iCourt: Season 2?

*Samsung calls for new trial, Apple seeks $707 million more in damages

By Kim Yoo-chul, Cho Mu-hyun

Samsung Electronics has officially requested a U.S. court to throw out a decision by a San Jose jury, which found the Korean technology giant guilty of copying the look and feel of Apple’s iPhones and iPads.

In legal papers submitted to U.S. Federal Judge Lucy Koh late Friday (local time), Samsung claimed the need for a new trial because it believes the jury’s verdict to award $1.05 billion to Apple in damages wasn’t backed sufficiently by testimony and evidence. Apple wasn’t pulling any punches either as it filed for an additional $707 million from Samsung in damages and interest.

``Because the jury verdict form didn’t allow identification of damages on a claim-by-claim basis (per Apple’s request), if even one patent infringement or trade dress issue is overturned on a judgment as a matter of law (JMOL), then the Court needs to vacate the entire damages amount,’’ read Samsung’s letters, which were exclusively obtained by The Korea Times.

``Because the jury verdict form awarded Apple by totaling a single damages number for each product found for patent infringement and/or trade dilution and failed to distinguish reasonable royalty, lost profits and Samsung’s profits, the jury’s award is unclear and therefore should be reversed.’’

Samsung argued that Apple representatives failed to provide sufficient evidence to support the company’s claims of patent infringement and damages over trade dress dilution. It also said that the claims that Samsung gained $950 million from infringing on Apple’s patents and Apple lost $91 million from it were never supported by clear-cut evidence or testimony. Samsung is also demanding Apple to prove it lost $9 million in royalties income.

``Over 90 percent of the jury’s total damages award is attributable to the jury taking 40 percent of what Apple claimed were Samsung’s profits, but Apple failed to show that the infringing features were worth 40 percent of total profits,’’ Samsung said.

According to Samsung, some of Apple patents such as the rounded corners of D’677, black surface of D’087 and GUI of D’305 are minor features among many functions and sophisticated technology that make up today’s smartphones.

``Apple at most has the right to these minor features, rather than to the entire smartphone,’’ it said, adding Apple’s own study showed that only 1 percent of iPhone users said that design and color is the reason they chose a phone and just 5 percent of respondents to the JD Power study identified visual appeal for why they purchased a phone.

``Apple failed to show that the patented features drive consumers to buy the accused’s products rather than the many other functions and sophisticated technology of Samsung’s smartphones. Apple failed to show enough capacity to make additional iPhones and iPads … Apple’s expert provided only one lost profits number per accused product assuming that each and every Samsung product infringed all of Apple’s patents and diluted all its trade dress.’’

Apple lowers damage demand

In a separate filing, Apple has lowered the additional damages it seeks from rival Samsung Electronics from trebling the initial damages ordered by a San Jose court to an additional $707 million.

``They lowered the damage at the last minute on Friday after deliberations,’’ said a Samsung official who declined to be named Sunday.

``Apple is flagrantly and cleverly trying to push Samsung into a corner while trying to prove to the contrary that they are not a patent troll,’’ he said. “But adding any amount of additional damages just shows that is exactly what they are.”

The iPhone maker filed a motion Friday to the court for the additional damages and an order for a permanent ban on infringed products and other products of the Suwon-based firm that resemble them.

Out of the additional $707 million, $535 million was for trade dress and other patent violations, while the rest was a calculation by Apple for unaccounted damages it has incurred and or expects to by the end of the year due to Samsung’s infringement.

The new sales ban will likely include the Galaxy S3, Samsung’s latest flagship phone which was excluded in the trial. The handset has sold over 20 million globally since its launch in May. The date of the final verdict is yet to be decided, but both parties expect it to be out by December.

Apple and Samsung have been clashing in a legal tug-of-war over patents that span 10 countries. A recent verdict in Seoul slapped both companies with fines for infringement, while one in Tokyo said Samsung didn’t infringe on Apple’s designs.

