A small New York technology firm said Friday it was planning to sue the world top search titan Google Inc for up to 5 bln usd for patent violation in the Internet telephony software used in Google Talk.
Jerry Weinberger, chief executive of Rates Technology Inc (RTI) claimed that he, was the inventor of software programming that allows telephone calls to be placed over the Internet.
He said 120 companies, including Lucent, Cisco, IBM, Yahoo and Microsoft, have paid RTI to use the technology for Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) calls.
RTI filed suit in a Long Island federal court against Google two months ago because the search engine was using the technology without authorization, Weinberger said after the New York Post reported the lawsuit Friday.
Weinberger alleged that Google has abused two patented RTI software programs in Google Talk, which enables users to talk through a computer headset or to instant message each other for free.
He said Google could be liable for damages of up to 5 bln usd in a trial, unless it settles the complaint out of court.
Google spokesman Steve Langdon responded dismissively. 'We believe the lawsuit is without merit and we will defend against it vigorously,' he said. newsdesk@afxnews.com
www.us.internationalreporter.com
Saturday, December 31, 2005
Best friends with a taste for business and the good life
WHEN James Packer first met his London business partner, Damian Aspinall, the two men knew of each other only through their fathers, who were friends.
Both fathers were larger than life, superbly wealthy tycoons with a voracious taste for chance; Packer senior was notorious in London for his aggressive style and casino boss John Aspinall's collection of exotic animals (he raised Damian in the company of silverback gorillas) had made him a national figure of fascination.
Both sons, therefore, were persons of intense interest to London society in the early 1990s, when they reached manhood.
"We met at a dinner in London to welcome the new boy," was Damian Aspinall's subsequent recollection of their introduction.
"An English twat who had never met Jamie before said, 'I would like to propose a toast to Jamie, not because of who you are and how much you've got, but because you are a true friend'," he recalls. Everyone else around the table rose except Aspinall, who has inherited his now-deceased father's bluntness.
"I am not your friend," he declared. "I have never met you. I only came here because of who you are, what you've got and how much I can get out of you."
Packer junior's response was to grasp Aspinall's hand, telling him he was "the only genuine one here".
A profitable friendship was born and now the pair are poised to open a string of high-end casinos across Britain, taking advantage of the British Government's recent decision to license a new generation of gaming houses.
The Packer behemoth Consolidated Press Holdings co-owns with Aspinall the fledgling casino company Aspers, which has just opened a lush new casino at Newcastle
Damian Aspinall, now 45, did badly at school and was handed an air ticket to Australia at the age of 16, but built his own empire without help from his father and had made his first million in property dealing before the age of 30.
In James Packer, he recognised another product of stern fathering.
"Jamie is my best friend,' said Aspinall in 2000, in a rare interview upon the death of his father.
"(He's) the only son of that lot that I am close to. I have met so many sons like that and they are useless."
That's not to say that life for the junior tycoons has been all work and no play.
During the 1990s, James was a regular visitor to London and his dalliances included one with Sylvester Stallone's girlfriend Jennifer Flavin.
Damian's girlfriends included Naomi Campbell and the glamorous Petrina Khashoggi.
In 1999, Damian was best man at James Packer's wedding to Jodie Meares.
Oddly enough, his date to that event was Erica Baxter, now a fixture at James's side.
www.smh.com.au
Both fathers were larger than life, superbly wealthy tycoons with a voracious taste for chance; Packer senior was notorious in London for his aggressive style and casino boss John Aspinall's collection of exotic animals (he raised Damian in the company of silverback gorillas) had made him a national figure of fascination.
Both sons, therefore, were persons of intense interest to London society in the early 1990s, when they reached manhood.
"We met at a dinner in London to welcome the new boy," was Damian Aspinall's subsequent recollection of their introduction.
"An English twat who had never met Jamie before said, 'I would like to propose a toast to Jamie, not because of who you are and how much you've got, but because you are a true friend'," he recalls. Everyone else around the table rose except Aspinall, who has inherited his now-deceased father's bluntness.
"I am not your friend," he declared. "I have never met you. I only came here because of who you are, what you've got and how much I can get out of you."
