New Technology Reviews!.: general-counsel

Three UK takes legal action over NFC consortium

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Three UK has filed a complaint with the EU over the proposed near field communications (NFC) payment consortium consisting of Vodafone, Everything Everywhere and O2.</div>
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The three major networks hope to develop a mobile wallet project that uses a pay as you go system on NFC chips that allow users to 'tap and pay' in shops and cafes.</div>
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Regulators are yet to give Vodafone, Everything Everywhere and O2 the go ahead, but Three isn't hanging around, having filed the legal action with the EU's antitrust authorities.</div>
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Stephen Lerner, Three's general counsel, describes the networks' consortium as a "cosy collaboration" and said that the EU "should not allow this type of collaboration to go forward under any circumstances.</div>
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"Excluding the maverick raises serious competition concerns. It has serious implications for both consumers and wider business as the internet continues to move mobile."</div>
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NFC is on the cusp of taking off in a big way, with Google throwing its weight behind the technology and Apple rumoured to be including an NFC chip in the new iPhone 5; clearly the UK's mobile network operators want a slice of the NFC pie.</div>
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Three UK takes legal action over NFC consortium

Three UK has filed a complaint with the EU over the proposed near field communications (NFC) payment consortium consisting of Vodafone...

We did invite Google to join patent bid, says Microsoft

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Microsoft claims that it did ask Google to join the Nortel patent bid along with Apple and Oracle, but Google declined.</div>
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Frank Shaw, Microsoft's corporate communications head, took to Twitter to post a screenshot of an email from Kent Walker, Google's general counsel, in which the company decides not to join the patent coalition.</div>
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The email, sent in October 2010, reads, "After talking with people here, it sounds as though for various reasons a joint bid wouldn't be advisable for us on this one."</div>
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The snarky tweet from Microsoft comes in response to Google's spiky blog post that accuses the tech giants of carrying out a "hostile, organised campaign against Android" by buying up the patents.</div>
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Microsoft, Apple and Oracle in a group known as CPTN bought the patents for $3.5 billion more than the predicted price.</div>
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Google hinted in its blog post that "these deals are likely to draw regulatory scrutiny", which suggests that it has its legal teams raring to fight any patent claims tooth and nail.</div>
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While one email doesn't give us a clear picture of the situation, it certainly achieves Microsoft's aim of making Google look a bit silly.</div>
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Who can really be the winner in this great patent war? Not, we suspect, the buyers of phones.</div>
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We did invite Google to join patent bid, says Microsoft

Microsoft claims that it did ask Google to join the Nortel patent bid along with Apple and Oracle, but Google declined. Frank Shaw, M...