The American company started sales of its flagship handset iPhone 5 on Friday (local time) which is expected to be the firm’s biggest hit ever. It also has long-term evolution (LTE) connectivity, which Samsung has patents on and vowed to sue its rival over. Korea has one of the widest dissemination of LTE networks and other countries have been progressively shifting to the next-generation connectivity from third generation.

The two companies are also the world’s biggest sellers of smartphones, currently the most lucrative sector in the information technology industry, and have been fighting for supremacy.

‘Breaking Bad’ 2012 finale recap: Walter White pays old partner Jesse Pinkman a visit

Walter White (Bryan Cranston) in 'Breaking Bad.'

Toward the end of the 2012 finale of AMC’s “Breaking Bad” Sunday night, Walter White (Bryan Cranston) dropped in on his old partner Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul).

Now Walter White randomly “drops in” on people these days about as often as Barbra Streisand sings for spare change on the 7 Train.

But Walt seemed to be genuinely enjoying the visit, because he and Jesse are the only ones who can appreciate all those special moments they shared when they were struggling to build their crystal meth business.

They have great stories, great moments, great memories. Just not the kind you can share with random people at the Christmas party. So once in a while it’s fun to talk about it with someone you know understands, someone who was also in the fraternity and knows the secret handshake.

When they ran out of laughs about the good times, Walter turned to leave and told Jesse he had left “something” for him.

Viewers watched Jesse open it, unsure if it was cash or something that would go “boom” like the thing the late Gus Fring didn’t see coming last year.

It didn’t go boom. Yet. It was a handful of money and a gun, which Jesse quickly understood came with the unspoken warning, “Do the right thing.”

Or someone will do it for you.

Jesse has apparently been drifting since he told Walter he was quitting the meth game because it had become too amoral for him.

Jesse’s not about to rat anyone out. But Walter keeps lowering his tolerance for loose ends at the same time he keeps elevating his ability to deal with them and seemingly face no consequences.

It’s been that kind of year for Walter, who in eight episodes has vaulted from a man in danger on many fronts to a man confident he has outsmarted everyone and has the rewards to show for it.

In a remarkable scene, his wife Skyler (Anna Gunn) takes him to a storage locker to see the stack of money he has made in just three months.

It’s about two feet high and six feet square. “It’s more than we could spend in 10 lifetimes,” she says, and then she asks the real question, which is, “How much is enough?”

She doesn’t know this is like asking Walter, “How high is up?”

She considers it a reasonable question, since she’s pretty sure that unless he extricates himself from the production of crystal meth, someone someday is going to come around and do very bad things to Walter and, worse, his family.

That’s why she arranged several weeks ago to have Uncle Hank the DEA agent and his wife Marie take care of Walter’s and Skyler’s kids.

Jay-Z Gets Assist From Kanye at Made in America

"You've been so good to me, Philadelphia," Jay-Z said moments after wrapping a monumental hour-long headlining performance at his own Budweiser Made in America Festival. "Now I'm gonna be good to you." The rapper’s gift? A seven-song encore from his frequent partner-in-crime, Kanye West, and members of the Chicago emcee’s G.O.O.D. Music crew, which on Saturday included Big Sean, Pusha T, Common and 2 Chainz. The unexpected concert-within-a-concert, which included West hits "Can't Tell Me Nothing" and the crew's latest collaborations, “Mercy," "Way Too Cold" and "New God Flow," was capped off with Jay returning onstage to perform Watch The Throne’s "N***as in Paris" with West as fireworks lit up the Philly sky.

The night, however, was all Jay's. It’s debatable how much curatorial influence the rapper had over the two-day affair, but from the moment he sauntered onstage, bobbing up and down à la Rocky Balboa, and donning a black fitted t-shirt emblazoned with an Egyptian portrait, matching jeans and red-and-black Jordans, Jigga appeared ecstatic to be playing host. In fact, it was often hard for him to contain his elation: at one point in the show he stopped a song mid-verse to admire the throngs of people spread across Fairmount Park. He also made sure to pay his respects to the host city several times throughout the night. ("I have a long love affair with Philadelphia,” he said.)

