Mobile dealers sentenced for £1.6 million clawback fraud

Mobile phone dealers Jonathan Shulton and James Cahill have been convicted of fraud at Southwark Crown Court for their parts in a £1.6 million abuse of commission schemes. They'd claimed commission for connecting new customers and then liquidated their companies before networks had the opportunity to realise that the connections were fraudulent. Following a Serious Fraud Office investigation, Jonathan Shulton has been sentenced to a total of 27 months imprisonment, with James Cahill sentenced to a 240 hours community punishment order. [Press release]

Apple sued over iPhone browser

Law firm Jeffer, Mangels, Butler & Marmaro has filed a patent infringement lawsuit on behalf of EMG Technology against Apple, accusing Apple of infringing US Patent 7,441,196 in the way the iPhone navigates the internet. The patent covers internet content reformatted to XML; the format used by the iPhone and other mobile devices. [Sources: MarketWatch.com; TheRegister.co.uk]

Ofcom ends Phones 4U investigation

Ofcom has closed its 6-month investigation into the activities of Phones 4U after persuading the retailer to change its handset return policy, its chequeback terms and its sales practices. It says Phones 4U had been acting in a way that breached aspects of the Sale of Goods Act 1979, the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977, the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 and the Control of Misleading Advertising Regulations 1988. [Ofcom bulletin]

More iPhone legal action

Someone else is taking legal action against the 3G Apple iPhone in the USA. This case, which focusses on 3G capability, is against AT&T and Apple. [Source: AppleInsider.com]

Apple faces 3G iPhone legal action

Jessica Alena Smith from Alabama is taking legal action against Apple, claiming the 3G iPhone doesn't offer the "twice as fast" network connection it advertised. She says the phone only uses 3G 25% of the time and has experienced an "inordinate amount of dropped calls." Ms Smith is hoping her complaint will become a 'class action', which will let others join the legal action. Apple issued a software update last week to improve the iPhone's 3G service. [Source: Macworld.com]

Nokia and Qualcomm settle legal battle

Qualcomm and Nokia have ended the patent dispute that has been going on for several years. The two companies have agreed a new 15-year patent deal to end all ongoing legal action in Europe, the USA and Asia. The specific terms of the agreement are confidential. [Press release]

3 taking rivals to court

3 is taking Vodafone, O2, Orange and T-Mobile to the High Court this week, claiming its rivals have colluded to dissuade potential new customers from transferring their numbers. 3 is currently the UK’s 5^th largest network, with around 7% of the national subscriber base. It is suing for up to £250 million, although there are suggestions it has little proof and is ‘fishing’ for information. [Source: TimesOnline.co.uk]