Packer junior's response was to grasp Aspinall's hand, telling him he was "the only genuine one here".
A profitable friendship was born and now the pair are poised to open a string of high-end casinos across Britain, taking advantage of the British Government's recent decision to license a new generation of gaming houses.
The Packer behemoth Consolidated Press Holdings co-owns with Aspinall the fledgling casino company Aspers, which has just opened a lush new casino at Newcastle
Damian Aspinall, now 45, did badly at school and was handed an air ticket to Australia at the age of 16, but built his own empire without help from his father and had made his first million in property dealing before the age of 30.
In James Packer, he recognised another product of stern fathering.
"Jamie is my best friend,' said Aspinall in 2000, in a rare interview upon the death of his father.
"(He's) the only son of that lot that I am close to. I have met so many sons like that and they are useless."
That's not to say that life for the junior tycoons has been all work and no play.
During the 1990s, James was a regular visitor to London and his dalliances included one with Sylvester Stallone's girlfriend Jennifer Flavin.
Damian's girlfriends included Naomi Campbell and the glamorous Petrina Khashoggi.
In 1999, Damian was best man at James Packer's wedding to Jodie Meares.
Oddly enough, his date to that event was Erica Baxter, now a fixture at James's side.
www.smh.com.au
Medicare will drive health sector in 06
The new Medicare Part D prescription-drug benefit will be a major driver of the health-insurance sector in 2006, market analysts predicted, and certain health plans are already emerging as the front runners.
'I think Wall Street has been excited about the potential for the Medicare benefit, and the new members who will be booked into these plans (through) health maintenance organizations (HMOs) and preferred provider organizations (PPOs), but also, of course, the (Medicare Part D plan, Jane DuBose, a managed care market analyst with Nashville-based Health Leaders-InterStudy, told United Press International.
'I think the potential will be realized for some companies, but for others. it will not. I think the market will begin to reflect the winners and losers,' she said.
In fact, according to DuBose, the difference between the clear winners and the also-rans, as with most business sectors, boils down to strategic alliances, getting the brand into consumers` consciousness, and location, location, location.
'I think United Health Group will clearly do well because they have this partnership with (American Association of Retired Persons) and that`s a name that seniors trust,' DuBose said.
'Humana will do well because they`ve been the most aggressive at marketing, and they have partnered with Walmart,' she added.
'I`ve seen statistics about the number of seniors who actually walk into a Walmart. Humana has had on site real people to answer questions.
I think that`s going to be a good strategy, so they`ve really blanketed in terms of marketing,' she said.
In addition, Humana has entered into numerous new PPOs across the country that will further increase the health-insurance giant`s exposure, DuBose noted.
Also, WellPoint -- expected to merge in 2006 with WellChoice -- is most likely to cash in on Medicare`s Part D in the nation`s heartland, she predicted. 'WellPoint has very strong presence in the Midwest,' DuBose said.
On the other hand, she predicted 'a toss up whether Aetna, Signa and Pacificare will be able to get their share' in this emerging market.
Although there are 10 or 11 national (health insurance) carriers, DuBose pointed out, 'in some states, you just don`t see marketing from some of these vendors. Pharmaceutical benefit management organizations (PBMs) like Medco Health Solutions and Caremark, for example, just don`t get into the (consumer) consciousness as much as these health plans in terms of marketing, so I`m not sure they`ll do as well as some of the health plans,' she said.
Medicare`s new program, which takes effect Jan. 1, will also unveil another first-of-its kind plan, the Medicare PPO -- and another potential cash cow for the major health-insurance players, DuBose added.
'The interesting thing about the (Medicare) PPO is, this is the first time that seniors all over the country, rural areas and urban, are going to have access to these (plans). In the past, it was only financially feasible for these health plans to offer the plans in urban markets,' she noted.
So which health insurer is most likely to benefit? 'Humana, big time,' DuBose predicted.
'They`re staking more than any other health plan on the acceptance of the Medicare PPO concept. The question is whether seniors want to do it, but if anybody gets uptake, it would be (Humana) because they simply have gone into more regions than anybody else in the country,' she said.
