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By Bloomberg

A patent dispute in the U.S. between Tomita Technologies International Inc. and Nintendo Co. has been sent back to a lower court.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit said that a judge incorrectly interpreted a key element in a patent related to the display of 3-D images on a screen without special glasses for the viewer. The misinterpretation then confused the jury, the court said.

Kyoto-based Nintendo appealed the lower court finding that its 3DS gaming system infringed Tokyo-based Tomita’s patent 7,417,664. While the appeals court said the patent element was interpreted correctly, it rejected Nintendo’s argument that the patent was invalid.

The appeals court sent the case back to New York for a new trial based on jury instructions that clarified the confusion over the patent element.

The case is Tomita Technologies USA LLC v. Nintendo Co. Ltd, 2014-1244, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The lower court case is 1:11-cv-04256, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).

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Copyright

Google Won’t Let Pirate Bay Apps Be Sold Through Play Store

Google Inc., creator of the world’s most used Internet search engine, removed some applications from its Play store that are related to Pirate Bay, a website accused of enabling unauthorized downloading, TorrentFreak reported.

Among those removed are “The Pirate Bay Proxy,” “The Pirate Bay Premium” and “Pirate App,” according to TorrentFreak, which posted what it said was Google’s e-mail to the developers whose apps were removed.

According to the e-mail, Google said the apps were removed for violation of “the intellectual property and impersonation or deceptive behavior provisions” of its content policy.

The developer of “Pirate Bay Proxy” said he unsuccessfully appealed his removal, telling Google all his app does is point people to working proxy site, just as any other browser does, according to TorrentFreak.

Google didn’t immediately respond to an e-mail asking about the apps.

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Trade Secrets/Industrial Espionage

Wellogix Tells Court to Keep SAP Suit in U.S., Not Germany

Wellogix Inc., a Houston-based software company, asked a Texas federal court to reconsider its ruling that a trade secrets case against SAP SE and its SAP America unit be heard in Germany.

In a Dec. 5 filing, Wellogix said the court erred in a Nov. 10 decision that the secrets claim didn’t belong in U.S. federal court because of an existing agreement in which the parties consented to German jurisdiction. SAP SE is based in Walldorf, Germany.

Wellogix argued that the defendant, SAP American, is a Delaware corporation, like itself, so U.S. law permitting the federal courts to serve as forums for disputes between parties of diverse citizenship doesn’t apply. And because no federal question is involved in the trade-secrets claims, the Texas court had no jurisdiction to order the case to Germany, Wellogix said.

Instead, Wellogix asked the court to throw out its earlier opinion and final judgment in the dispute and dismiss the case because it lacks jurisdiction.

The case is Wellogix Inc. v. SAP America Inc., 4:14- cv-00741, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas (Houston).

Newly Registered Medical-Marijuana Companies Claim Many Secrets

The two Minnesota companies registered to process and sell medical marijuana to patients in the state asked that much of their corporate information be withheld from applications posted on the Department of Health’s website, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.

The companies -- Leafline Labs LLC and Minnesota Medical Solutions LLC -- have claimed that much of the what they disclosed to state regulators are trade secrets, including such details as the floor plans and lighting protocols in grow rooms, as well as cultivation procedures, according to the Star Tribune.

Manny Munson, an assistant Minnesota health commissioner, told the newspaper the situation with the medical marijuana companies was different from the gas, electric and telephone monopolies the state regulates.

He said that instead of contracting with manufacturers to create cannabis, the state has granted “a sort of de facto license,” according to the Star Tribune.

Trademark

Steaua Dispute Leaves Romanian Soccer Team Without a Name

Steaua Bucharest, Romania’s champion professional soccer team, was told it can’t use its its name, colors and emblem by the nation’s highest court, the Guardian reported.

The team’s trademark registration was canceled Dec. 3, leaving the squad to play a match Sunday as “Champions of Romania” in yellow uniforms, instead of its red and blue, according to the U.K. newspaper.

The dispute is with CSA Steaua Bucurest, a sports club run by the Ministry of National Defense of Romania, the Guardian reported.

The defense ministry did say the team would be permitted to use the name temporarily in a Europa League game Dec. 11 with Dynamo Kiev, according to the Guardian.