Gates' Corbis busted again for fraud

Corbis, the digital stock photo company founded by Bill Gates in 1989, remains embroiled in a protracted fraud case instigated by Seattle based Infoflows. In the latest instalment Corbis has been ordered to fork out US$12.75 million in damages by the Washington State Court of Appeals as part of the three-year fraud and breach …

[DerekCurrie]

Deja Vu Microsoft Stealing Apple QuickTime Code (circa 1998)

"Corbis abruptly terminated the contract after four months and claimed ownership of the technology."

Where have I heard that scenario before? Apple QuickTime code robbery by Microsoft in 1998!

Microsoft paid dearly for ripping off QuickTime code from a third party contracted developer and refusing to return it . It's interesting how Bill Gates is the common denominator in both incidents. What could that possibly mean?

[druck]

Re: Deja Vu Microsoft Stealing Apple QuickTime Code (circa 1998)

And Sendo - Microsoft's masterplan to screw phone partner – full details.

[Anonymous Coward]

"What could that possibly mean?"

Yawn... Everyone in the industry has known for a very, very long time how the founders of Microsoft grow their businesses and make money. Everyone has similarly known for a very long time to steer clear of "partnerships" with those businesses. But sometimes the lure of a company with lots of $$$ is just too much to resist, and, well...

Let's not shed any tears for Infoflows, who knew from the start who they were dealing with, but crossed their fingers instead of their legs.

[Steven Roper]

Question:

Does anyone know if America actually has a final, ultimate court, beyond which it is not possible to appeal (like Australia's High Court), or can you simply continue appealing ad infinitum or until the party with the least money runs out of steam?

[g e]

Re: Question:

Supreme court, isn't it ?

[Tinker Tailor Soldier]

Re: Question:

US Supreme Court, as opposed to the (Washington) State Supreme Courts. But, most appeals get rejected way before it reaches the highest court.

[Adam White]

Mad as in angry?

Or the other kind?

[Slabfondler]

SCOTUS

It is not the Supreme Court or the US Supreme Court, it is SCOTUS (Supreme Court Of The United States), which sounds a bit dirty like scrotum, and for good reason. Its bollocks. When a member leaves, the current power clique gets to appoint the new one.

Maybe I need to read the article again to find out how exactly Bill Gates is related to this current case?

[Anonymous Coward]

Deja vue all over again

“ ... copied the information off the back of a packet of breakfast cereal, hastily embroidering it with a few footnoted in order to avoid prosecution under the incomprehensibly tortuous Galactic Copyright laws.

It is interesting to note that a later and wilier editor sent the book backwards in time through a temporal warp, and then successfully sued the breakfast cereal company for infringement of the same laws.” (Douglas Adams, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the galaxy).

Sorry, Bill, it doesn’t work in real life ...

[Banin]

What is Bill Gates’ position on this?

Interesting case and pretty serious stuff. It appears that a 12 member Washington State jury, Superior Court judge and the three panel of Washington State appellate court found that Corbis senior executives who reported in Gates perpetrated a fraud to steal IP and then worked to conceal that act. What is Bill Gates’ position on this? Has he made any statements as, from what I read, he is the owner.