Kohnke Communication's suit against Star Trek Online developer Perpetual Entertainment is "vague, uncertain, ambiguous and unintelligible" according to a recent filing made by the developer.

While lacking in the vitriol found in Kohnke's original claim, which claimed among other things that they were paid to deliver good reviews for now moth-balled MMO Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising, it does a pretty good job of denying everything without saying much at all.

Perpetual's response asks the judge to toss the original suit out and force Kohnke to pay for their attorneys' fees after outlining why none of Kohnke's 13 claims have any substance. So boring, I was hoping for more dirt on the whole delivering-review-scores-for-pay issue.

PR Firm Dishes on Influence over Reviews in Suit [Kotaku]

It looks like the shoe is on the other foot, or maybe it just dropped, I always confuse my metaphors. Game Politics is reporting that Take-Two is suing Jack Thompson claiming, among other things, that his previous actions have essentially set Jack up as a "private attorney general on behalf of the State of Florida."

The suit is seeking to preemptively stop Thompson's likely complaint against Take-Two's upcoming Grand Theft Auto. It also seeks to recover their attorney fees and other costs incurred in the pending legal action. That's right, they're suing Jack and they want him to pay for it. Nice.

I'm still shocked Jack hasn't been sued for defamation or harassment. I hear his family, aka wife, has super deep pockets.

BREAKING: Take Two Sues Jack Thompson over Manhunt 2, GTA4 [Game Politics]

Update: While the story is true, it is tragically dated. This actually happened back in March.

Microsoft is asking a U.S. District Court to toss out a lawsuit by an Illinois family that claimed their baby died in a fire sparked by a faulty Xbox, saying that "misuse or abuse" of the Xbox caused the blaze, Information Week reports.

In papers filed Friday, Microsoft says that the family's "losses and damages, if any, resulted from misuse or abuse of the Xbox console at issue," but don't go into any detail.

The original complaint says that the fire was started by the Xbox's overheated power supply and wiring and that Microsoft was aware of the issue. In Feb. 2005, Microsoft announced a recall of more than 14 million Xbox power cords, citing fire concerns.

Microsoft Says Xbox 'Abuse' Led To Fire That Killed Baby [Information Week]

Ok, so we know that lawyers can be, at times, a big overzealous in their hunt for copyright infringement and we now know a one-off gift of a Munny that resembles a Gears of War character is A-OK.

But what about original art inspired by a video game? I Am 8-Bit has a whole gallery filled with that sort of thing, but when Kotaku resident artist Pavel Dolgov created a "one-of-a-kind, hand painted, acrylic on canvas" inspired by Gears of War and posted it on his site he received a warning about IP infringement from Epic's general counsel. He was told he had to take down the painting from the site and has to either destroy it or send it to Epic Games.

Sheesh guys, there are better ways to buy a painting. Brian Crecente

Ed's note: In case it wasn't obvious, Dolgov makes a living selling his art.

Microsoft says the verdict, concerning MP3 encoding and decoding via Windows Media Player, is "unsupported by the law or the facts."

The finding is part of a larger suite of suits that also involve speech coding and the video coding used in the Xbox 360. I wonder if this could this have an impact on Microsoft's push to roll out IPTV and their current video on demand download service? Brian Crecente

Jury finds against Microsoft in $1.5B patent dispute with Alcatel-Lucent [AP]

Brant faces up to four years in prison for falsifying business records.

"I am deeply sorry for my role in the inappropriate manner Take-Two granted incentive stock options," Brant said in a statement. "I accept responsibility for my actions, and apologize to the company's shareholders," said Brant, who in 1993 founded the company best known for the blockbuster "Grand Theft Auto" urban-action game from its Rockstar Games studio.

Brant agreed to pay $6.3 million to settle the civil charges and $1 million in penalties related to the criminal case.

He did not admit or deny wrongdoing in the civil case, and as part of the settlement he agreed to a permanent bar on holding top offices at publicly held companies.

The SEC and the Manhattan District Attorney's office said the investigation into the company were continuing.

Sentencing for Brant is set for Aug. 1 Brian Crecente

NEW YORK, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Ryan Brant, the former chief executive of video game publisher Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.(TTWO.O: Quote, Profile , Research), pleaded guilty on Wednesday to criminal charges related to backdating of stock options.

Brant pleaded guilty in New York State Supreme Court to falsifying business records, a charge that carries a punishment of up to four years in prison. Separately, he also settled a civil action brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

"I am deeply sorry for my role in the inappropriate manner Take-Two granted incentive stock options," Brant said in a statement. "I accept responsibility for my actions, and apologize to the company's shareholders," said Brant, who in 1993 founded the company best known for the blockbuster "Grand Theft Auto" urban-action game from its Rockstar Games studio.

Brant agreed to pay $6.3 million to settle the civil charges and $1 million in penalties related to the criminal case.

He did not admit or deny wrongdoing in the civil case, and as part of the settlement he agreed to a permanent bar on holding top offices at publicly held companies.

The SEC said in a statement that Brant had agreed to settle charges that he "enriched himself and others" by granting undisclosed options to himself and other company employees. It did not provide details about the other individuals.

