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iNews-briefs217Cayman Islands Premier headed to Joint Ministerial Council meeting

GRAND CAYMAN, Cayman Islands – Premier Hon. Alden McLaughlin will leave the Cayman Islands Friday to travel to London to attend the annual Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Council (JMC) in London from 1-4 December, 2014.

The JMC will bring together political leaders from the Overseas Territories and UK Ministers.

The JMC meets once a year to provide a forum for the exchange of views on political and constitutional issues between the governments of the Territories and the UK Government.

Those at the meeting will also discuss strategies for promoting the security and good governance of all Overseas Territories as well as economic diversification, attracting investment, vocational education and employment.

“It is vitally important that we attend the JMC each year to keep the Cayman Islands in the forefront. Through our participation we can ensure that Cayman remains in the global spotlight and continues to build sustainable economies, create jobs and drive prosperity,” said the Hon. Premier. “Once we do these things, we can ensure a better quality of life for our citizens and visitors.”

On Saturday, 29 November, the Premier will host a reception for Cayman students who are studying in the UK.

On 4 December, Mr. McLaughlin will host an invitation-only dinner for current and potential future Friends of Cayman where he will deliver a speech and entertain questions.

During the JMC, participants will also review and implement strategy and commitments in the 2012 White Paper ‘The Overseas Territories: Security, Success and Sustainability’.

Traveling with the Premier will be Her Excellency Gov. Helen Kilpatrick, Financial Services Minister Hon. Wayne Panton, Cabinet Secretary Mr. Samuel Rose, Home Affairs Chief Officer Mr. Eric Bush, Joint Ministerial Council Sherpa Mr. Jason Webster and Senior Political Advisor Mr. Roy Tatum.

They return to the Cayman Islands on Friday, 5 December.

 

Texas Rangers prospect involved in fatal crash in the Dominican Republic, survives

From Fox news Latino

Less than a month after the death of the St. Louis Cardinals’ rookie outfielder, Oscar Taveras, in a traffic accident, another Dominican baseball player was involved in a fatal accident in the Caribbean country.

Ronald Guzman, a minor-league Texas Rangers prospect, was driving a Ford Explorer that crashed on Tuesday morning against a motorcycle traveling driven by a 27 year old in the city of La Vega, according to the police.

“The young Eleazar García was killed when he was hit by the ballplayer Guzmán while driving a motorcycle. The incident occurred at 1 a.m. on Tuesday,” said police spokesman Col. Jacobo Mateo Moquete.

Guzman, who is 20 years old, was reportedly unharmed and is cooperating with investigators. “The police have made [Guzman] available to the prosecutor,” said Col. Moquete.

He will find out later on Wednesday if charges will be filed against him.

Guzman signed a pro contract at age 16 that had a $3.5 million bonus. According to MILB.com, Major League Baseball’s official minor-league website, he was the 17th-best prospect in the Rangers’ system.

This season, he played for the Hickory (N.C.) Crawdads of the South Atlantic League, a Rangers single-A affiliate. In 492 plate appearances, he hit .218 with 6 homers and 63 RBI.

Deaths from traffic accidents are a serious problem in the Dominican Republic. Last year, the World Health Organization ranked the Caribbean country as one of top ones for traffic fatalities, with 41.7 per 100,000 people.

On October 26, Taveras died when he crashed his sports car against a tree. Also in the vehicle was his girlfriend, Edilia Arvelo. Breath tests showed that the rookie outfielder had blood alcohol levels that were more than five times the country’s legal limit.

Other notable traffic accidents involving Dominican ballplayers include José Oliva, a Braves prospect who died in a December 1997 crash; José Uribe, who played in the majors for 10 years and died in a 2006 accident; and former Mets reliever Ambiorix For more: http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/sports/2014/11/26/another-fatal-car-crash-in-dominican-republic-involving-baseball-prospect/

 

Cayman Islands Conservation Council to hold meeting

From Cayman Islands Department of Environment

Council Meeting 3 December 2014

The National Conservation Council will be formally meeting on Wednesday December 3rd, from 2pm to 5pm, in the ground floor meeting room of the Government Administration Building (Grand Cayman). This meeting is open to observers from the public. The Agenda for the meeting is available on the Department of Environment’s website: at: http://www.doe.ky/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/WP-01-2014-12-03-NCC-Agenda-v2.pdf

 

The last CARE quiz night of 2014 in Cayman Islands

From CARE – Cayman Animal Rescue Enthusiasts [email protected]

The last quiz of the year! Why not come out and join us and see if your team can end the year in the number one slot!

