Motorola Mobility's patent lawsuits investigated by EU
Motorola Mobility's patent lawsuits have become the subject of two investigations by the European Commission.
It follows complaints by Apple and Microsoft after Motorola tried to block sales of their products.
They said that Motorola - which is in the process of being taken over by Google - had failed to license "essential" technologies on fair and reasonable terms.
Motorola denies any wrongdoing.
"The commission will examine whether Motorola's behaviour amounts to an abuse of a dominant market position," a statement from the commission said.
The dispute centres on Motorola's use of Frand-type patents.
These involve technologies that are deemed to be part of an industry standard and therefore must be offered for a reasonable fee to anyone willing to pay.
"Motorola Mobility is confident that a thorough investigation will demonstrate that it has honoured its Frand obligations and complied with anti-trust laws," a statement from the firm said.
"[We] will continue to work closely with the European Commission to resolve this matter as soon as practicable."
Injunctions
Apple has clashed with Motorola over the amount it should pay for its use of a patent for a "method for performing a countdown function during a mobile-originated transfer for a packet radio system".
The dispute led a German court to order a ban of certain iPad and iPhone models in Germany last year - a ruling which was later suspended.
Apple has also been forced to suspend its push email service to German customers as a result of another clash.
Microsoft faces a separate complaint in Germany in a fortnight's time over its use of H.264 video-compression technology patents claimed by Motorola.
Microsoft announced on Monday that it was moving its European software distribution centre from Germany to the Netherlands in order to prevent a potential ban of shipments of its Windows 7 system software and Xbox 360 gaming consoles.
"We would have preferred to keep our European distribution centre in Germany, where it has been for many years," a statement from Microsoft said.
"Unfortunately the risk from disruption's from Motorola's patent litigation is simply too high."
Patent consultant Florian Mueller blogged that the commission's intervention might influence the outcome of the case.
"Germany is the only EU member state in which Motorola is suing Apple and Microsoft over standard-essential patents," he wrote.
"The commission's decision to launch these formal investigations should serve as food for thought for certain judges in the largest EU member state who have shown a worrying tendency in recent years to put patent law far above anti-trust law."
Enforcement
The European Commission's action follows earlier warnings that it had concerns about Motorola's enforcement tactics, which it expressed after approving Google's takeover of the firm.
"The holders of standard-essential patents have considerable market power," said competition commissioner Joaquin Almunia.
"This market power can be used to harm competition... I don't need to tell you that this is unacceptable, and I am determined to use anti-trust enforcement to prevent such hold-up by patent holders."
The Commission launched a related probe into Samsung in January after it sought sales injunctions against Apple linked to its Frand-related 3G patents.
Facebook counters Yahoo's legal action with a lawsuit
Facebook has responded to a recently-launched legal action by rival Yahoo with a lawsuit of its own.
Last month, Yahoo claimed the social network had infringed 10 of its patents, including systems and methods for advertising on the web.
Now Facebook is counter suing, claiming the web portal violated its patents covering photo tagging, advertising and online recommendations.
Yahoo claims Facebook's suit is "without merit".
Facebook recently acquired 750 patents from computing giant IBM.
Until the end of 2011, Facebook held just 56 patents, a figure analysts say is comparatively low for a technology company. By comparison, Yahoo owns about 1,000 patents.
Years of litigation
In its lawsuit, Yahoo claimed that Mark Zuckerberg's company's "entire social network model" was based on its technology, and infringed its rights to innovations involved in messaging, privacy controls, advertising, customisation and social networking.
Neither company's services or operations are likely to be threatened by the spat.
Observers note that these cases can spend years in litigation and a settlement is often reached where the parties simply agree to licence the patents to each other.
Facebook is preparing for initial public offering on a stock market that could value Facebook at $100bn (£64bn).
Yahoo, which has struggled in recent years against competition from both Facebook and Google, has a market value of $18.3m.
On Wall Street, Yahoo shares fell 28 cents on Tuesday to close at $15.18.
TV: Romney Sweeps Maryland, DC, Wisconsin Republican Primaries
U.S. television networks project former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney has swept all three Republican presidential primary elections Tuesday — in Washington DC, the eastern state of Maryland, and the midwestern state of Wisconsin.
