Blow to MS i4i patent claims

The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has confirmed i4i's patent, sending another blow to Microsoft's legal strategy to deny intellectual property claims surrounding i4i's 'custom XML' technology, says Raymond Channel Partner.

Toronto-based i4i announced the USPTO had "issued a re-examination certificate". The certificate confirms US Patent No 5 787 449, which contains i4i's invention claims for an XML-based technology that was used in Microsoft Word.

Microsoft has been engaged in a losing legal battle with i4i concerning the technology after a Texas jury found in 2008 that Microsoft had "wilfully infringed" i4i's patent.

Apple was sued last week over claims that its iPad easily overheats and then suddenly switches itself off, writes Computerworld.

In a complaint filed with an Oakland federal court last Friday, a trio of plaintiffs accused Apple of everything from fraud and deceptive advertising to violations of California's consumer protection and unfair business practices laws by making, marketing and selling allegedly defective tablets.

"The iPad does not live up to the reasonable consumer's expectations created by Apple insofar as the iPad overheats so quickly under common weather conditions that it does not function for prolonged use outdoors, or in many other warm conditions," the complaint read.

The cellphone industry is settling in for a long fight over the safety of mobile phones in litigation it filed contesting a San Francisco law that requires retailers to display radiation levels of wireless devices, states Information Week.

The industry, represented by CTIA, filed a suit in the US District Court in San Francisco seeking to nullify the legislation that is the first in the nation designed to alert consumers to potential dangers of cellphone usage.

Earlier, the industry thwarted attempts by California and Maine legislators, who had proposed legislation requiring warnings on mobile phone packaging that the devices could cause cancer, especially in children.