Wednesday December 3rd

PD’s Galleria Plaza, West Bay Road, Grand Cayman

See attached flyer for all details

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Help Protect At-Risk Turtles!

From Care2

Sign The Petition

The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) just proposed new rules to protect at-risk turtles targeted for the pet trade and used for their meat. A growing international market has made these turtles vulnerable to extinction. More than 2 million turtles caught in the wild are exported each year from the United States.

Sign the petition supporting the new rules to protect endangered turtles!

The proposed rules would place four native freshwater turtle species – the common snapping turtle, the Florida softshell turtle, the smooth softshell turtle and the spiny softshell turtle – on an international endangered species list. Giving these turtles endangered status would allow the USFWS to monitor the international trade that threatens the turtles’ survival.

The USFWS is only accepting public comments on these rules for the next 60 days. They will no doubt hear from exporters who oppose the rules, so we have to act now and let them know how many people want to protect endangered turtles.

Tell the USFWS to move forward with their proposal to add these freshwater turtles to the endangered species list!

To sign go to: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/732/105/203/

 

City of Miami Gardens to host the Annual Science and Engineering Fair

From South Florida Caribbean News

MIAMI GARDENS – City of Miami Gardens will host their 4th Annual Science and Engineering Fair. The event, committed to increasing our youth’s reliance on science, is the brain trust of Councilman David Williams Jr., and has become one of the beacon projects in the community. This year, the Science and Engineering Fair is presented in part by the Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science. Other noted sponsors include St. Thomas University and Calvin, Giordano & Associates, Inc.

“This event is unlike any other in that it helps to expose students to science, engineering and technology components that will inspire their young minds to seek future endeavors in these fields,” says Councilman David Williams Jr.

Students from various schools throughout Miami Gardens are currently preparing their winning projects. Participants from the Innovative Beginnings in Science (IBIS) Programs include: Golden Glades Elementary School, Crestview Elementary School, Scott Lake Elementary School, Rainbow Park Elementary School, Parkview Elementary School, Carol City Elementary School, Hibiscus Elementary School, Barbara Hawkins Elementary School, and Carol City Senior High School. Students first submit their projects at the school level for judging. There are two requirements for participation: (1) Compete on a school level and be selected as one of the top five participants and (2) Engage male participation (father, brother, uncle, cousin, teacher, or friend) during the development, implementation, and creation of the project. The top five scoring projects at the school level will automatically be entered into the City of Miami Gardens Science and Engineering Fair for judging and ranking at the citywide level.

The event itself is set for Monday, December 8, 2014 with the Science and Engineering Fair Competition, from 8 a.m. – 2 p.m. at St. Thomas University, 16401 NW 37th Avenue, Miami Gardens, FL. The Fair concludes on Tuesday, December 9, 2014, with the Science Fair Participant Awards Ceremony to be held from 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. at the Betty T. Ferguson Recreational Complex, 3000 NW 199th Street, Miami Gardens, FL.

Over 100 students from schools in Miami Gardens are expected to participate for cash prizes ranging from $25 – $500 for the most unique project. Judges from various fields will critique student projects and the top five students will be recognized with cash prizes.

Sponsorship opportunities ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 are available. For details, contact Bernadette Morris at Sonshine Communications at (305) 948-8063.

For more: http://sflcn.com/city-of-miami-gardens-to-host-the-annual-science-and-engineering-fair/

 

Cayman Islands: Photo contest added to CITN/Cayman 27’s Parade of Lights

iNews BFrom CITN

CITN/Cayman 27’s annual Parade of Lights has become a Christmas tradition for many families and is a must-see event on the holiday calendar. This year there is a new feature, a photo competition.

Organisers of the event are encouraging professional and amateur photographers to look back at those albums and send in their best images of boats all lit up.

“What we’re urging people to do, is send in their favorite photos of boat decorations from year’s past,” says Parade of Lights Coordinator, Monqiue Hather.

“We’re going to hold this competition right up until next Friday (5 December). Actually, the winner is going to be drawn on December 5th on Daybreak; and that winner is going to receive two tickets to the sponsor viewing area, which is The Island at Camana Bay.”

The deadline to enter the photo competition is Thursday 4 December. Send your pictures to [email protected] or upload them on Cayman27’s Facebook page.

