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Apple has been asked to whopping USD 308.5 million for infringing a patent. The tech giant has been asked to pay the amount to Personalized Media Communications LLC (PMC). The decision is related to the digital rights management of the company. The company has been directed by the jurors to pay a running royalty to it. The royalty is usually based on the sales of a service or product. Personalized Media Communications is a licensing firm and had sued Apple in 2015. The firm alleged that iTunes of the tech giant infringed seven of its patents.

Apple had challenged the case filed by the PMC at a patent office in the United States. But in March last year, an appeals court paved the way for the trial by reversing the decision. The iPhone has not immediately commented on the development. However, Apple told a media organization that it was disappointed by the ruling. The company is reportedly planning to appeal against the ruling. The tech giant said that cases like these not only stifle innovation but also harm consumers. “It is very discouraging. When companies like these, which neither make nor sell any products file cases, it ultimately harms consumers. This needs to be checked for the overall benefit of our consumers,” Apple was quoted as saying in a report.

It is worth mentioning that Texas-based Personalized Media Communications has an infringement case pending against several other companies. These companies include Google, Netflix, and even Amazon. Earlier in January last year, Apple and Broadcom were ordered to pay USD 1.1 billion for infringing patents on Wi-Fi technology of the California Institute of Technology. According to lawyers for CalTech, Apple had to pay USD 837.8 million. Broadcom was ordered to pay USD 270 million. These technology companies were sued over a range of patents. These patents were related to wireless data transmissions. Reports suggest that it was the sixth-largest patent verdict ever.

Despite things returning back to normal, job cuts are something that many sectors are still witnessing. The latest job cuts have been announced by Volkswagen. The German automaker has said that it will cut thousands of jobs in Germany by offering older employees partial retirement. People privy with the development said that positions would be cut across various plants of company in Germany. This would be done under the retirement plan that was announced by Volkswagen earlier. Earlier there were some reports that the carmaker is planning to cut at least 5,000 jobs.

The carmaker said that a plan has been agreed upon with the work council. The company in a statement also said that it would offer partial early retirement to those employees who were born from 1956 to 1960. The early retirement plan will cost Volkswagen hundreds of millions of euros. The carmaker has not disclosed any figures and refused to comment on the development. A person privy with the development said that it would cost around USD 598 million to Volkswagen. The German car manufacturer said that around 900 employees are expected to the offer of early retirement.

The company said that according to its estimate, a few thousand will go for partial retirement. There are reportedly 120,000 people working in plants of the carmaker in Germany. Volkswagen also that the hiring freeze would continue and has been extended to the end of 2021. Earlier, it had announced that it would continue till the end of the first quarter. The development comes days after the carmaker lost the number 1 position in the world of being the largest carmaker to Toyota. The company reportedly sold around 9.5 million vehicles globally in the last year to grab the first. This was slightly more than 9.3 vehicles sold by Volkswagen in the same period. For the uninitiated, Volkswagen has 12 brands which include Seat, Audi, and Porsche.

Taking serious note of password sharing, Netflix has started a new test that tells borrowers to create their own accounts and sign in using them. The test is fully blocking users from using the shared account. The testing is meant to stop people from sharing passwords with people who are not members of the same household. The message sent by Netflix reads, “You must sign in from your account to continue watching Netflix if you are not living with the owner of this account.” The message promoted users to sign up for ‘free today.’ Commenting on it, a company spokesperson said that Netflix keeps doing ‘hundreds’ of such tests every year with select customers.

The streaming giant in a statement said that these tests are being done to make sure that people using Netflix accounts are authorized to use it and have not borrowed it from anyone else. The test could simply be a part of account security and may not lead to a crackdown on those using the passwords of others. According to a research firm, there is around 33 percent of users share their login passwords with at least one another person. Netflix does not give the option of screen sharing in its basic plan. However, the standard plan of the company allows users to watch Netflix on two screens simultaneously. While the basic plan costs USD 8.99 per month, the standard plant can cost USD 13.99.

So far the company has not done anything to stop users from sharing passwords. This is because the huge growth in subscribers along with the growing stock price is enough to offset any concern related to loss of revenue. Earlier this year, Netflix announced that it has topped over 200 million subscribers. The growth is despite the strong competition from other such platforms including AT&T’s HBO Max, Disney+, ViacomCBS’s Paramount+, and NBCUniversal’s Peacock. This is extremely important for the company as most of the players started making their presence felt during the lockdown.

