Tag Archives: Microsoft

Grinding Gears: Celebrity Sues Over Likeness

War, what is it good for?

Video games these days are becoming more life-like than ever. With advanced graphics and new technology, studios are able to push the boundaries on making games similar to live action movies. However, one former football player / professional wrestler has a gear to grind with a certain character in a popular franchise. Lenwood Hamilton is claiming that the character “Cole Train” in the Gears of War video game is based off his own likeness, down to the physical traits and personality. He has filed suit against Microsoft and Epic Games, the games’ creators, and is seeking unspecified damages. Read More

Microsoft Faces Trouble, But Only On the Surface

Windows closed? Not quite.

Tech giants Microsoft are in hot water over their new tablet, the Surface RT; namely their financial reporting.  Although technologically impressive and a comparable product to the Apple iPad, Microsoft’s latest offering did not exactly fly off the shelves.  Low sales and failed expectations led Microsoft to write down about $900 million.  The class-action lawsuit claims Microsoft committed fraud by falsely reporting information to their investors.  The earnings report in the fourth financial quarter of 2013 was, in simple terms, not good. Read more

A Kodak Moment: Patents To Sell for $525 Million

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Picture this…

It seems that film isn’t the only thing Kodak has been developing recently.  The famous digital imaging and photography company agreed to sell their patent portfolio to a large group of companies including Google, Apple, and Facebook.  Eastman Kodak, based in Rochester NY, is monetizing their patents to help recover from a recent bankruptcy.  Economists are predicting that the $525 million agreement will help Kodak re-emerge from Chapter 11 in the first half of 2013.  Amazon, Samsung, and Microsoft are also members of the 12-company group of licensees. Read more