Boat entries are still being accepted until Friday 28 November.

The Parade of Lights is set for Saturday 6 December, you can watch it live on Cayman 27.

For more and video: http://www.cayman27.com.ky/2014/11/26/photo-contest-added-to-cayman-27s-parade-of-lights

 

Digicel simplifies data services

From Loop Cayman

Digicel today announced the launch of a new proposition which aims to eliminate the confusion customers face when selecting a data plan.

Under the name of ‘Data Test Drive’ customers will be given the freedom to use all the data they need for 3 months in order to really understand their data usage requirements.

Recent research carried out by Digicel showed that when it comes to data usage, customers face a lot of confusion.

“Customers don’t know how much data they use or need and there is an underlying fear of getting bill shock”. CEO for Digicel, Martin Bould explained “Our aim is to make data as simple as possible for customers to understand. There’s a whole world of data out there to be discovered, and we want customers to be able to experience it all on Cayman’s fastest LTE network, carefree.”

This new data proposition is just one in a series of new innovative data offerings that Digicel has brought to the market in recent months. Data Test Drive comes on the back of the launch of their Anytime Social data plans for prepaid customers offering anytime access to Facebook, Twitter and Instagram on selected plans.

Data Test Drive is available on all new connections to an ALL IN LTE postpaid plan. To celebrate the launch of Data Test Drive, Digicel are offering 50% off all plans for the first 3 months when customers sign up between Thursday and Saturday of this week.

For more: http://loopcayman.com/2014/11/26/digicel-simplifies-data-services/

 

Cayman Islands Development Bank will not close says government

Cayman Islands Finance Minister Marco Archer has said the government will not close the Cayman Islands Development Bank even though it is making a loss.

The bank provides funding for student loans, home loans and business loans to Caymanians who otherwise would not be able to obtain them.

Archer said, “Mistakes were made in the past which led the Cayman Islands Development Bank to the brink of bankruptcy.”

Government will be inject some much needed cash into the bank.

 

Body of missing SoCal woman found in Caribbean

By Sarah Grieco and Nicole Gonzales From NBC7 San Diego

Skull and bones of Yvonne Baldelli were found zipped in a bag off the coast of Panama

The body of a Southern California woman who has been missing for nearly two years was positively identified on an island off the coast of Panama last week, according to the FBI.

The body of Yvonne Baldelli, who has been missing since November 2011, was found zippered inside a bag on the coastline of Isla Carenero on Aug. 20. DNA analysis was used on the skull and bones by forensic scientists in Panama to identify Baldelli’s body.

Baldelli went missing about two years ago when she traveled to Panama with her boyfriend, 37-year-old Brian Karl Brimager.

Brimager is suspected of killing Baldelli, and he is accused of sending emails from her laptop pretending to be her and saying she was traveling to Costa Rica. He’s also accused of using her ATM card in Costa Rica during a two-day layover, and also using her card in San Jose to make it appear as though she was alive.

Brimager was arrested earlier this year for allegedly engaging in an elaborate scheme to cover up Baldelli’s death. He was indicted by a federal grand jury in San Diego in June on charges that he obstructed justice and made false statements to law enforcement.

Brimager faces 10 counts of obstruction of justice and one count of false statement to a federal officer. He faces a maximum sentence of 205 years in prison and a $2.5 million fine if found guilty of all charges.

For more:

http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Body-of-SoCal-Woman-Found-in-Caribbean-221567651.html

 

Cayman Islands Insurance Company will settle unpaid US hospital bills

After it was reported the Cayman Islands Insurance Company (CINICO) was being sued in the USA for not paying almost US$1.5M in hospital bills owing to the University of Miami Hospital and Aventura Hospital near Fort Lauderdale, CINICO CEO Lonny Tibbetts has confirmed the bills will be settled.

He said the nonpayment was due to a misunderstanding and cited the reason was due to the company Simplifi that handled insurance claims and payments in the USA. CINICO had cancelled their contract with Simplifi who is currently suing CINICO for not giving them the required notice for cancellation.

 

Cuba and Dominican Republic claim second victories at Central American and Caribbean Games

From FIVB

The Dominican Republic defeated Mexico to clinch their second victory in the men’s volleyball tournament at the XXII Central American and Caribbean Games

Cordoba, Mexico, November 26, 2013 – Cuba beat Venezuela in straight sets 3-0 (30-28, 25-18, 25-19) to claim their second win at the men’s volleyball tournament at the XXII Central American and Caribbean Games.