Fans expecting a setlist heavy on deep cuts may have left feeling slighted: Jay, backed by a seven-piece crack band, stuck to a career-spanning greatest-hits set, dropping turn-of-the-century cuts like "Big Pimpin'" and "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)," as well as contemporary smashes such as "99 Problems" "Empire State of Mind" and "On To The Next One," featuring assistance from Swizz Beats. He did slip in rarities: Memphis Bleek emerged for the Philly-honoring anthem "Murder Marcyville (South Philly N***az)" and Ruff Ryders-compilation classic "Jigga My N***a" also popped up. 

Skrillex, who boarded his now-well-known stage starship and launched off into a practically unabating, hour-long frenzy of his typically wub-centric fare, preceded Jay-Z on a side stage. The show’s captivating 3D projectors and bizarre visuals – think crazed Bollywood dancers and screaming Santas – made for a performance that took the phrase "Festival of Lights" and gave it an epileptic, 21st century update. The set’s only analog moment came near the end, when the DJ waved a lighter during his remix of Benny Benassi’s "Cinema." The crowd, naturally, mimicked him with their cell phones.

Unlike the relentlessly-touring Skrillex, D’Angelo’s set was a rare treat. Aside from a July appearance at Essence Music Festival and a surprise jam session at Bonnaroo with Questlove, the reclusive R&B master hadn’t played a show in the US in over a decade. "It feels so good, Philadelphia," the neo-soul singer said midway through his amped-up set, which he topped off with an extended take on his new funk number "Sugar Daddy." Backed by a 10-piece band, the singer let his frighteningly-fierce falsetto fly and fluttered about the stage armed with a monogrammed, silver-lined flying-V guitar. The highlight came mid-set when he took the stage alone, sitting down at the keyboard for a tender take on his signature hit "Untitled (How Does It Feel)."

With the festival's very first set, Gary Clark Jr. brought his distortion-heavy, up-tempo Southern rock to the parkway, soloing early and often. Festivalgoers who braved peak sunlight were duly rewarded as the Austin-bred songwriter played a new song, "Ain't Messing Around," off an album due out this fall. Clark closed his high-energy and technically sound set with an extended version of his hit song "Bright Lights" that lasted nearly eight minutes. 

The day’s first true spectacle came courtesy of Rick Ross’s Maybach Music Group. The recent Rolling Stone cover star, who unleashed his trademark bark nearly two dozen times over 45 minutes, was joined by his labelmates – Wale, Meek Mill, Rockie Fresh, Stalley – for a mass display of wealth and excess. Each shared the spotlight: Ross charged through cuts new ("Hold Me Back") and old ("Hustlin’"); Philly native Mill cut loose on "House Party"; and Wale got things underway with "Chain Music." 

The dance tent came alive when fans took shelter from the sun for an early-evening performance from Scottish DJ Calvin Harris. A festival fixture, Harris has his 90-minute set down pat: the EDM star let pop-infused kicks, whooshes and thuds rain down on spazzed-out fans, more than one of them wearing a hat that read: "I don't get drunk. I get awesome."

Once Janelle Monae shed the cloak she was wearing when she came onstage mid-afternoon, everyone – the crowd, Monae, and her 13-person, black-and-white-clad backing band – went more than a little nuts. Monae flew through an impeccably-choreographed set that included an inspired cover of the Jackson 5's "I Want You Back." At set's end, she played "Electric Lady," a bouncy, bongo-infused groove off of her forthcoming second album.

Kindle Fire is so successful, we aren't making any more

I've seen some desperate bone-headed, PR moves before, but Amazon's newest is one to long remember. When Apple announces a press event, the InterWebs erupt with speculation about what it can be. When product inventory is low in stores on some fruit-logo product, rumors explode about something new in the pipeline. Amazon has to work harder, issuing today a press release that Kindle Fire has sold out, ahead of next week's press event. Could the retailer be any less subtle, while revealing sales data that is absolutely nothing but meant to be something.

