Blizzard sues Chinese game developer for ripping off ‘Overwatch’

Protecting its intellectual property, Blizzard is suing Chinese developer 4399 for what looks like a blatant rip-off of its hit game Overwatch. 4399 named the game Heroes of Warfare and if you see the gameplay video above, it does look rather similar to the Blizzard game—from the playable characters to the maps, and even down to the heads-up display. As with other IP infringement lawsuits, Blizzard, together with its Chinese partner NetEase, is asking for 4399 to cease production of its game, monetary compensation for damages, and that the aforementioned game be taken down from the Android and iOS app stores.

Source: Mashable

Samsung wins class action lawsuit in South Korea over the Galaxy Note7

While Samsung is busy preparing for the launch of the Galaxy Note8, it’s still working on the aftermath that the Galaxy Note7 left in its disastrous wake. One of these is a class action lawsuit the company finds itself in its home turf. A group of Galaxy Note7 owners in South Korea filed a case against Samsung for the inconvenience the recall has supposedly caused to them. The claimants for the suit grew to 1,900 people with them claiming KRW 935 million (around CA$1.3 million, around CA$680 per person). But the local court ruled in Samsung’s favour saying that the recall and the inconvenience it might have caused wasn’t “unacceptable.” The company is also facing a similar suit in the US but that case is still ongoing.

Source: GSMArena

Google engineer who penned ‘anti-diversity memo’ gets fired, files labor complaint

If you’re paying close attention to the recent tech news, one of the biggest things to come out of Silicon Valley, or Google to be more specific, is this “anti-diversity memo,” as it’s being called, written by a now ex-Google engineer. James Damore, who’s written the manifesto, was just fired by the company on Monday for “perpetuating gender stereotypes” and violating Google’s code of conduct. Damore was arguing in the memo that the biological differences between men and women are the cause of the gender gap at Google and in the tech industry in general. And he puts to question Google’s diversity efforts. Google CEO Sundar Pichai spoke up, or rather wrote down his thoughts in a note to employees saying, "To suggest a group of our colleagues have traits that make them less biologically suited to that work is offensive and not OK."

On the day Damore was fired, he also filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board in the US saying that Google’s upper management has been “misrepresenting and shaming” him. “I have a legal right to express my concerns about the terms and conditions of my working environment and to bring up potentially illegal behavior, which is what my document does,” Damore told The New York Times. And he seems to have a case on his hands, at least enough to “get through the courtroom door,” as one lawyer points out to Wired that “Damore's lawyer might argue that his memo was protected under California law, because it related to allegedly unequal treatment of employees.”

Source: The Verge

Apple files US$1 billion lawsuit against Qualcomm

Things are getting ugly between Apple and Qualcomm. Apple filed a lawsuit against Qualcomm this Friday claiming the chip manufacturer charges “excessive royalties” and is withholding payments in retaliation for Apple’s cooperation with South Korean regulators that are investigating Qualcomm. Apple is also accusing the chip supplier of charging an “unfair amount” to license its cellular patents. The tech giant is seeking almost US$1 billion in rebate payments, which have been withheld because of Apple’s cooperation in the investigation against Qualcomm.

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