Javier Jimenez, Osmany Uriarte and Isbel Mesa topped the Cuban arsenal with 16, 13, and 10 points respectively. Kervin Pinerua was the best scorer for Venezuela, scoring 13 points. Cuba began to struggle with their reception while Venezuela worked hard on the net to came from behind. The South Americans also combined good services, but the beginning of the match was very tight with a total of 58 combined points at the end of the first set. Cuba looked superior in block (11-3) and services (9-3), including 4 aces by Jimenez. Venezuela gave up 25 points, Cuba only 19.

Puerto Rico 3-0 Bahamas

Puerto Rico improved their record to 1-1 at the XXII Central American and Caribbean Games after a three sets victory over Bahamas 3-0 (25-12, 25-15, 25-10). Maurice Torres scored 11 points for Puerto Rico and Roberto Muniz 9. For the Bahamas, Byron Ferguson finished with 6. The blocking game was key for Puerto Rico, who dominated 12-4. Service was also important for Puerto Rico, after finishing 5-0 with two aces by Mannix Roman.

Colombia 3-0 Trinidad and Tobago

Colombia defeated Trinidad and Tobago in straight sets 3-0 (25-10, 25-23, 25-13) to get their first victory at the Central American and Caribbean Games. Carlos Alomia scored 10 points for the Colombian team while Carlos Mosquera and Kevin Caraball finished with 9 apiece. For the Trinidadians, Simon Blake topped with 9. Colombia dominated in the blocking game 10-6 and 7-0 in aces, including two by Carabali and two by Juan Camilo Ambuila.

Dominican Republic 3-1 Mexico

Elvis Contreras topped the Dominican Republic with 22 points, while José Cáceres and German Recio tallied 16 and 10 respectively in their victory over Mexico 3-1 (18-25, 30-28, 25-17, 25-21) to clinch their second victory.

For Mexico, Daniel Vargas finished with 15 points and Samuel Córdova with 10. Mexico opened the first set with a clear rhythm and dominating their Caribbean opponents. However, the second set, which also saw the two teams register 58 combined points, went to the Dominican team. The host team tried to make a comeback in the fourth, but missed some points in defence, despite getting 41 points by opponent’s errors and giving only 31. Mexico finished with more collective aces (5-4), but the Dominican Republic dominated the blocking game 14-7.

 

Cayman forum registrations surpass record

The Cayman Captive Forum 2014, organised by the Insurance Managers Association of Cayman’s (IMAC), is set to be the largest ever captive insurance conference.

Registrations have now surpassed last year’s record amount of just over 1,360.

“With the Forum commencing next week we are pleased to advise that our registrations have now passed the 1,360 mark, and are still climbing, so as long as your travel arrangements are all fine you will be attending the largest captive insurance conference,” said a spokesperson for the conference.

Captive International is a media partner for the forum and will be distributing Cayman Captive within the delegate bags at the forum, taking place between December 2, 2014 and December 4, 2014.

Cayman, The Cayman Captive Forum, Insurance, IMAC

For more: http://www.captiveinternational.com/news/cayman-forum-registrations-surpass-record-943

 

Pope Emeritus Benedict: ‘God told me’ to resign

From Newsmax

Pope Emeritus Benedict has said he resigned after “God told me to” during what he called a “mystical experience,” a Catholic news agency reported.

Benedict announced his shocking resignation on Feb. 11 and on Feb. 28 became the first pontiff to step down in 600 years.

“God told me to do it,” the Zenit agency quoted Benedict as saying to a visitor to the convent in the Vatican gardens where he is living out his retirement in near isolation.

According to the agency, Benedict told his visitor, who asked to remain anonymous, that God did not speak to him in a vision, but in what the former Pope called “a mystical experience.”

According to Italian media, Benedict’s decision to step down was influenced by the various scandals that blighted his eight-year papacy, including the arrest of his personal butler for leaking private documents alleging corruption in the Vatican.

He was succeeded by Pope Francis, the former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina, who was elected as the first non-European pontiff in 1,300 years.

According to the Rome-based Zenit, Benedict told his visitor that the more he observes the way Francis carries out his papal duties, the more he realized the choice was “wanted by God.”

Last Sunday, Benedict spent a day at the papal summer retreat at Castel Gandolfo, south of Rome, to escape the heat of the capital.