Goggle and Microsoft are loggerheads over the bill that would make media organizations make a deal with teach giants over how their content is distributed. The search engine giant has now accused Microsoft of undercutting a rival by ‘breaking the way the open web works.’ This has reignited the long-dormant row between the two companies. Microsoft has cleared its stand over the matter and said that it is full-heartedly supporting the proposed Australian law. The tech giant made it clear that its stand on the law is not going to change even if Facebook and Google oppose it. Also, Microsoft president Brad Smith recently appeared for a hearing over the content distribution law.

Smith, in a lengthy blog post, argued that it has become extremely difficult for media organizations to monetize the traffic as most of the profit is take away by Google. “Google has in a sense transformed itself into the main destination for news. This has helped Google owning the relationship with the reader and also relegating available news content to a commodity input,” he said in the post. Responding to it, Google senior vice-president of global affairs Kent Walker said that the move by Microsoft is nothing but ‘naked corporate opportunism.’ Walker accused Microsoft of doing everything to break the way the open web has been functioning. “It is doing so just to undercut a rival,” he said.

The two companies are known rivals for years and often fight through antitrust cases. But both the companies reached an agreement in 2016 and agreed to withdraw all competition complaints. At the moment, these companies are competitors on fronts like search, cloud computing, video conferencing, and email, among other areas. The companies have once again locked horns as the bipartisan bill has been reintroduced. The bill seeks to shift commercial power from tech platforms to the struggling news organization. The bill has been introduced weeks after a similar law was approved by Australia. The bill has been supported by Microsoft.

Some of the biggest airlines in the United States have decided to cancel thousands of furloughs after the House passed the stimulus package earlier this week. The landmark package has earmarked a fixed budget for them. The package has averted thousands of job losses that were eminent because of the pandemic. The support will help airlines to pay employees their payments. American Airlines has informed around 13,000 employees that the furlough warning issued last month has been canceled. The information shared in a form memo circulated by president Robert Isom and chief executive officer Doug Parker.

“This is for or 13,000 colleagues who received notification regarding worker adjustment and retraining last month. We are delighted to say that those are happily canceled. You can now tear them up!” the leadership of the airline said in the memo. Similarly, United Airlines has withdrawn furlough notices issued to 14,000 employees. The furloughs were supposed to into effect next month. The announcement regarding the furloughs was made by airlines in 2020. They made the announcement in anticipation that the CARES Act won’t be renewed as there was a leadership change in the United States. But with the stimulus package announced by Congress, these airlines have now a ray of hope and are taking measures to makes sure that no one losses a job.

As part of the relief bill, the airline industry will get USD 1 billion for the eligible contractors and USD 14 billion to support workers. The relief bill makes sure that these companies won’t fire any employees through September 30. Airlines have been at the receiving end ever since the coronavirus pandemic struck. The pandemic-led lockdown grounded all the flights which resulted in huge losses to the industry. International Air Transport Association has estimated that the global revenue losses for the industry in 2020 were something between USD 63 billion and USD 113 billion. The IATA also said that the industry will take at least three years to reach pre-pandemic levels.

Following the sneaker reselling scandal, Nike has decided to make some major changes at the senior leadership level. The company has named a new head for its North America business after Ann Hebert resigned over the resale business controversy. The sportswear giant has now named Sarah Mensah as the new vice president and general manager of Nike North America. The announcement by the company was prefaced with a note that the main of the company is to focus on Consumer Direct Acceleration. But a lot of attention has been given to the name that has replaced Hebert.

Mensah earlier worked as the general manager and vice president of Nike’s Latin America and Asia Pacific region operations. Before joining the company, she worked as the Chief Operating Officer with NBA’s Portland Trailblazers. There are some other executive-level changes in the company. Under this, Amy Montagne has been appointed as the vice president and general manager of the Asia Pacific and Latin America region. They both will directly report to Heidi O’Neill, president of consumer and marketplace at Nike. Commenting on the development, O’Neill said that both of them are very dynamic leaders. “They have required expertise and deep experience for these important roles. Mensah has demonstrated her ability to deliver on various occasions and I look forward to bringing positive changes. Amy has huge experience across global categories of the company and it will be instrumental in the growth,” said O’Neill.

Also, Aaron Cain will be the new vice president and general manager of the Men’s category. Cain has been with the company since 2004 and has worked in various capacities. Cain will have direct reporting to Michael Spillane, President of Consumer Creation. The change in leadership started after the resale scandal was reported. Ann Hebert’s son was involved in the scandal. Joe is a college dropout and used computer programs to purchase shoos even before they were released online. He then resold them at a higher price and made a good amount of profit.

