Symantec Ordered to Pay $17 Million for Patent Infringement by US Court

Symantec Corp, maker of the popular Norton antivirus software, was ordered to pay $17 million (roughly Rs. 104 crores) in damages on Friday after a federal jury in Delaware found it had violated two patents owned by Intellectual Ventures, a major patent licensing company.

The damages award was far less than the $298 million (roughly Rs. 1,839 crores) Intellectual Ventures had been seeking. The jury also cleared Symantec of infringing a third patent.

The verdict is a blow to Mountain View, Calif.-based Symantec. It also confirmed the validity of the patents and strengthens Intellectual Ventures' track record in court. The multibillion-dollar company has become one of the biggest patent owners in the world and only recently began suing companies in addition to its longtime strategy of licensing its wide array of patents.

Melissa Finocchio, chief litigation counsel for Intellectual Ventures, said in a statement the company was grateful that the jury confirmed the validity of its patents.

"We remain committed to defending inventor rights and protecting the interests of our investors and customers," she said.

A Symantec spokesman said the company was pleased the jury awarded much less than what Intellectual Ventures was seeking and was considering options to further reduce the damages.

An Intellectual Ventures spokeswoman declined to comment on the damages figure. In pre-trial arguments, Symantec tried, unsuccessfully, to bar the company from seeking hundreds of millions in damages on a patent it acquired for less than $1 million (roughly Rs. 6 crores).

Bellevue, Wash.-based Intellectual Ventures, accused Symantec in 2010 of infringing its intellectual property with the security software company's email and Internet protection products, including Norton antivirus.

Intellectual Ventures sued three other firms at the same time. Only Symantec and Japan's Trend Micro Inc chose not to settle.

Friday's verdict will likely have a bearing on Trend Micro's trial, which is scheduled to begin in May.

Game of Thrones: The Lost Lords Review - Full of Suspense but Short on Resolution

The second episode of Telltale Games' Game of Thrones series has released on iOS and now Android. To download it, you'll need to buy the first episode, and then either unlock this episode as an in-app purchase, or buy a season pass that will unlock all the remaining five episodes for the price of four. Each episode costs Rs. 300 (Rs. 307 on Android) and it's also worth pointing out that there is often a long gap between each episode - the first part came out two months ago, for instance.

If you're a Game of Thrones fan, or just would like to experience some interactive fiction with a heavy dose of intrigue, betrayal and bloodshed, then you're going to enjoy this game.

(Also see: Game of Thrones Game Review: Welcome to Westeros)

Telltale Games is a developer that lives up to its name - its games are simple narrative driven experiences that have very little to do by way of actual gameplay. The central mechanic in these games is just to choose what to say next from the options presented to you - there's a time limit though, and if you don't say something quickly, it's taken as silence, which has its own consequences. This keeps you from overthinking the game, and lets you play the role of the characters you inhabit. You might sometimes have to tap an object on the screen, or swipe to avoid an attack. Fail one of these fights and the game ends and you start the scene over.

In about two hours, we'd worked our way through the story once, and we replayed it a couple of times to second guess our decisions.

As we mentioned in our first review, the game looks good, but not great. Some of the characters - such as Tyrion Lannister - look really good, but others, particularly Margaery Tyrell, look terrible.

The game is voiced by some of the original cast of the TV show, and sounds spectacular. As is fairly typical for a Telltale game, there are moments where weird visual bugs show up, which can be distracting, and the animations are largely stiff and unconvincing.

(Also see: Life is Strange, Episode 1 Review: Teenage Drama and Time Travel)

The first episode picked up right after the events of the Red Wedding. This episode starts with the exiled son of House Forrester (the protagonists in Telltale's game) in Yunkai, right after it has been liberated by Danaerys Targaryen. This episode continues to switch characters, between Asher Forrester in Essos, Margery's lady in waiting Mira Forrester in King's Landing, and Forrester squire Gared Tuttle at the Wall, where he meets everyone's favourite ranger, Jon Snow.

The decisions you made in the first episode seemed small and inconsequential then, but you're already seeing their impact in this episode, and that's something that will only continue as the series progresses. We've actually started a third save of the first episode to see how our choices affected things.