BetaNews founder Nate Mook nails exactly what's wrong with Amazon's gambit to drum up excitement ahead of the September 6 event. Earlier today he forwarded the Kindle-Fire sell-out email, writing: "It's SOOOO successful. So we're not making any more". That sums it up.

From the press release: "Today, Amazon announced that Kindle Fire is sold out, and that in just nine months, Kindle Fire has captured 22 percent of tablet sales in the US". Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos drops the big hint -- just so you won't miss what's coming next week: "Kindle Fire is sold out, but we have an exciting roadmap ahead -- we will continue to offer our customers the best hardware, the best prices, the best customer service, the best cross-platform interoperability, and the best content ecosystem".

Cough, cough, I must wipe a tear for Amazon's tablet, taken away from us after just 48 weeks of sales. Kindle Fire extinguished before its time.

Is the Fire out? Is that what Amazon really means, ahead of the new tablet we surely know must come next week. Kindle Fire flamed out in the Wilcox home. I gave my wife the tablet for Christmas 2011, and she loved it. Nothing could be better. That is until she spent seconds with the Nexus 7 I brought back from Google I/O in June. I ordered hers the next day. She loves Nexus 7 more. I was supposed to Craigslist her Kindle Fire weeks ago. Now that Amazon is sold out, perhaps this weekend will prove worth waiting to post.

Amazon announced Kindle Fire in September 2011 (well, there's another "hint, hint" about what's coming on the 6th) and started selling (beyond preorders) in early November. Amazon claims that Kindle Fire is the top-selling item on the retail site, but doesn't say how many. Then there's the 22 percent tablet sales figure, for which there is no cited source. I wouldn't let one of our writers throw out that kind of data without sourcing it. Says whom?

The sales figures are typical Amazon. Top-selling this or percentage-more that without any hard data by which to measure it. If Bezos goes to the doctor complaining about bladder problems and says he peed five times more today than yesterday or more today than any day this year, the practitioner will want to know how many times previously to make a diagnosis. There needs to be a frame of reference, and Amazon provides nothing.

I like Amazon and frequently shop there. But, geez Louise, today's press release stinks of desperation to drum up something -- even a hint of excitement -- before the big day.

The Real Housewives of New Jersey Recap: Hot Tub of Sour Grapes

The Real Housewives of New Jersey's California vacation finally came to an end and it was all "Hot Tub of Sour Grapes" as Caroline and Teresa went at it. 

When Teresa left Kathy out of her toast last week, was it an unintentional slight or a purposeful shun. In the end it doesn't matter as Kathy turns the focus onto someone else.

Instead of dealing with her own issues, Kathy throws Caroline under the bus.  Minus 12.  Of course she swears she has the best of intentions but is Kathy really that naive?

With everyone listening in on Teresa and Kathy's conversation, am I the only one who hoped that Caroline really would walk over and dunk Teresa's head in the hot tub?  Plus 15.  That could have been awesome but unfortunately we never got to see it.

Instead what we got was a lot of name calling and finger pointing as Caroline says all the things she's waited all season to say. She calls Teresa a liar, a fraud, and a disgrace. Plus 10 for not pulling any punches.  She wants nothing to do with Teresa and she's pretty darn clear about it.

At first Teresa keeps insisting that she loves Caroline.  Apparently in the fabulicious haze that is Teresa world it's OK to slander the people you love in the tabloids.  Minus 11. 

And what's up with Jacqueline.  She lies there and pretends to be asleep like a ten year old.  Minus 8.  At least get up and walk away like a grown up.

As the fight spills over to the boys table Kathy starts to think that maybe she made a mistake getting in the middle of Caroline and Teresa.  Duh!  Minus 13.

