carol-bartz

Dolby drops patent lawsuit against Blackberry makers

Dolby has withdrawn its lawsuit against BlackBerry makers Research in Motion (RIM), after the two companies reached an agreement on the use of patent protected technologies in the phones and in PlayBook tablets. The lawsuit was launched earlier this year when Dolby decided to sue RIM for use of its audio compression technology without having it licensed first. “Litigation was regrettably our last resort after RIM declined to pay for the use of Dolby’s technology,” said executive VP and general counsel, Andy Sherman, back in June. Dolby audio compression software, which greatly reduces file size, is used in a range of smartphones, tablets and music players, to allow for MP3 and AAC digital playback in such devices. During the ongoing patent infringement case, Dolby took steps to ensure that the Blackberry models and tablets that used their software were not sold in Germany and the United States. But now the suit has been dropped after the feuding companies managed to reach an undisclosed financial agreement, and RIM have sought licensing for the technology through Dolby subsidiary, Via Licensing Corporation

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Dolby drops patent lawsuit against Blackberry makers

carol-bartz

Twitter sues Twittad for rights to ‘tweet’ trademark

Twitter is suing online advertising service Twittad in an attempt to win trademark registration for the word ‘tweet’. Twitter already owns trademarks ‘retweet’ and ‘cotweet’, yet were beat to it by third-party developers Twittad, which filed its application for the ‘tweet’ trademark back in 2008 as part of its strapline, “let your ad meet tweets”. The microblogging site, with over 100 million active users across the globe, has a view to reclaiming the trademark and the lawsuit marks commencement of a fierce battle over who is the rightful owner of the term. Outlining its reasons for legal action, Twitter said in its lawsuit file that Twittad’s use “unfairly exploits the widespread association by the consuming public of the mark TWEET with Twitter, and threatens to block Twitter from its registration and legitimate uses of its own mark.” Third-party developers have long been a thorn in the side of Twitter, not only in terms of trademark issues but also through the development of unique tools that use the site to aid their businesses. Take, for example, Tweetdeck and the Tweetie iPhone app. Both monetised on the microblogging phenomenon, but also found themselves acquired by Twitter, who continue to snap up other third parties. Guardian tech blogger Jemima Kiss suggested the lawsuit is about far more than simple terminology for Twitter. “What this trademark battle is about, though, is not terminology, but about asserting control over interaction with users that ultimately leads to revenue. Would Twitter be using a lawsuit to aggressively pursue a trademark if it was being used by anything other than an advertising company?” In a direct move, Twitter has suspended Twittad’s account for the time being

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Twitter sues Twittad for rights to ‘tweet’ trademark

carol-bartz

Yahoo! says bye-bye to Bartz

Carol Bartz has been fired from Yahoo! as chief executive officer. She will be replaced by Yahoo!’s chief financial officer Tim Morse, effective immediately. In a press release , Yahoo! said: “The Board of Directors has appointed Timothy Morse interim chief executive officer, effective immediately, replacing Carol Bartz, who has been removed by the Board from her role as chief executive officer.” “The board is commencing a search for a permanent chief executive officer and expects to engage the services of a nationally recognised executive search firm to help it identify candidates for the position as expeditiously as possible.” Bartz was named CEO in 2009, taking over from Yahoo! co-founder Jerry Yang, but her tenure was marked by struggle and, despite job cuts and a management team shake up, the company was unable to regain lost ground against search giant Google . Rumours about a potential management switch-up began circulating in Silicon Valley months ago and came to a head at Yahoo!’s annual shareholder meeting in June. When asked to address reports that Yahoo! was looking for new leadership, chairman Roy Boystock denied rumours and reiterated that the board was “very supportive of Carol and the management team.” Following the news of her departure, Yahoo! shares jumped 6 per cent in after-hours trading, an increase of 81 cents to $13.72 According to the New York Times , Bartz sent an email to employees informing them of her departure: “I am very sad to tell you that I’ve just been fired over the phone by Yahoo!’s chairman of the board. It has been my pleasure to work with all of you and I wish you only the best going forward.” After rejecting a $44.6 billion cash-and-stock offer from Microsoft to buy the search engine in 2008, rumours are beginning to circulate about Yahoo! putting itself up for sale hot on the heels of Bartz’s departure. According to the Wall Street Journal , a company insider said Yahoo! is “open to selling itself to the right bidder.” The board of directors is expected to initiate a strategic review to evaluate the company’s current situation and discuss the possibility of acquisitions and partnerships in future

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Yahoo! says bye-bye to Bartz

carol-bartz

Yahoo!’s Q4 Earnings Take a Hit but Exceed Expectations

As the new Yahoo! CEO, Carol Bartz’s first quarterly earnings report, which came after only two weeks on the job, reflected the difficulties that Yahoo! struggled through in 2008.

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Yahoo!’s Q4 Earnings Take a Hit but Exceed Expectations