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Microsoft will defend AI Copilot commercial customers against copyright claims
Microsoft has committed to defending commercial customers of its AI Copilot customers against copyright lawsuits.
Microsoft has been going all in on its AI endeavors recently. The company has been integrating its AI Copilot services across its Microsoft 365 suite of products and even Windows. However, as the Redmond tech firm expands services in this field of generative AI (GAI), there are natural concerns regarding the potential legal and regulatory hurdles, due to the technology being at a stage of relative infancy. Now, Microsoft has addressed some of the questions in this area in an attempt to assure commercial customers that they should use its GAI technologies without worrying about the legalities.
Google found to have violated Sonos patents, potentially blocking import of some Google devices into the US
Google is found to have violated Sonos' patents, blockig import of Pixel phones, Chromecasts, Nest Home devices, and more.
In January 2020, Sonos filed two lawsuits against Google, claiming that the latter stole its multiroom speaker technology and infringed on 100 patents. In September, Sonos then sued Google alleging that the company's entire line of Chromecast and Nest products violated five of Sonos’ wireless audio patents. A judge (preliminarily) ruled in favor of Sonos. Now it's gone from bad to worse for Google, as the preliminary findings have been finalized by the U.S. International Trade Commission. As a result, Google is not allowed to import any products that violate patents owned by Sonos, which Sonos argues includes Google Pixel phones and computers, Chromecasts, and Google Home/Nest speakers.
Apple wants antitrust case in India to be dismissed, says it's not a dominant player
Apple has denied the allegations of hurting app developers saying that it’s way too small of a player in the Indian market.
Apple’s tightly controlled App Store and its proprietary in-app purchase system have come under fire in recent times, with the company facing antitrust probes in multiple countries, including the US, Europe, and South Korea. The Cupertino-based giant is facing a similar antitrust case in India over allegedly abusing its dominant position in the apps market and hurting small developers. In its official response, Apple has now asked the Indian antitrust watchdog to close the case, stating that it’s not a dominant player in India.
Google reportedly tried to persuade Android OEMs to obscure location settings
As per new information coming out of an ongoing lawsuit, Google made it difficult for Android users to turn off location data collection.
New information coming out from an ongoing lawsuit against Google has revealed the Search giant willfully made it difficult for Android users to turn off location data collection.
Google may be facing a lawsuit due to Pixel 3 hardware issues
A law firm is investigating a potential class-action lawsuit for Pixel 3 battery drain and camera issues, among other things.
Google's history with smartphone manufacturing isn't long, but it has had its share of issues. Earlier this year, Google and Huawei started paying out settlements for a lawsuit regarding Nexus 6P bootloops. The original Google Pixel also suffered from hardware issues, resulting in another settlement. The company could potentially face another lawsuit, this time concerning the Pixel 3 series.
[Update 2: Settlement Checks Sent] Google will pay up to $500 to Pixel owners with defective microphones
After a lawsuit settlement for Google's Pixel/Pixel XL microphone issue controversy, Google will reportedly offer up to $500 to affected customers.
The Google Pixel and the Pixel XL were, for the most part, exceptional devices when they launched back in 2016. They were the first devices to mark the death of the Nexus legacy, and also signified a big change of direction for Google in several aspects. Nowadays, they're still receiving love---they even have Android Q! However, as good as they were, they also had certain flaws going on. One of them being a microphone-related issue---certain Pixel and Pixel XL devices came with defective microphones.
Google may be facing class-action lawsuit over Location History tracking
Google may be facing a class-action lawsuit over misrepresentations of what switching off location history meant on your smartphone.
Recently, it was found that despite users switching off location history on their Android smartphones, Google was storing some location data of users on their servers. This isn't the first time they've been questioned over similar practices, though it doesn't appear anything came of it that time. Previously, the company said "You can turn off Location History at any time. With Location History off, the places you go are no longer stored." This turned out not to be true, as the company still saved information from the likes of Google Maps. Now they may be facing a class-action lawsuit in the US according to a report from ArsTechnica.
WhatsApp sends Cease & Desists for apps that use native Android APIs
WhatsApp has sent out cease and desist letters to some developers claiming they violate the service's ToS despite using native Android APIs.
WhatsApp is one of the most popular applications available on smartphones to date with over a billion active users per day. Bought by Facebook back in 2014 for $19 billion, skeptics feared how the application would be managed from there on out. Fortunately for users, it seems that little has changed despite some concerning developments behind the scenes. Unfortunately for developers, there's been one area where we wish the company had changed: their stance towards third-party developers. The company is sending out a new round of Cease and Desist letters to independent Android app developers, but this time their claims have a lot less merit.