The non-fungible token or NFT is a rage these days and Twitter chief executive officer Jack Dorsey is the latest entrepreneur to join the bandwagon. Dorsey has listed his first-ever tweet for sale on a platform called “Valuables.” It is a platform that allows creators to buy and sell tweets autographed by them. He has shared the link where his first tweet posted on March 21, 2006, is up for bidding. “just setting up my twttr” was not just the first by Dorsey but also the ever on the platform. There are several bidders who have come forward to buy the tweet with the unique digital signature of the creator.

The highest bid so far is USD 2.5 million. The bid has been put by Bridge Oracle CEO Sina Estavi. People started to bid as soon as the Twitter CEO shared the link of the platform ‘Valuables by Cent’ on the microblogging site. Some of the old bids for Dorsey’s tweet suggest that it was put for sale in December last year. However, it got major attention after Dorsey himself shared the information on Twitter. The 15 years old tweet by Dorsey is one of the most popular tweets ever and therefore it is expected that the bidding amount can go even higher.

Earlier, cryptocurrency pioneer Justin Sun increased the bid to USD 2 million. Sun had earlier won the auction for Warren Buffett’s charity dinner. For the uninitiated, Valuables use a digital ledger – a blockchain – similar to those used by cryptocurrencies for keeping a record of the ownership. But unlike most of the cryptocurrencies, there is no exchange offer available here. This means that a buyer cannot exchange one non-fungible token for another. NFTs can’t be duplicated and act as a collector’s item. This has become a trend these days. Several artists have been bidding their content. Recently, a digital rendition of the Nyan Cat was sold for a whopping USD 600,000 in an online auction.

At a time when the aviation industry has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, there is some good news for Boeing. Reports suggest that Boeing is likely to get a fresh order from Southwest Airlines for the 737 MAX. People familiar with the development said that the deal would make sure that the most important customers of the airline stay an all-Boeing carrier. To be specific, Southwest Airlines is planning on over 100 firm orders. The airline will place an order for the 737 MAX 7, the smallest version of the 737 MAX. The development comes months after Southwest CEO Gary Kelly said that it is looking for options to replace its 143-seat 737-700 aircraft. Kelly said that he was looking between the Airbus A220 and the new 737 MAX 7.

The airline has a fleet of more than 470 smaller jets. Any decision by the airlines to opt for Airbus aircraft would have been dealt a huge blow to Boeing. It could have created a lot of trouble for the planemaker as it reported a record net loss of around USD 12 billion. Southwest currently has all 737 fleets and opting for the expensive proposition because it’s almost two years since the MAX was grounded. People who know the development of the deal said that Boeing has been able to almost finalize the deal.

They also say that it would be the first order by the airlines and many more will follow. This is because Southwest is looking to phase out all its older planes in the fleet. If finalized, the deal will bring back the focus to MAX and gain traction in the market. This also signals that airlines, which faced the toughest time in aviation history after the coronavirus pandemic struck last year, are now ready to buy. The airlines have been taking several steps to increase the footfall of passengers. They are trying to build confidence in passengers that air traveling is as safe as it used to be in the pre-pandemic era.

When the coronavirus pandemic brought the aviation industry to a grinding halt, Boeing chief executive officer David Calhoun decided to forgo his salary for 2020. Calhoun gave USD 3.6 million in salary and bonuses as the industry witnessed one of the worst phases. As a result, he got just USD 269,231 in salary and almost the same amount in perks, according to a regulatory filing. Calhoun took this decision because the company was not only facing a downturn because of the pandemic but also saw a decline in demand for planes following deadly crashes involving the 737 Max jetliner. But Calhoun still received compensation of around USD 21 million.

According to the company, the CEO gave up around USD 3.6 million after he decided not to accept a salary for 2020. He also gave up around USD 2.5 million in bonus. Despite all this, he earned over USD 21 million in compensation. Most of his compensation is in the form of stock benefits. Assuming that Calhoun remains in the position, he will be able to get all the money. The compensation also includes USD 7 million worth of stock for bringing back the Max into service. Max jetliner was grounded in 2019. USD 10 billion is to compensate for the payment after he left his job at The Blackstone Group. Around 3.5 million has been awarded as a long-term incentive. This compensation would vest over in the course of the next three years.

63 years old Calhoun was a board member for a long time before becoming CEO in 2019. He replaced Dennis Muilenburg who was fired amid crisis following two fatal crashes of 737 Max. The last few months have been a roller coaster ride for the aerospace giant. Things went for worst when the global coronavirus pandemic struck. All this led to a loss of around USD 12 billion. The company had to announce around 30,000 job cuts to cover up the losses. Calhoun has now been entrusted with the responsibility of bringing back the sheen that the company has lost.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has dragged AT&T to the court for allegedly sharing non-public information with some selective Wall Street analysts. AT&T is being accused of sharing the information with at least 20 different analyst firms. The information would help these firms lower revenue estimated ahead of earnings. The SEC also alleged in the complaint that AT&T got to know in March 2016 that its revenue would fall short of estimates made by analysts. This was because of the larger than expected dip in the sales of smartphones in the first quarter. The information-sharing helped AT&T beat expectations for the quarter.

