Law and Innovation

Fresh and interesting news from Reuters concerning Jingdong Mall (JD.com), the Chinese electronic commerce company founded in 1998, which filed for a $1.50 billion IPO. Investors are still waiting for Alibaba's IPO filing. "JD.com, China's second-largest e-commerce company behind Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, said on Thursday it plans to raise up to $1.5 billion in an initial public offering in the United States. JD.com, which said in December it expected to top 100 billion yuan ($16.51 billion) in annual sales for the first time, is riding on China's booming e-commerce industry as internet penetration surges in the world's most populous nation. Business-to-consumer online sales in China are expected to surpass $180 billion this year, according to market research firm eMarketer. JD.com has managed in the past six years to secure $2.23 billion from foreign investors, including the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan and Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin T...

Fresh and interesting BREAKING NEWS! ( from BI) . "There are several reports out now, one  from Reuters , one from TechCrunch , and one from  China Daily , that Lenovo is going to buy Motorola Mobility from Google for $2 billion to $3 billion. If the reports are true, this would be a huge writedown for Google. Google bought Motorola for $12.5 billion.Motorola has been running semi-independently from Google since the acquisition went through. Last year, Motorola released its first flagship phone since becoming a Google company, the Moto X. The Moto X was well-reviewed, but it's unclear how many were sold. Motorola has steadily been dropping the Moto X's price since the launch last fall.We've reached out to Google for comment and will update when we get a response. Google reports earnings tomorrow, so the company may wait until then to make a formal announcement". Here is the message from the Official Blog of Google: "We’ve just signed an agreeme...

Fresh and interesting article from The Columbus Dispatch concerning a San Diego County Traffic Court case which found a California woman not guilty after being cited for wearing the computer-in-eyeglass device while driving ( i.e . Google Glass). "SAN DIEGO — A California woman thought to be the first person cited for wearing Google Glass while driving won her case last week, but legal experts predict that it’s only the beginning of numerous court battles fought in the gap between today’s laws and fast-arriving technology. Cecilia Abadie was found not guilty last week after being cited for wearing the computer-in-eyeglass device while driving. San Diego County Traffic Court Commissioner John Blair said there was no proof beyond a reasonable doubt that the device was operating while she was driving. But Blair stopped short of ruling that it is legal to drive while Google Glass is activated. Abadie was cited under a code banning operation of a video or TV screen a...

Fresh and interesting article from TechCrunch concerning the decision from the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals that ruled that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) doesn’t have the authority to require ISPs to treat all traffic equally; more precisely that the FCC does not have the power to regulate how ISPs manage traffic on their networks.  JFYI : The “ Network neutrality ” is sometimes called “Internet freedom” or “Internet openness” and is a legal principle that would forbid cable and phone companies like AT&T, Verizon, and Comcast from blocking some websites or providing special priority to others. It would forbid Comcast from, e.g . blocking Facebook or Bing. "In a decision that could have far-reaching consequences, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals today struck down the FCC’s Open Internet Order. That Order, put into force in 2010 by then-chairman Julius Genachowski, was designed to make it so that broadband service providers couldn’t meddle w...

Fresh and interesting article from TechCrunch about Google's new acquisition Nest Labs which  makes Internet connected thermostats and smoke detectors:  "Google is acquiring connected device company Nest for $3.2B. Google sent out an email to employees noting the acquisition today and later issued a press  release . In the release, Google noted that Nest has been offering its best-selling thermostat since 2011 and recently began offering the Protect smoke alarm, which networks with its other devices. Nest Founders Tony Fadell and Matt Rogers will both join Google. Rogers, pictured above, was one of the first engineers on the iPhone team at Apple. “They’re already delivering amazing products you can buy right now–thermostats that save energy and smoke/CO alarms that can help keep your family safe,” said Google CEO Larry Page in a statement. “We are excited to bring great experiences to more homes in more countries and fulfill their dreams!” Fadell, who ...

New interesting research provides empirical evidence that file sharing did not reduce the creation of new hit songs. Instead, MORE NEW MUSIC entered the hit charts, an effect that’s driven by existing artists. The research is available at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2372630 Follow me on Twitter   @tdubuisson or check my professional profile on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasdubuisson

Fresh and interesting  article from the famous IPWatchdog website  about the meaning of 'patent trolls'; who can be considered as one, and how should we stop them. "With the enormous media focus on the so-called problem of patent trolls one might start to think that any patent owner can easily stand up to and take on industry giants to obtain lottery like winnings. Not so fast! The great irony is that if you want a larger entity to fold like a cheap suit and settle quickly you would be better off filing a frivolous patent infringement lawsuit using a dubious patent. You see, the great irony is this: Only when large entities get sued on completely frivolous patent claims do they settle right away. Now I’m not advocating that course of action, rather just observing the truth of the matter asserted.   On the other hand, if you have a strong patent that covers real technology, perhaps pioneering technology, and there are substantial damages, the tech giants ...

Fresh and interesting  article from Mashable  about 2014's tech trends:  "Major innovations and tech sea-changes were few and far between in 2013. Unfortunately, what usually follows major advancements are refinements. These days, innovation tends to happen on a nano-scale, which means most people cannot see or experience that evolution.   LCD display technology, for instance, has been around for decades; the changes we’ve lately seen in screen size, width and resolution have, mostly, refined that original idea. Same with Flash-based and solid state storage. We make the technology smaller and more stable but rarely change the fundamentals.   Like 2013, 2014's tech trends may not fundamentally change our lives, but they will improve, alter and, on occasion, impede and frustrate our day-to-day activities. Bear with me a moment as I gaze into our hazy digital future. Here are a few predictions to emerge from the gloom.   1. Smart Home Tech Explosion...