The visit indicated that the health of the 86-year-old Pope emeritus was good enough for him to travel. There had been media reports that since his resignation, Benedict’s health had deteriorated dramatically.

For more: http://www.newsmax.com/newswidget/pope-benedict-god-resignation/2013/08/21/id/521558?promo_code=F492-1&utm_source=Test_Newsmax_Feed&utm_medium=nmwidget&utm_campaign=widgetphase1

 

Cayman Islands win double gold at squash at CAC games

Cameron Stafford and Marlene West won gold at the Central American and Caribbean Games on November 26th in the Mixed Doubles for the Cayman Islands.

Stafford and West beat the Mexican team of Diana Garcia and Alfredo Avila, 2-1.

 

The 10 countries with the fastest Internet

By Zoe Fox From Mashable

South Korea leads the world as the home of the planet’s fastest Internet, followed by Japan, Hong Kong and Switzerland. The United States makes the cut, but not until further down on the top 10 list — finishing at No. 9 with speeds of 8.6 megabytes per second (compared to the average Internet speed of 14.2 megabytes per second in Q1 of 2013).

This makes South Korea’s Internet speed 65% faster on average than speeds in the U.S.

Statista’s attached chart chronicles the world’s fastest Internet speeds.

For more: http://mashable.com/2013/08/22/fastest-internet-world/?utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Mashable+%28Mashable%29&utm_cid=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_medium=feed&utm_source=feedburner&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher

 

Cayman Islands seek vendors for Heroes Day

National Heroes Day 2015 organisers are seeking vendors from across the Islands to sell food and drinks at the ceremony in Heroes Square, George Town, on Monday, 26 January 2015.

Interested vendors have until Friday, 19 January 2015 to submit a bid to the Protocol Office, by emailing [email protected], or delivery to the Government Administration Building. For additional information, please call 244-3612.

 

If you stand surety for a defendant and he absconds you must pay up Cayman Islands woman learns

Even though the Cayman Islands judge said he was “very, very sorry” to a woman in the Cayman Islands who had stood surety for a man who had been accused of inflicting grievous bodily harm on a woman, he ordered her to pay up $1,500.00.

This was the amount of the surety the woman had signed for but the accused man, Ryan Bateman, failed to attend his court appearance.

A warrant for his arrest has been issued.

The irony of the case is the woman who had complained had left with Bateman for Canada and neither had returned.

 

IAEA: Iran boosts uranium enrichment capacity

From Aljazeera

UN’s nuclear watchdog says Tehran has installed about 1,000 advanced uranium enrichment centrifuges set for testing.

IAEA’s quarterly report was the first since Hassan Rouhani won Iran’s June presidential election [AP]

Iran has installed about 1,000 advanced uranium enrichment centrifuges and is set to test them, a UN nuclear report showed, a development likely to worry Western powers hoping for a change of course under the country’s new president.

The International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) quarterly report, the first since Hassan Rouhani won Iran’s June presidential election, also said the country had started making fuel assemblies for a reactor which the West fears could yield nuclear bomb material.

Iran denies any such aim.

On the other hand, Iran’s most sensitive nuclear stockpile has grown little, remaining below its arch-enemy Israel’s stated “red line” that could provoke military action, since the previous IAEA report in May.

This could buy time for more negotiations with six world powers.

The IAEA report showed Iran continuing to press ahead with its disputed nuclear programme at a time when the outside world is waiting to see if Rouhani will act to ease tension with the country’s Western critics.

Envoys accredited to the IAEA had cautioned against reading too much into the latest inspectors’ report as it mainly covered developments before Rouhani took office on August 3, replacing Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Iran says its nuclear energy programme is for power generation and medical purposes only, rejecting Western allegations that it seeks the capability to make nuclear weapons.

For more: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/08/2013828125540254873.hml

 

Island keeps an eye on Caribbean hotel and gaming initiatives

By Ceola Wilson From Royal Gazette

Local hoteliers and tourism officials have been watching Bermuda’s island neighbours in the Caribbean, where major hotel developments have taken place.

In the Bahamas, the $3.5 billion Baha Mar Resort is set to open in December 2014 with 284 residences included in their single-phase resort.

Gaming Commission chairman John Jefferis is convinced the top-of-the-line gaming-focused development project would have never happened without gaming.

“It won’t be just one hotel property, it will be a number of branded hotel properties. And without the gaming component it’s very unlikely that project would have become a reality,” he said.

