THX Files Suit Against Apple Over 'Narrow Profile Speaker'

Bloomberg reports that THX, the sound innovation company that traces its origins to George Lucas and Lucasfilm 30 years ago, has filed suit against Apple in U.S. District Court over alleged infringement of a speaker patent by the iMac, iPhone and iPad product lines.

THX holds a 2008 patent for a speaker unit that can boost sound output and attach to computers or flat-screen televisions, according to a complaint filed yesterday in federal court in San Jose, California.

THX is claiming that the infringement has caused it "monetary damage and irreparable harm" and is seeking either an order to stop the alleged infringement and a reasonable royalty or damages to compensate THX for any lost profit.

The sound company alleges that undisclosed iPad and iMac models, as well as the iPhone 4S and iPhone 5, are infringing upon the patent. As noted by AppleInsider, the device that most resembles THX's patent is the newly redesigned iMac, which features long channels that allow audio to be projected from the thin bottom edge of the machine.

There is of course still a chance for the two companies to reach a settlement, as the deadline for Apple to meet with THX and its counsel over initial disclosure is May 14, with initial disclosures due on June 7 and the initial case management conference a week later on June 14.

If the two sides do not agree on a settlement, Apple's arguments in court will likely hinge on disputing the patent's validity.

Notably, Tom Holman, creator of the original THX standard, joined Apple in mid-2011 to provide "technical direction" on the company's audio efforts.

THX also has a presence on Apple's App Store for iOS devices in the form of THX tune-up, an app released in January that allows users to calibrate televisions and surround sound systems. [Source]

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AMD Points The Finger At Old Employees For Stealing 100K Documents

AMD filed a complaint yesterday alleging that four of its former employees—one former vice-president and three former managers—transferred sensitive AMD documents before joining competing graphics chip maker NVIDIA and then violated a “no-solicitation of employees” promise. The company alleges that Robert Feldstein, Manoo Desai, Nicolas Kociuk collectively downloaded over 100,000 files onto external hard drives in the six months before leaving the company. All three and another manager, Richard Hagen, were accused of recruiting AMD employees after leaving for NVIDIA.

The most senior person accused in AMD's complaint is Robert Feldstein, who was the vice president of strategic development at AMD until his departure for AMD's competitor. ExtremeTech notes that, “Feldstein was behind the work that landed AMD the Wii U... and Xbox Durango. He also worked closely with Microsoft during the Xbox 360′s development cycle and brought that contract to ATI prior to AMD’s acquisition.” In the complaint, AMD says that after Feldstein and Hagen left, they recruited Desai, who then recruited Kociuk “and perhaps additional AMD employees to leave AMD for competitor NVIDIA.”

AMD says it forensically analyzed the former employees' computers and found additional evidence that “Desai and Kociuk conspired with each other to misappropriate AMD's confidential, proprietary, and/or trade secret information; and/or to intentionally access AMD's protected computers, without authorization and/or in a way that exceeded their authorized access.”

The chip maker asked for injunctive relief from the court in its complaint, hoping to recover the files which it says it has forensic evidence of the four defendants taking. It also filed a restraining order against the four employees, which was granted. The order requires Feldstein, Desai, and Kociuk to retain all of their AMD property and preserve all computers in their ownership for forensic evaluation. Mr. Hagen was only ordered to refrain from recruiting anymore AMD employees. [ARSTechnica]

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