The game plays out as expected, but Telltale is a studio that is able to do both humour and horror in equal and convincing measure. The second episode doesn't really have a moment that's as explosive as the terrifying ending of the first one, where Ramsay Bolton got to be his deranged best, but despite that, it holds together pretty well.

The problem is that taken individually, the episodes don't seem to be going anywhere yet. And we've got another long wait ahead of us before the next episode releases. It's almost like being a fan of the books, waiting for George R R Martin to release the next one. We've been waiting for years though, so if you're someone who follows only the TV series, don't expect any sympathy.

Game of Thrones: A Telltale Games Series is available on iTunes and Android for Rs. 300 for the first episode. You can buy a season pass for the remaining episodes as an in-app purchase for Rs. 1,200, or you can buy each episode individually once it releases.

Islamic State Hostage Death Confirmed by Family and White House

The parents of Kayla Mueller, the American aid worker abducted in 2013 by the Islamic State, issued a statement on Tuesday confirming her death, four days after the militant group claimed she had been killed in a Jordanian airstrike.

The family, which had publicly maintained hope that she was still alive, did not indicate how they knew of their daughter's death. The White House also confirmed the death in a separate statement but also did not provide further details.

"We are heartbroken to share that we've received confirmation that Kayla Jean Mueller, has lost her life," Kayla's parents, Carl and Marsha Mueller, said in a statement released from their home in Prescott, Arizona. "We are so proud of the person Kayla was and the work that she did while she was here with us. She lived with purpose."

Questions remain over whether Kayla Mueller, 26, the last known U.S. hostage of the Islamic State, was indeed killed in northern Syria last Friday in the rubble of a collapsed building that the group said had been destroyed in a Jordanian airstrike.

A family representative said the Muellers had received a message from their daughter's captors over the weekend containing "additional information which the intelligence community authenticated and deemed credible." The representative, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, declined to give more details.

Mueller, who had been working in Turkey for several aid organizations dedicated to helping refugees from Syria's civil war, drove into Syria on Aug. 3, 2013, and was abducted a day later.

She appears to have driven in with a Syrian man, who has been described as her boyfriend and who had been hired as a contractor to repair an Internet connection at the Doctors Without Borders compound in the war-struck city of Aleppo.

Employees of Doctors Without Borders, an international medical charity, said they had been surprised to see Mueller arrive alongside the contractor. At the time, Western employees of international aid groups were restricting their travel into Syria because of the heightened risks of kidnapping.

The pair stayed overnight at the Doctors Without Borders compound, and were kidnapped the next day, Aug. 4, on their way to the Aleppo bus depot for their return journey to Turkey, according to a statement issued by the volunteer group. Mueller's companion was released after several months and has declined to comment.

In a letter to her family smuggled out of Syria, which the Muellers shared for the first time, Mueller wrote that she had not been mistreated, unlike several of the U.S. and European hostages who are known to have been tortured, including by waterboarding.

"Everyone, if you are receiving this letter it means I am still detained but my cellmates (starting from 11/2/2014) have been released," she wrote in the undated letter. "Please know that I am in a safe location, completely unharmed  healthy (put on weight in fact); I have been treated w/utmost respect  kindness."
© 2015 New York Times News Service

Delhi Election Result: Dream Victory for Arvind Kejriwal's AAP, BJP Flattened.

NEW DELHI:  Through a shower of petals and jubilant cheers that rained all around him,Arvind Kejriwal, the 44-year-old chief of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), addressed a sea of supporters, who were wearing the trademark AAP white caps.

"Thanks for the unprecedented victory," Mr Kejriwal, said, "It's very scary - this support of support. We must guard against arrogance."

The scale of Mr Kejriwal's victory is so immense that the note of caution sounded by him seems appropriate.  AAP, just two years old, won 67 of a possible 70 seats in Delhi,crushing the BJP with such force that it was left with just three seats. Its mauling is surpassed only by that of the Congress, which won no seats at all.

Mr Kejriwal will take his oath as Chief Minister of Delhi for a second time on Saturday at the same public park where he was sworn-in a year ago.  That term lasted a skimpy 49 days; in his campaign, Mr Kejriwal sought "forgiveness" for his impulsive resignation and pledged to combat corruption while promising cheaper utilities, more colleges and free wi-fi.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who campaigned aggressively for the BJP in Delhi, congratulated Mr Kejriwal on the phone and said on Twitter that the Centre will provide full support to Mr Kejriwal for the development of Delhi.