Considered to be the only project big enough to overshadow the Atlantis resort, the Baha Mar sits on 1,000 acres of property on New Providence Island’s Cable Beach area.

The Baha Mar Casino is the centrepiece of the development with 1,000 guest rooms and a 100,000-square-foot casino said to rival casinos in Las Vegas.

Partly owned by Harrah’s Entertainment and managed by Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, the project is billed as “the largest destination resort in the Caribbean”.

It includes a series of Starwood branded hotels including St Regis, Westin and Sheraton.

The hotels involved will have a mix of Colonial, European and African architecture with a total of 3,000 hotel rooms.

Other features include a 50-foot circular waterfall, two spas, an 18-hole Jack Nicklaus championship golf course, 200,000 square feet of meeting space, 3,000 feet of beachfront, chef-branded restaurants, a retail village and entertainment venues.

For more: For more on this story go to:

http://www.royalgazette.com/article/20130830/NEWS04/130839986

 

Cayman Islands civil servants to get 4% pay rise

Cayman Islands Premier Hon. Alden McLaughlin announced in the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday (26) that Civil servants would obtain a 4% cost of living allowance increase on their pay packets starting July next year.

The premier said he would have liked to have given more

 

Shoe company apologizes after ad campaign enrages dog lovers

By Sam Laird From Mashable

It seemed like a good idea at the time? That’s the the best we can come up with for the reasoning behind a sneaker company’s controversial advertising campaign, which backfired massively, and forced the company to apologize to dog lovers everywhere.

The idea was logical enough: Pearl Izumi shoes provide such excellent support and function that you’ll end up outlasting your trusted canine running companion. However, things went off the rails when the company got a bit hyperbolic by asserting that the shoes are actually a threat to your dog’s life, and that you’d better learn how to perform CPR lest ol’ Spot dies from exhaustion.

A YouTube video takes the campaign a step further, giving Pearl Izumi customers a tongue-in-cheek lesson on how to perform doggie CPR:

The video hit YouTube way back in January, but apparently the objections of dog lovers became too much last week after the print ad ran. Pearl Izumi posted this apology to its Facebook:

Canadian Running’s Facebook page has also been inundated with angry comments from readers taking them to task for ever agreeing to run the rad. One comment reads, “Whats next … pushing grandmothers off cliffs?”

As always, the lesson here is: Don’t mess with animal lovers.

For more on this story and to view the video go to:

http://mashable.com/2013/09/04/shoe-company-dying-dogs-ad/?utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Mashable+%28Mashable%29&utm_cid=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_medium=feed&utm_source=feedburner&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher

 

Federal jury orders Motorola Mobility to Pay Microsoft $14.5M in patent case

By Catherine Shu From Techcrunch

A federal jury has found Motorola Mobility failed to license standard patents at a reasonable rate and ordered the Google-owned handset maker to pay Microsoft about $14.5 million in damages. This is the second of two federal court decisions determining that the royalties Motorola Mobility charges for “standard-essential” patents used in Microsoft products, including Xbox consoles, are too high.

Though the award was just half of the $29 million in damages Microsoft had sought, the company hailed today’s ruling as a landmark victory “telling Google to stop abusing patents.” But the patent battle predates Google’s 2011 acquisition of Motorola Mobility. Microsoft first sued the phone maker in 2010 for overcharging on patent licensing.

Microsoft’s initial win in the case was back in April when a federal judge decided Microsoft had to pay just $1.8 million a year in royalties to Motorola Mobility, instead of the billions Motorola had initially sought.

The most recent ruling concerns Motorola Mobility’s demand that Microsoft pay annual royalties of up to $4 billion for patents that are part of H.264 and 802.11 wireless standards, both used in the Xbox consoles and Windows. Microsoft said that the amount, which is about 2.25% of the product price, was too high.

The two decisions in Microsoft and Motorola Mobility’s court battle are expected to have significant implications for patent law and what constitutes the “fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory” (known as FRAND) rates that holders are allowed to charge for patents considered “standard-essential.”

“This is a landmark win for all who want products that are affordable and work well together,” Microsoft deputy general counsel David Howard said in a statement. “The jury’s verdict is the latest in a growing list of decisions by regulators and courts telling Google to stop abusing patents.”

Motorola Mobility said it would appeal the decision.

For more on this story go to:

http://techcrunch.com/2013/09/04/motorola-versus-microsoft/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Techcrunch+%28TechCrunch%29

 

 

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