Oracle Sues SAP

Oracle filed a lawsuit in U.S. Federal District Court in the Northern District of California against SAP. Among the claims made against SAP are violations of the Federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and California Computer Data Access and Fraud Act, Unfair Competition, Intentional and Negligent Interference with Prospective Economic Advantage and Civil Conspiracy.

Read the complaint (PDF)

Viacom Files Federal Copyright Infringement Complaint Against YouTube And Google

Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA and VIA.B) today announced that it has sued YouTube and Google in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York for massive intentional copyright infringement of Viacom’s entertainment properties. The suit seeks more than $1 billion in damages, as well as an injunction prohibiting Google and YouTube from further copyright infringement. The complaint contends that almost 160,000 unauthorized clips of Viacom’s programming have been available on YouTube and that these clips had been viewed more than 1.5 billion times.

In connection with the filing, Viacom released the following statement:

“YouTube is a significant, for-profit organization that has built a lucrative business out of exploiting the devotion of fans to others’ creative works in order to enrich itself and its corporate parent Google. Their business model, which is based on building traffic and selling advertising off of unlicensed content, is clearly illegal and is in obvious conflict with copyright laws. In fact, YouTube’s strategy has been to avoid taking proactive steps to curtail the infringement on its site, thus generating significant traffic and revenues for itself while shifting the entire burden – and high cost – of monitoring YouTube onto the victims of its infringement.

This behavior stands in stark contrast to the actions of other significant distributors, who have recognized the fair value of entertainment content and have concluded agreements to make content legally available to their customers around the world.

There is no question that YouTube and Google are continuing to take the fruit of our efforts without permission and destroying enormous value in the process. This is value that rightfully belongs to the writers, directors and talent who create it and companies like Viacom that have invested to make possible this innovation and creativity.

After a great deal of unproductive negotiation, and remedial efforts by ourselves and other copyright holders, YouTube continues in its unlawful business model. Therefore, we must turn to the courts to prevent Google and YouTube from continuing to steal value from artists and to obtain compensation for the significant damage they have caused.”


About Viacom


Viacom is a leading global entertainment content company, with prominent and respected brands. Engaging its audiences through television, motion pictures and digital platforms, Viacom seeks to reach its audiences however they consume content. Viacom’s leading brands include the multiplatform properties of MTV Networks, including MTV: Music Television, VH1, CMT: Country Music Television, Logo, Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite, COMEDY CENTRAL, Spike TV, TV Land, and more than 130 networks around the world, as well as digital assets such as MTV.com, comedycentral.com, VSPOT, TurboNick, Neopets, Xfire and iFilm; BET Networks; Paramount Pictures; DreamWorks; and Famous Music. More information about Viacom and its businesses is available at www.viacom.com

MSFT: Microsoft and Plaintiffs Resolve Iowa Class Action Lawsuit

Class counsel and Microsoft jointly announced that a settlement has been reached in a class action lawsuit that alleged violations of the Iowa Competition Law.

The terms of the settlement are not being disclosed pending preliminary court approval, which is expected in April. The settlement concludes the seven-year case and will provide compensation to individuals and businesses that purchased specified operating system and application software including Word, Excel and Office from May 18, 1994, through June 30, 2006. Details for making claims will be announced this spring.

“We are confident that the settlement is in the best interests of all members of the class and we are deeply grateful for the quality and fairness of the judicial process in Iowa,” said Roxanne Conlin, lead counsel for the class.

“The settlement will provide tremendous benefits for many people throughout the state of Iowa. We are pleased with the results of this litigation and we are pleased that the process worked so well,” Rick Hagstrom, class co-counsel of the firm Zelle Hofmann Voelbel Mason & Gette.

Under the settlement, Microsoft will provide half of any unclaimed proceeds to the Iowa Department of Education to bridge the digital and technical divide in Iowa schools through the purchase of computer hardware and software.

“One of the best aspects of resolving this case is that we can provide much needed resources to underprivileged schools,” said Rich Wallis, associate general counsel for Microsoft. “We’re happy to have this matter behind us so we can focus on the future and build the next generation of products and innovations that enrich the lives of people around the world.”

The Court will consider the joint motion for preliminary approval of the settlement on April 20, 2007. Purchases of Microsoft operating systems covered by this settlement include MS-DOS, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows for Workgroups, Windows NT Workstation, Windows 2000, and Windows XP. Microsoft applications in this settlement mean Word, Excel and Office versions designed for computers with the above MS DOS or Windows operating systems.