At election rallies, the PM had described Mr Kejriwal as "a back-stabber" who ejected from office when confronted with a challenge. But the visible people connect for Mr Kejriwal and his cadres, who launched a well-planned campaign months before other parties, left the BJP jittery and it chose, three weeks ago, to induct former top cop Kiran Bedi and name her its presumptive Chief Minister.

Her arrival exacted deep infighting within the BJP and she was defeated today in a party stronghold. "It is not my loss. The BJP is a national party, it should introspect why it lost," she said, though, like other BJP leaders, she claimed the result "is not a referendum for the Prime Minister."   

Reserve Bank of India may cut interest rate further in policy review this week

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may cut its policy rate further by 0.25 per cent this week to boost growth, as inflation remains under control and fiscal situation appears better following a record Coal India Ltd. (CIL) disinvestment.

RBI, which last month announced a surprise rate cut of 25 basis points after maintaining a hawkish monetary stance for 20 months, is scheduled to undertake its sixth bi-monthly monetary policy review, 2014-15 on Tuesday, February 3.

According to bankers and economists, there is room for further rate cut by RBI as retail and wholesale inflation rates have remained benign.

The concerns on fiscal deficit front have also eased, especially after the government last week garnered a record amount of Rs 22,577 crore through disinvestment of 10 per cent stake in CIL.

While lowering the policy repo rate to 7.75 per cent from 8 per cent, RBI had also said on January 15 that further rate cuts would depend upon inflationary expectations and improvement in the fiscal situation.

While the retail inflation slipped to 5 per cent in December, the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) inflation remained near zero level (0.1 per cent).

The government’s fiscal situation is expected to improve further with more disinvestments. So far, the government has realised over Rs 24,000 crore with just two disinvestment share sales, including SAIL’s Rs 1,719 crore late last year. It targets to raise a total of Rs 43,425 crore from disinvestment in the current fiscal, ending next month.

Citing favourable macroeconomic conditions, the government and the industry have also been asking for further rate cuts to lower the cost of capital, while RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan had faced a lot of criticism till last month for maintaining a highly hawkish monetary stance.

Even after last month’s rate cut, many had said that RBI’s move was “too little and too late”, while many bankers and experts have forecasted overall lowering of rates by up to one percentage points in the coming months.

Oriental Bank of Commerce’s chief Animesh Chauhan said most macroeconomic indicators favour a rate cut and he hopes that the RBI Governor would consider a rate cut on February 3 by 25 basis points.

Last month, Rajan had said that the further easing of rates would depend on “data that confirm continuing disinflationary pressures”.

“Also critical would be sustained high quality fiscal consolidation as well as steps to overcome supply constraints and assure availability of key inputs such as power, land, minerals and infrastructure,” Rajan had said.

State-run IFCI’s Managing Director Malay Mukherjee said: “There is a widespread expectation of rate cut but RBI has all the data it will take decision in their wisdom.”

PSU banking behemoth SBI also said in a research report that RBI may go for a “token cut” in interest rates in its upcoming policy review.

SBI Chief Economist Saumya Kanti Ghosh said: “We continue to maintain that the first rate cut could happen any time after the Budget, though the probability of a token cut on February 3 may have increased. We are pencilling in a 75 basis point rate cut in 2015.”

Bank of Baroda’s Executive Director Rajan Dhawan said that if there is credible fiscal consolidation, the rates will start coming down.

“With inflation coming down, I believe all rates such as deposit, lending rates will come down to more credible levels soon. I cannot second guess RBI, as it is their prerogative, but I feel when you have stable, low inflation, the policy rates have to come down,” Dhawan said.

“I think the RBI is waiting and watching to see the impact of all the measures that they and the government has taken…it will definitely result into lower rates in the future,” he added.

“While a rate cut is on the table next week, our base case is for the RBI to ease next in March, after just having delivered a surprise cut,” said Pranjul Bhandhari, Chief India Economist, HSBC India.

Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian said last month in Davos that RBI may further cut rates as it has managed to rein in inflation.

EBOOK RELEASE: HOW I MADE $40K MY FIRST YEAR OF BLOGGING

Hey everyone! How was your weekend? Did you all have a great Halloween? This was my costume for a party earlier in the week: (a chef cooking my cute little lobster baby)

The husband and I caught a pretty nasty cold Friday morning (the same one the babe had all week), so we stayed in for the weekend and made some finishing touches on this eBook which was released late Saturday night. (!!!) That and finishing the 3rd season of “Once Upon a Time” on Netflix. Which, I’ve got to ask, for those of you up-to-date with this show, is the fourth season good? We loved the third, but Frozen characters now? I haven’t quite wrapped my mind around that little twist 

Anyways, today’s post is a little different, and for those of you just here for the food, a new recipe will be here tomorrow! Promise!

A lot of you may remember that this blog had it’s first birthday just a little bit ago and I announced the eBook I’ve been working on for pretty much the whole past year.

To me, starting a blog was a crazy amount of research, tons of trial and error, and fixing lots of mistakes I was making (read = crashing my site twice within the first week). Along the process, I got pretty lost and confused many times. Once I started figuring everything out, I immediately wanted to write a book in hopes of saving other people the frustration I experienced! I spent hours researching and learning about all the essentials to running a blog – I’m talking hosting, setting up ads, setting up social media, the whole shebang.

I started jotting down notes – and I mean lots of notes. And then I started to get the hang of blogging and started writing down notes on how I was growing my site and then making an income off it. I had no clue, not even in my wildest dreams, that one year later I would be making quite a substantial income off this little site. My first month I walked away with $44.47 after hours and hours of work. I was thrilled! I love my space on the web and I’m more passionate about blogging than ever. Fast forward 11 months later and just last month, I made over $7,000.

This whole past year I’ve detailed my journey through blogging - everything I’ve learned and how I’ve made $40,000 in 1 year. After a year of working my hardest, and several months of working even harder, I’m ready to release a book I’m very proud of. I believe it to be an extremely all-inclusive and helpful book. It covers absolutely everything I did and learned this past year. My whole goal of this book is to take out the guessing as well as the boring and hard parts of blogging.SO enough of my ramblings, if you want to check out the book (or at least the cute page I made for it), click here!

Thank you for all of your support and for following along with Chelsea’s Messy Apron. It means the world to me when I read your comments, see the recipes you’ve made from my site on Twitter or Instagram, and read your emails or Facebook messages. I am so grateful for you all, more than you even know 

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Spain uses stem cells to repair damaged hearts

A Spanish hospital has successfully used stem cells culled from healthy donors to treat seven heart attack victims, in what officials said was a world first.

Madrid's Gregorio Maranon hospital plans to treat 55 patients in all with the technique in a clinical trial, the regional Madrid government which runs the hospital said in a statement.

"Seven patients have already been operated on and they have progressed very well despite having suffered serious damage to their heart tissue," it added.

It is the first time that allogeneic cells -- stem cells that come from another person -- have been used to repair damage to a heart caused by a heart attack, the statement added

A heart attack happens when the organ is starved of oxygen, such as when a clot blocks the flow of blood to the heart.

As the heart heals, the dead muscle is replaced with scar tissue, but because this does not beat like healthy heart muscle the ability to pump blood around the body is reduced.

While patients with mild heart failure can live a relatively normal life with the help of drugs, those with severe heart failure can suffer prolonged pain and distress because everyday tasks such as doing the shopping or taking a shower leave them exhausted.

Doctors around the world are looking at ways of "regenerating" the heart to replace the scar tissue with beating muscle. Stem cells figure prominently in their plans although they have up until now involved the patient's own stem cells.

While it takes 4-8 weeks to process a patients' own stem cells to be used in therapy, donor cells can be processed and stored and are available for immediate use, the hospital's head of cardiology, Francisco Ferandez-Avila said in the statement.

"Besides this very important advantage, this technique allows for the selection of donors whose cells show the greatest potential to repair" heart tissue, he added. "Before being processed, the allogeneic cells are exhaustively studied and only those that functioned best are selected," he added.

The cells are injected into the heart through a coronary artery.

