The two were sentenced to one year of probation, 40 hours of public service, and a requirement to pay $250 each in restitution to Apple...

FTC Takes Action Against Purported Acne-Curing Apps

It seems like there is an app for everything these days. There's mobile software that claims to cure headaches, keep mosquitos away, and even help you get a better night's sleep.

Apparently, the Federal Trade Commission is investigating these types of applications that make health claims without any scientific evidence to back them up. Its first target? Applications that allegedly cure acne...