Tag Archives: FiveYear

‘Fortnite’ Creator and Google Resolve Five-Year Legal Dispute Over Android App Store

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Epic Games, the creator of Fortnite, has come to a “comprehensive settlement” with Google, which may mark the end of a legal dispute lasting five years regarding Google’s Play Store for Android applications, as stated in joint legal filings by both parties.

Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic, hailed the settlement as a “fantastic offer” in a post on social media.

In documents submitted on Tuesday to the federal court in San Francisco, both Google and Epic Games noted that the settlement “enables the parties to set aside their differences while fostering a more dynamic and competitive Android environment for users and developers.”

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Epic secured a significant legal victory over Google earlier this summer when a federal appeals court upheld a jury’s verdict declaring the Android app store an illegal monopoly. The unanimous decision opens the door for federal judges to potentially mandate substantial restructuring to enhance consumer choices.

While the specific settlement terms remain confidential and require approval from U.S. District Judge James Donato, both companies provided an overview of the agreement in their joint filing. A public hearing is set for Thursday.

The settlement appears to align closely with the October 2024 ruling by Donato, which directed Google to dismantle barriers that protect the Android app store from competition. It also includes a provision requiring the company’s app stores to support the distribution of competing third-party app stores, allowing users to download apps freely.


Google had aimed to reverse these decisions through appeal, but the ruling from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in July posed a significant challenge to the tech giant, which is now facing three separate antitrust cases that could impact various aspects of its internet operations.

In 2020, Epic Games launched a lawsuit against both Google’s Play Store and Apple’s iPhone App Store, seeking to bypass proprietary payment processing systems that impose fees ranging from 15% to 30% on in-app transactions. The proposed settlement put forth on Tuesday aims to decrease those fees to a range between 9% and 20%, depending on the specific agreement.

Source: www.theguardian.com

BP signs five-year deal with Palantir to enhance AI capabilities

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BP, a major player in the oil and gas industry, has recently entered into a five-year partnership with Palantir, a US company specializing in spy technology, to utilize artificial intelligence in expediting engineering decision-making processes.

This collaboration entails the implementation of large-scale language models to automate the analysis of data collected from BP’s various sites, thereby generating recommendations that can assist human decision-makers in drawing informed conclusions.

The partnership between BP and Palantir builds upon a longstanding relationship that has involved the use of Palantir’s technology to create digital replicas of BP’s oil and gas operations, such as the Khazan gas field in Oman and offshore oil platforms in the North Sea and Gulf of Mexico, including the location of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon incident.

Both companies affirm that their previous collaboration has led to performance enhancements, and the new software aims to ensure the safe deployment of reliable AI while guarding against potential inaccuracies or fabrications commonly associated with generative AI models.

The utilization of generative AI is becoming increasingly prevalent across various industries, from retail interactions to research and writing support, sparking debates on whether AI will replace or enhance existing job roles.

Sanjay Pandey, BP’s senior vice president of digital delivery, highlighted the benefits of employing advanced digital twin simulation techniques to optimize production processes and enhance operational performance in a secure manner.

Palantir’s Matthew Babin expressed enthusiasm about the potential of their technology to accelerate human decision-making by leveraging existing digital twins and operational workflows.

Noteworthy projects of Palantir include a five-year contract to develop a large-scale data platform for the NHS, raising privacy concerns about patient data security. The company’s founder, Peter Thiel, has been associated with supporting political figures like Donald Trump and has a history of collaborating closely with intelligence and military organizations.

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Under the leadership of Murray Auchincloss, BP has been actively enhancing its technological capabilities, as evidenced by recent agreements such as the partnership with NASA to exchange expertise gained from working in challenging environments.

Additionally, BP made an investment of $5m (£3.8m) in Belmont Technology in 2019 to accelerate its AI platform development.

Source: www.theguardian.com