The clinical trial is partially financed by the European Union. The hospital is coordinating the study which has involved the cooperation of about 20 European bodies.

                                                

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Indian Overseas Bank plans to raise Rs 1,000 crore to augment additional Tier-1 capital

Indian Overseas Bank, the public sector lender, plans to raise Rs 1,000 crore to augment the additional Tier-I capital and also to strengthen its overall capital.

"Indian Overseas Bank has launched an issue of unsecured, non-convertible, additional Tier-I, basel III compliant perpetual bonds to the extent of Rs 1,000 crore, including an option of Rs 300 crore to augment additional Tier-I capital", the Chennai-based bank said in a statement.

Tier I capital is core capital and includes equity capital and disclosed reserves.

The Bond will have a face value of Rs 10 lakh per bond and carry a coupon rate of 10 per cent per annum payable annually.

The bond issue was opened on January 23 for subscription and would close on February 4, 2015, it said.

                                                

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Dumfries Little Italy boss guilty of sex assault

The boss of an award-winning restaurant has been found guilty of sexually assaulting four former waitresses.

Robert McAleese, 38, who runs Little Italy in Dumfries, was placed on the sex offenders' register following the verdict at Dumfries Sheriff Court.

Sheriff Brian Mohan said he accepted the credibility of the four waitresses who said his actions left them upset, frightened and confused.

McAleese, of Cairn Court, Dumfries, will be sentenced next month.

He was found guilty of three charges of sexually assaulting three waitresses at the restaurant between December 2012 and December 2013.

He slapped one of the women on the buttocks, seized her by the hips and lifted her off the ground.

Another woman was grabbed by the hips and pulled towards him. He brushed against the buttocks of a third woman and made sexual comments to her.

McAleese was also found guilty of assaulting another former waitress at Chancers nightclub in Dumfries in November 2013 by putting his hand up her skirt.

The trial began in October, just hours after his restaurant picked up a prize at the Scottish Italian Awards.

The restaurateur had maintained that he enjoyed banter and jokes with staff.

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German rabbit breeders criticize pope's sex comments

BERLIN — The pope's comment that Catholics don't have to breed "like rabbits" has caused offense — among Germany's rabbit breeders.

Pope Francis said Monday that Catholics should instead practice "responsible parenting" and use Church-approved forms of birth control.

But Erwin Leowsky, president of the central council of German rabbit breeders, told news agency dpa on Tuesday that only rabbits which live in the wild are sexually overactive.

He said those in captivity have tamer reproductive habits.

Leowsky says he feels the pope should allow Catholics to use contraception rather than resorting to misleading cliches about rabbits.

                                                         

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Sexual disorders listed as contradictions to driving in Russia

Russia’s new road safety rules have expanded the list of medical conditions preventing people from get a driving license to include sexual disorders, which covers all transgender people, bi-gender, asexuals, transvestites, cross dressers and others.
Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree on December 29 last year, which came into effect on January 6, 2015.
The document has been adopted in the framework of the state’s road traffic safety program, which is aimed at reducing the number of deaths on Russian roads.
The decree mentions a number of “disorders of adult personality and behavior” from the International Classification of Diseases and Related Health (ICD-10) to be among the contradictions to driving.
They include such sexual behavior disorders as transsexualism, transvestism, fetishism, voyeurism, sadomasochism, pedophilia, exhibitionism, necrophilia and others.
However, ICD-10 especially stresses that sexual orientation by itself isn’t considered a personality disorder.
“Sexual disorders” may be an obstacle to driving a car if they take "chronic and prolonged” form with“severe or persistent painful symptoms,” the decree said.
Schizophrenia, mood disorders, mental retardation, epilepsy, substance use disorder and visual impairment are also included in the document as contradictions to getting behind the wheel.
People shorter than 150 centimeters were also included on the list as well those who suffer from"pathological" gambling and kleptomania.
The member of the Presidential Council for Human Rights, Elena Mayuk, criticized the decree, saying there was “a possible injustice in restricting the right to operate a vehicle to persons suffering from disorders of gender identity and sexual preference.”
Masyuk believes that “international legal practice of such restrictions should be examined to determine if the ban is justified,” the Council’s website said.

                                                   

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