At first I loved it when Chris pulled out his smartphone and called out Joe Guidice on his bullsh*t but he still let him weasel out of it so minus 12.  Joe and Teresa are making a lot of money bad mouthing their friends in the press and Caroline seems to be the only one who has had enough.

Teresa tells the ladies she doesn't know how to lie.  Ha!  Plus 5 simply because I can't stop laughing.

But minus 10 because I'm tired of continually going over what Teresa wrote in her stupid cookbook.  She'll swear to her grave that what she wrote was a joke.  She's said that so often I wonder if she now believes it.

Plus 7 to Lauren for trying to jump in and help her mom but I really don't know that Caroline needed the help.  Caroline's right.  Teresa's not family so she has the luxury of walking away.

 

Melissa and Kathy aren't quite that lucky.  I couldn't believe it when Teresa kept grabbing Kathy's face over and over again to make her point.  She really deserved to get smacked for that.  Minus 10.  Sometimes Kathy's just too damn nice.

And as Caroline wondered when this night would end I couldn't help thinking the same thing.  

Will the Gorga / Guidice alliance hold once everyone gets back to Jersey?

Jerry Nelson, Count of 'Sesame Street,' dies at 78

LOS ANGELES  –  Jerry Nelson, the puppeteer behind a delightful menagerie of characters including Count von Count on "Sesame Street" and Gobo Fraggle on "Fraggle Rock," has died. He was 78.

Nelson, who suffered from emphysema, died Thursday night in his Massachusetts home on Cape Cod, the Sesame Workshop said Friday.

"Every description of his characters describes Jerry as well," said "Sesame Street" executive producer Carol-Lynn Parente.
"Silly, funny, vulnerable, passionate and musical, for sure. That voice of his was superb."

Although he'd been in declining health for some time "his attitude was never bad," Parente said Friday. "He was always so grateful for what he had in his life."

"We're having a rough day on the Street," she said.

In a tribute posted online by the nonprofit Sesame Workshop, Nelson was lauded for his artistry and the "laughter he brought to children worldwide" with the Count and other Muppet puppets including Sherlock Hemlock, Herry Monster and the Amazing Mumford.

Nelson was part of other projects featuring Jim Henson's Muppets, including the 1984 movie "The Muppets Take Manhattan" and TV series including the 1980s "Fraggle Rock" and 1990s "Muppets Tonight."

In recent years, Nelson gave up the physically demanding job of operating the Count and other puppets on "Sesame Street" but still voiced the characters, the workshop said. The show's new season launches in September and Nelson's voice will be heard.

In 2010, he released the album "Truro Daydreams," the title that referred to the Massachusetts town.

Survivors include Nelson's wife, Jan, Parente said. Funeral plans were not immediately available.

Liverpool draws 2-2 vs. Manchester City at Anfield

LIVERPOOL, England: Manchester City twice came from behind to secure a hard-earned 2-2 draw against Liverpool in the Premier League at Anfield on Sunday.

Martin Skrtel gave Liverpool the lead with a powerful header from a Steven Gerrard corner in a first half in which Brendan Rodgers' team edged the defending champions.

Yaya Toure equalized for Roberto Mancini's side in the 63rd after Pepe Reina failed to claim a cross that Martin Kelly could not control, allowing Toure to finish from close range.

Luis Suarez restored Liverpool's lead with a perfectly executed low free kick into the corner of Joe Hart's goal.

Skrtel was at fault for City's second with an under-hit pass back toward Reina, which Carlos Tevez ran on to, rounding Liverpool's goalkeeper and slotting into an empty net.

Dangerous inmate tries to escape Lebanon prison

BEIRUT: A dangerous Yemeni inmate, who belongs to the radical Qaeda-inspired Fatah al-Islam group, tried to escape Lebanon’s largest prison, security sources said Saturday.

The sources said prison guards thwarted an attempt Friday by two former Fatah Islam inmates to smuggle out Yemeni prisoner Salim Saleh.