Tuesday's victories bring him another step closer to having enough delegates to become the Republican Party's choice to take on President Barack Obama, a Democrat, in the November general election.
Romney already has about half the number of delegates needed for the nomination. He has also been endorsed by such major Republicans as former President George H.W. Bush.
But Romney's Republican challengers — Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, and Ron Paul — have given no signs they are ready to drop out of the race.
Santorum, a former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania, is hoping his home state's primary later this month will give him a badly needed boost.
He told supporters in Pennsylvania Tuesday night that the Republican race is only at the halfway mark and says he plans to come out charging into the second half.
Meanwhile, President Obama is already anticipating a November showdown against Romney. In a speech to newspaper executives Tuesday, Mr. Obama denounced a Republican budget plan backed by Romney, saying it would impose “a radical vision” on the country.
Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have also criticized Romney, and Democratic “attack ads” targeting Romney also have been appearing on radio and television.
US ambassador warns Syria regime over violence
America's ambassador to the UN has warned Syria not to intensify violence in the days leading up to a ceasefire proposed by the UN and Arab League.
Susan Rice said the Security Council must respond urgently if Syria failed to keep its pledge to end military operations by 10 April.
Syria says it will honour the deadline, but Ms Rice said she doubted this.
Activists say Syria is stalling for time so it can crush the uprising before international monitors arrive.
They say attacks on opposition strongholds are continuing.
An advance team from the UN is due in Damascus imminently to discuss the deployment of the monitors.
'Urgent and serious'
Ms Rice said that "from the US point of view, and I think the point of view of many member states, what we have seen since April 1 is not encouraging".
She said the US was "concerned and quite sceptical that the government of Syria will suddenly adhere to its commitments".
If the Syrian authorities use the time up to 10 April to intensify rather than decrease the violence, the Security Council would "need to respond to that failure in a very urgent and serious way", she said.
Western powers are circulating a draft Council statement supporting the ceasefire initiative, which was announced by the joint UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan on Monday. The statement will be discussed by the 15-nation Council over the next two days.
Ms Rice acknowledged that the Council was divided over whether to take action to pressure Damascus.
But she suggested that if the Syrian government continued its military offensive despite its commitment to the plan, the diplomatic calculations of Syria's allies might change, reports the BBC's Barbara Plett at the UN.
The ceasefire is only one part of Mr Annan's peace plan, which also calls for a political process to address the "aspirations" of the Syrian people, the release of detainees, the delivery of humanitarian aid, free movement for journalists, and the right to protest.
Meanwhile, the president of the UN General Assembly, Nassir Abdulaziz al-Nasser, said he had asked Mr Annan to brief the world body on his Syria peace mission.
No date has been set, but Mr Nasser said he had suggested 13 April, our correspondent reports.
Turkey criticism
In Damascus, the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Jakob Kellenberger, has been meeting top Syrian officials to try to persuade them to allow aid workers better access to those who have been wounded or displaced by the conflict.
Mr Kellenberger is also pressing the Syrian authorities to implement a daily two-hour ceasefire, as stipulated in the peace plan proposed by Mr Annan.
Russia's foreign ministry says Syria's government has informed Moscow it has started implementing Mr Annan's plan to end the unrest.
Earlier, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused the Security Council of indirectly supporting the oppression of the Syrian people by failing to adopt a united stance on the crisis.
Mr Erdogan said the Council was standing by with its "hands and arms tied" while Syrian people were dying every day.
By not taking a decision on Syria, it had "indirectly supported the oppression, he said. To stand by with your hands and arms tied while the Syrian people are dying every day is to support the oppression", he added.
He told members of parliament from his governing AK Party that Turkey would not turn its back on the Syrian people.
China and Russia have twice vetoed resolutions condemning the Assad regime for turning the army on civilians.
Tornadoes Cause Considerable Damage in Dallas, Texas
Residents of Dallas, Texas are cleaning up after at least two tornadoes ripped through the city midday Tuesday, causing widespread destruction and more than a dozen injuries.
