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Phil
April 5th, 2012 at 12:26 pm


Teva (TEVA +0.65%) yesterday sued Dutch firm Synthon in New York for infringing seven patents as it readies plans to sell a generic version of Teva's blockbuster multiple sclerosis drug Copaxone before the patents expire. Synthon argues that Teva's claims are invalid or unenforceable. 

A federal appeals court resurrects Viacom's (VIAB) $1B lawsuit vs. YouTube (GOOG) over the alleged unauthorized uploading of Viacom content between 2005 and 2008, including from "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report." The court's action comes as YouTube agrees to offer online movie rentals from Viacom's Paramount.

Though Nokia (NOK +1.4%) is recouping some of thelosses it saw after its Lumia 900 Windows Phone received mixed reviews, bearish commentary is easy to find. In spite of a low price, aggressive marketing efforts, and AT&T's interest in promoting an iPhone/Android alternative, Deutsche and Avian both think Lumia 900 sales will be in the mere hundreds of thousands in its first 3 months of availability.

One reason Research In Motion (RIMM -0.2%) is likely to stick around: In Washington, D.C., where "time stands still,"BlackBerry remains the official smartphone. According to aWashington Post report, either confidence in RIM's e-mail security or slow bureaucracy contribute to the government requiring 500K federal workers to stick with their BlackBerrys. 

When in doubt, pump AAPL!  Though details about Apple's (AAPL) much-rumored TV plans remain sparse, Jefferies' Peter Misek continues to expect big things very soon (previously). Misek predicts the device will be a gaming center and home automator in addition to a TV set, and forecasts "commercial production in May/June with 2M to 5M builds likely" – others forecast a 2013 launch. Misek's bullish expectations for an Apple TV set lead him to increase his FY13 EPS estimate to $53.98 from $49.20.

And this is why I never buy the first version:  Apple's (AAPL +1%) customer support division is investigating multiple issues that have been reported regarding the new iPad's Wi-Fi radio, which is supplied by Broadcom (BRCM-0.6%). The issues include connection drops, slow transfer speeds, and an inability to detect local Wi-Fi networks. In spite of the Wi-Fi complaints and overheating reports, overall customer satisfaction with the new iPad appears to be high.