In order to avoid it, AT&T Investor Relations executives Kent Evans, Christopher Womack, and Michael Black allegedly disclosed internal sales data to analysts of 20 firms. They also told analysts how it would impact the revenue of the company. The SEC claimed that the data cannot be selectively shared under the Fair Disclosure Regulation (Regulation FD). As per the regulation, a level playing field should be maintained. This can be insured by making the information public when shared with certain analysts and market professionals. After the information was shared, revenue estimates were lowered by analysts. Because of this, the consensus estimate came a little below what AT&T eventually reported.

SEC alleged in the complaint that the CFO of the company told the department of investor relations to ‘work’ analysts. These analysts had ‘too high’ equipment estimates. AT&T has issued a lengthy statement following the complaint. The statement said that the move by SEC is a departure from its own Regulation FD enforcement policy. AT&T also said that the suit is inconsistent with regard to whom all took part in these conversations. It said that the information that was discussed with analysts “was related already widely reported subsidy programs for new smartphone purchases.” AT&T said that taking the matter to the court will in no way protect investors.

A federal jury has asked Intel to pay a whopping amount of USD 2.18 billion for infringing two patents of a semiconductor. The jury has asked the tech giant to pay the money after it lost a patent infringement trial. The Texas jury said that the company infringed patents owned by VLSI Technology. Interestingly, the company has not existed for around two decades. The jury found USD 675 million for infringement of one patent and USD 1.5 billion for the other. The jury rejected the argument by Intel in the matter and also didn’t buy arguments that one of the two patent infringement cases was invalid as it included work done by professionals of Intel.

VLSI came from nowhere in 2019 just to sue Intel for patent infringement. It was a free company before 1999 when the semiconductor design was purchased by Philips for USD 1 billion. The assets were later transferred to Philips spinoff NXP. Reports suggest that NXP will get a cut of damage award that Intel will pay. VLSI has no products and the only way of making money for the company is through this lawsuit. Intel lawyer William Lee said that the two patents were not used for several years and the company said they want USD billion. “This is a completely outrageous demand by VLSI and it would tax innovators,” he said.

While Intel has pledged to appeal, Lee argued that the company deserved to be paid no more than USD 2.2 million. “Intel strongly believes that our appeal will prevail.” VLSI lawyer stated that inventions that increase the power and speed of processors are covered under the patents. Reports suggest that both the patents were transferred to VLSI in 2019. Earlier to this, one was given to Freescale Semiconductor Inc in 2012 and the other to SigmaTel Inc in 2010. VLSI lawyer said that Intel purposely avoids finding out if it was using the invention of someone else.

As coronavirus pandemic has changed the way people used to shop, more and more companies are shifting focus to online retail. Best Buy is also concentrating on the online store as it continues to struggle with the low sales on its stores. The company is also reducing the workforce to make up for losses. It has so far laid off around 21,000 workers over the last year. Most of them were furloughed during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the company said that it trimmed its headcount by 5,000 recently. Best Buy said that it will replace these workers with 2,000 part-time workers.

The company started closing its stores last year during the pandemic and furloughed workers. At present, the company is working with around 102,000 workers, almost 17 percent less than what it had a year before. The year 2020 has been a tough one for many businesses. While some adjusted losses by trimming the workforce, others had no option but to shut down the business. Recently, electronic giant Fry’s announced permanent closures of all its stores. But Best Buy seems to be in a little more comfortable position and has weathered the COVID-19 pandemic fairly well. The main reason is that its online sale has registered impressive growth. Reports suggest that online sales were up by around 89 percent.

In the fourth quarter that ended on January 31, the online sales of Best Buy accounted for 43 percent of the total sales of the company. This was up by around 25 percent when compared to 2019. Best Buy believes that this shift in shopping trends is almost permanent. And this is why it is reducing its physical retail presence and trying to adjust to the new market reality. The company said that traditional physical stores have become less relevant and this is why it has been closing around 20 stores every year for the last two years. The company is expected to accelerate the process in the coming days. Out of 1,000 stores of the company, leases of around 450 stores are about to expire in the next three years. The company said that renewing a lease always requires rigorous evaluation but it will have a higher threshold in the future.