Weather forecasters described the storms as “large and extremely dangerous.” The twisters picked up large trucks and slammed them to the ground. They also tore through residential neighborhoods, demolishing homes, smashing cars, and uprooting trees.
American Airlines canceled all flights from the Dallas-Forth Worth Airport until Wednesday. Airline officials say they must inspect more than 100 planes for damage from hail.
Authorities report more than 12 injuries so far, including some severe.
Afghan Foreign Minister in Qatar for Talks on Taliban, Bilateral Ties
Afghanistan's foreign minister, Zalmay Rasool, on a two-day visit to Qatar, says reconciliation talks with the Taliban must be led by the Afghan government.
Following talks with his Qatari counterpart, Khaled al-Attiyah, in Doha Tuesday, Rasool said the two sides also discussed the opening in Qatar of a Taliban political office which will serve to facilitate negotiations.
Al-Attiyah told a joint news conference Qatar would talk to all Afghan parties in the reconciliation process.
Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesman Janan Musazai told VOA Tuesday that Rasool's visit to Qatar has two goals: to strengthen bilateral ties — including the signing of bilateral agreements in the field of politics, economy, business and investment — and to open a Qatari embassy in Kabul.
Taliban negotiators met with U.S. officials in Qatar for a series of discussions aimed at building trust and preparing both sides for upcoming peace talks. But the militant group suspended the talks in the aftermath of the killing of 16 Afghan civilians last month, allegedly by a U.S. soldier.
EU calls for IMF to boost its war chest
European leaders said they believed the €200bn increase in their fiscal rescue fund agreed on Friday would be enough to persuade non-eurozone countries that Europeans had "done our homework" and lead them to supplement eurozone efforts by building their own global firewall against contagion.
François Baroin, the French finance minister, said after two days of meetings here with his European counterparts that "Europe has done its part", suggesting it was now up to other large global economies to contribute to an enlarged International Monetary Fund war chest.
Wolfgang Schäuble, the German finance minister, said he wanted to put an end to speculation that the fund would be increased any further, adding that the eurozone has "now given our contribution" and had lived up to its "global responsibility."
"There is no sum with which you can convince financial markets," Mr Schäuble said, referring to the size of the eurozone firewall. "You can only be convincing with structural measures,"
Christine Lagarde, the IMF chief, has sought an additional $500bn for the IMF as a back-up to the eurozone's two rescue funds, which now have a combined ceiling of €700bn. But US and IMF leaders have cautioned that their support for such an increase was contingent on a significant increase in the eurozone funds.
Although the US has said it would not contribute to the new IMF firewall, its support is crucial as the largest IMF shareholder.
US and IMF officials welcomed the eurozone decision, but were cautious about predicting whether it would lead to a commensurate effort by Group of 20 leading economies when they gather in Washington next month for the IMF's spring meetings.
"Today's announcement by the eurogroup reinforces a trajectory of positive efforts to strengthen confidence in the euro area," said US Treasury spokeswoman Natalie Wyeth. "Over the last several months, European leaders have made significant progress in addressing the crisis."
The decision taken on Friday was the least ambitious of three options laid out by the European Commission, which included alternatives to raise the ceiling to as much as €940bn. European Union officials have warned such a minimalist approach may fail to "unlock" funding from non-European G20 countries.
In a statement, Ms Lagarde said the increase to €700bn will "support the IMF's efforts to increase its available resources for the benefit of all our members," and eurozone leaders said they believed the move was enough to get non-eurozone support.
"I think now the Europeans can travel to the spring meeting of the [World] Bank and the fund in Washington having done our homework on European firewalls and this can then be complimented by the global firewalls of the IMF resources," said Jörg Asmussen, a member of the executive board of the European Central Bank.
Olli Rehn, the European Commission's top economic official, noted that eurozone countries had already committed to lending €150bn to the IMF firewall. Although he had advocated a bigger increase, Mr Rehn said he was "satisfied" with the decision and said it should enable G20 countries, including some of the rapidly-developing Bric economies, to participate in the IMF fundraising.
"I trust that today's decision will pave the way for an increase of the IMF resources by the IMF spring meetings next month, in mid-April," he said.