The ex-prisoners, identified as Palestinians Wassim Qambaz and Mahmoud Abdel-Qader, had presented their IDs at the entrance along with a third one that bears the photo of Saleh under the name Hasan Osman.

The Palestinians told the guards that the third man would join them shortly.

However, when the IDs were being photocopied, in line with jail regulations, the prison wardens recognized Saleh’s picture and arrested the two former prisoners.

The detained men confessed that they had been planning to smuggle out Saleh.

Dozens of Islamist prisoners have been held for several years without trial over suspected links to Fatah al-Islam, which fought the Lebanese Army in the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared in 2007.

Following Fatah al-Islam’s defeat, security services sought the arrest of 570 people for involvement with the group.
Since 2007, 147 of the detainees have been released, leaving 98 in custody, according to judicial sources.

Seven of the Islamist detainees were released on bail in June.

Arsenal still goalless in absence of van Persie

LONDON: Both Stoke City and Arsenal remained in search of their first Premier League win of the season after a goalless draw at the Britannia Stadium on Sunday.

A share of the spoils left Stoke 11th and Arsenal 12th in the table, after they had each played two league games.

The Gunners had the best of the chances but, in the absence of star striker Robin van Persie -- sold to Manchester United -- they failed to find the back of the net in a second successive goalless draw.

"It is not good enough," Arsenal midfielder Mikel Arteta told Sky Sports.

"We had some really good chances but at the moment we are not taking them. The same thing happened last week."

But whereas Stoke have sometimes bullied Arsenal at the Britannia, the Gunners stood up to the hosts' physical threat
on Sunday.
"You know if you concede fouls and throw-ins, they can put you in trouble because they get the ball in the box and are really organised at set pieces," Arteta added.

"We didn't concede many chances and were well organised."

Meanwhile, Arteta said it was just a matter of time before new Arsenal signings Olivier Giroud and Lukas Podolski became fully integrated into the Londoners' set-up.

"We need three, four, five games together... They have the quality."

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was pleased by his side's defensive performance but said he was looking to bring in more players before Friday's transfer deadline.

"Our back four did well, our goalkeeper did well," he said. "They (Stoke) are a handful for anyone that comes here.

"I'm pleased with what I have, but yes, I anticipate that we will do something still. We are still in the market. Defensive midfielder, it depends on the quality of the players available."

The Frenchman's Stoke counterpart, Tony Pulis, said: "It was a good result, (but) there are things we are not happy with and can do better.

"We were playing a team on a different level. We have played two difficult games and we are still unbeaten."

Liverpool, bottom of the table after a shock 3-0 defeat by West Bromwich Albion last weekend, are at home to champions Manchester City later on Sunday.

Charbel: no political reasons behind abduction of Kuwaiti national

 Interior Minister Marwan Charbel said the kidnapping of a Kuwaiti national in east Lebanon was not politically-motivated, and that the security forces and Army intelligence are working relentlessly to secure his release, in remarks published Sunday.

Speaking to An-Nahar, Charbel said “preliminary investigation indicates no political reasons” behind the kidnapping of the Kuwaiti citizen.

Issam al-Houty was kidnapped by gunmen in Hawsh al-Ghanam in the eastern Bekaa region outside his house.




Reports said his wife informed the Kuwaiti Embassy of the abduction.

Meanwhile, Kuwait's Ambassador to Lebanon told the Kuwait-based Al-Anbaa newspaper that no party has announced responsibility for the kidnapping yet, denying rumors that a $500,000 ransom was asked in exchange of al-Houty.

Following a spate of kidnappings of Syrian and Turkish nationals along with threats by local groups to target Gulf citizens in tit-for-tat abductions, Kuwait and several other countries issued travel advisories, asking its citizens to avoid traveling to the country.

Kuwait has also said that most of its citizens have been evacuated.

An-Nahar also reported Sunday that 50,000 Kuwait nationals have left the country due to safety concerns.