WellPoint, with its high Midwest profile, is also banking on the Medicare PPO, launching regional PPOs in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana, she said. Other potential PPO winners include certain Blue Cross plans, DuBose added.
'Blue Cross of South Carolina, which is sort of a quiet giant that is not publicly held, is going to do the regional PPO concept in South Carolina and Georgia,' she said.
Charles Boorady, a managed-care-industry analyst with Citigroup, agreed that Medicare`s prescription-drug benefit will be a primary market mover in 2006.
'The summit ahead would be the largest expansion of Medicare since its inception and the largest privatization in our history: that of Medicare recipients (transitioning) into private health plans,' Boorady said in a note issued earlier this week.
www.news.monstersandcritics.com
'I think Wall Street has been excited about the potential for the Medicare benefit, and the new members who will be booked into these plans (through) health maintenance organizations (HMOs) and preferred provider organizations (PPOs), but also, of course, the (Medicare Part D plan, Jane DuBose, a managed care market analyst with Nashville-based Health Leaders-InterStudy, told United Press International.
'I think the potential will be realized for some companies, but for others. it will not. I think the market will begin to reflect the winners and losers,' she said.
In fact, according to DuBose, the difference between the clear winners and the also-rans, as with most business sectors, boils down to strategic alliances, getting the brand into consumers` consciousness, and location, location, location.
'I think United Health Group will clearly do well because they have this partnership with (American Association of Retired Persons) and that`s a name that seniors trust,' DuBose said.
'Humana will do well because they`ve been the most aggressive at marketing, and they have partnered with Walmart,' she added.
'I`ve seen statistics about the number of seniors who actually walk into a Walmart. Humana has had on site real people to answer questions.
I think that`s going to be a good strategy, so they`ve really blanketed in terms of marketing,' she said.
In addition, Humana has entered into numerous new PPOs across the country that will further increase the health-insurance giant`s exposure, DuBose noted.
Also, WellPoint -- expected to merge in 2006 with WellChoice -- is most likely to cash in on Medicare`s Part D in the nation`s heartland, she predicted. 'WellPoint has very strong presence in the Midwest,' DuBose said.
On the other hand, she predicted 'a toss up whether Aetna, Signa and Pacificare will be able to get their share' in this emerging market.
Although there are 10 or 11 national (health insurance) carriers, DuBose pointed out, 'in some states, you just don`t see marketing from some of these vendors. Pharmaceutical benefit management organizations (PBMs) like Medco Health Solutions and Caremark, for example, just don`t get into the (consumer) consciousness as much as these health plans in terms of marketing, so I`m not sure they`ll do as well as some of the health plans,' she said.
Medicare`s new program, which takes effect Jan. 1, will also unveil another first-of-its kind plan, the Medicare PPO -- and another potential cash cow for the major health-insurance players, DuBose added.
'The interesting thing about the (Medicare) PPO is, this is the first time that seniors all over the country, rural areas and urban, are going to have access to these (plans). In the past, it was only financially feasible for these health plans to offer the plans in urban markets,' she noted.
So which health insurer is most likely to benefit? 'Humana, big time,' DuBose predicted.
'They`re staking more than any other health plan on the acceptance of the Medicare PPO concept. The question is whether seniors want to do it, but if anybody gets uptake, it would be (Humana) because they simply have gone into more regions than anybody else in the country,' she said.
WellPoint, with its high Midwest profile, is also banking on the Medicare PPO, launching regional PPOs in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana, she said. Other potential PPO winners include certain Blue Cross plans, DuBose added.
'Blue Cross of South Carolina, which is sort of a quiet giant that is not publicly held, is going to do the regional PPO concept in South Carolina and Georgia,' she said.
Charles Boorady, a managed-care-industry analyst with Citigroup, agreed that Medicare`s prescription-drug benefit will be a primary market mover in 2006.
'The summit ahead would be the largest expansion of Medicare since its inception and the largest privatization in our history: that of Medicare recipients (transitioning) into private health plans,' Boorady said in a note issued earlier this week.
www.news.monstersandcritics.com
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