© The Financial Times
Burma’s Polls Open for Parliamentary Elections
Voters in Burma have begun casting ballots in parliamentary elections seen as a crucial test of the country's democratic reform progress.
Candidates in Sunday polls are vying for 45 seats in the 664-seat parliament in the first by-elections since the new nominally civilian government took office in March of last year.
Main opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who heads the National League for Democracy, is running for the first time since 1990 when her party won a landslide victory in general elections. At the time, the military leaders refused to relinquish power and kept her in some form of detention for most of the next 20 years.
The National League for Democracy is contesting 44 seats. The group boycotted the 2010 elections, the first after two decades in Burma, because their iconic leader and Nobel Laureate was not permitted to run.
Aung San Suu Kyi was released from house arrest shortly after the November 2010 elections and got actively engaged in the political process. She is widely expected to win because of her popularity.
Whatever the outcome, the by-elections will not give the opposition enough parliamentary power to achieve its goal of revising the constitution, which secures overwhelming power for the military.
Aung San Suu Kyi has said she does not expect Burma's election to be fair, but said it is still significant.
For the first time, the government has invited a small number of foreign observers and journalists to witness the elections.
The official results are expected about a week after polling.
Djokovic to face Murray in Miami final
World No.1 Novak Djokovic will play Britain's Andy Murray in the final of the Masters 1000 tournament in Miami on Sunday.
The Serb beat Juan Monaco of Argentina 6-0 7-6 (7-5) on Friday to set up a showdown with the Scot who he beat in a marathon five-setter at the Australian Open semifinal in Melbourne at the beginning of the year.
Djokovic lost just eight points in a first set whitewash before Monaco rallied in the second.
But the Serb, who is defending the title he won 12 months ago, wrapped up the match with his second match point in the tie-break.
Murray went through to the final after his semifinal opponent Rafael Nadal withdrew before the start of their match.
World No.2 Nadal is struggling with the knee injury he picked up Wednesday's quarterfinal win over Jo-Wilfred Tonga, where he was taken to three hard-fought sets.
"We are disappointed that Rafa has been forced to withdraw from the tournament but the health of the players always needs to be the number one priority," tournament director Adam Barrett told the official website.
It is the second walkover of the week for fourth-ranked ranked Murray, whose third round opponent Milos Raonic of Canada also pulled out through injury.
Nadal, who was beaten by Djokovic in an epic final in Melbourne, has suffered from knee problems in the past, most notably in 2009, and decided against risking his injury.
"So sorry for my fans, those here at Miami and those around the world. My knee won't let me play today," he told his official Facebook page.
Nadal was hoping for his first victory at the hard court tournament and looking to improve his 13-5 winning record over Murray.
He will now look to get fit ahead of the clay court season and his defense of the French Open title.
Lin-surgery! Knicks sensation done for regular season with knee injury
Jeremy Lin will miss the rest of the regular of the season because he needs knee surgery that will sideline him six weeks and could leave the Knicks without their star point guard in the playoffs -- if they make it that far.
Lin had an MRI exam this week that revealed a small, chronic meniscus tear and he has elected to have surgery next week in New York.
With the regular season ending April 26, the biggest story in basketball this season is done unless the Knicks make a deep postseason run.
Speaking slowly during a pregame press conference, Lin was unable to hide his disappointment with the decision that was reached earlier Saturday after a painful workout.
"It [stinks] not being able to be out there with the team," Lin said. "And you know, it is what it is and so hopefully I can come back as soon as I can and help everybody."
He was barely holding on to a place in the NBA back in February. Now, after the back-to-back Sports Illustrated covers and popularity around the world, he has to go back to the bench when he wants to play most.
"If this was done very early in the year, obviously ... I don't know where my career would be. I could be, would be definitely without a job and probably fighting for a summer league spot," Lin said. "But having said that, this happening now hurts just as much, because all the players, we really put our heart and souls into the team and into season, and to not be there when it really matters most is hard."
The Knicks will continue to turn to Baron Davis in place of Lin, the undrafted Harvard alum who became the starter in February and turned in a series of brilliant performances, kicking off a phenomenon that was called Linsanity.
SI