Both the SEC and the Manhattan District Attorney's office said their investigations were continuing.

More than 170 companies have been investigated by U.S. authorities or have conducted internal inquiries into possible manipulation of stock option grant dates. Some companies are accused of backdating grant dates to days when the share price was lower, giving the recipient the opportunity to reap extra profit.

Backdating is not in itself illegal, as long as the practice has been properly disclosed to shareholders and fully accounted for.

The Justice Department has filed criminal charges relating to alleged backdating against former executives at Comverse Technology Inc. (CMVT.PK: Quote, Profile , Research) and Brocade Communications Systems Inc.

Brant resigned his nonexecutive post at Take-Two in October. He was CEO until February 2001 and chairman until March 2004.

"If people are to have confidence in our financial markets, it is critical that public companies report their financial condition accurately," Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau said in a statement following the guilty plea.

Sentencing was set for Aug. 1.

Take-Two said on Jan. 22 that a review of its past option grants had found that Brant had engaged in a pattern and practice of backdating options between April 1997 and August 2003.

The company said in an SEC filing that the review showed Take-Two failed in many cases to comply with the terms of its option plans and did not have adequate compliance procedures.

In June 2005, Brant and three other former Take-Two executives paid $14 million to settle a SEC lawsuit, closing a nearly four-year investigation into alleged fraudulent accounting practices at the company.

Ex-Take-Two CEO pleads guilty to options charges [Reuters]

By: Brian Crecente (Art by Fahey)

Last week's flurry of activity surrounding Jack and the Florida Bar isn't something new. It seems that the two have had quite a number of run-ins over the years.

Way back in 2005, intrigued by Jack's petulant attitude and seemingly unprofessional behavior in the court room and in front of television cameras, I contacted the bar to see what sorts of things that had on file about MR. T.

I only received two complaints back because under their interpretation of state law they argued they only had to provide me with closed cases. I've never really had a reason to post about them, but in light of this latest investigation I feel they could make for good reading material. Hit the jump for summaries of both cases as well as all of the scanned documents from the cases, for your reading pleasure. I've also gotten my paws on a PDF of the most recent complaint, all 40 pages of it. Brian Crecente

The Florida Bar v. John Bruce Thompson

Case No: SC07-80
Florida Bar File Nos: 2005-70,305; 2005-71,125; 2006-70,570;2006-70,766;2006-70,909
Date: 2006
Outcome: Still proceeding.
Summary: This case is about a number of alleged infractions on Thompson's part, in a number of different cases, but most of them dealt with his deft touch in an Alabama civil case.
After being allowed to represent the plaintiffs in an Alabama civil case surrounding the murder of two police officers and a radio dispatcher in Fayette, the court found that Thompson filed a complaint before getting that permission. The judge also found that Thompson spoke about the case outside of the court, sent letters to the court and "engaged in conduct that adversely reflects on his fitness to practice law." That included harassment, lying and intimidation, according to the judge.
Best Thompsonism: In a letter to the judge: "I was in your courtroom Judge, and I felt like Alice in Wonderland must have felt. It's okay for Mr. Smith to act like a Mafia thug, but it's unethical for me to point out the thuggery. What in Hell, literally, is going on here? This is utter, utter nonsense, and you're watching it, Judge."
Names the judge was called: knucklhead, bizarre, childish, improper, a player, a witness, an out-of-control tyrant
Names he called himself: A slithering snake, a pig slop
The full record: Download PDF here.

The Florida Bar v. John Bruce Thompson

Case No: None
Florida Bar File Nos: 2005-71,051
Date: May, 5, 2005
Outcome: No probable cause found because the Supreme Court of Ohio issued a finding that there was no evidence that Thompson engaged in the practice of law in their state.
Summary: In March, 2005, an Adams County, Ohio Special Assistant Prosecuting Attorney filed a complaint with the Florida Bar alleging that Thompson tried to inject himself in a case there despite not having an Ohio-license and being told by the judge he couldn't. He also continued to tell people he was representing the family in the case, despite the order, according to the allegation.
The Ohio attorney goes on to detail a laundry list of accusations including seeking publicity in the trial, lying, being disrespectful, being unprofessional and sending improper letters to others involved in the case.
Despite the fact that the Ohio State Supreme Court, and the judge presiding over the case, found that Thompson never practiced any law in the case, many publications, including Game Politics, Gamespot and the Columbus Dispatch reported that he would represent the family of Gail Knisley, shot and killed in November 2003 by Charles A. McCoy Jr., an avid gamer, while she drove on an interstate in the Columbus area.
Best Thompsonism: In a letter to the the Florida Bar's chief branch discipline counsel: "You can see in the correspondence the three cases in Ohio that prove I was no more practicing law in Ohio than I was playing centerfield for the Cleveland Indians."
...
"Maybe he can conjure up some kind of cause of action against Ohio-based Bob Evans Farm Sausage for my illicit use of ham on my fists. This is the first time I can recall a Bar complaint that brings pigs into the discussion."
Names he calls others: a liar, thin-skinned, big fish in a little pond, blind, unprofessional, childish, ham-fisted.
Names he called himself: A center fielder for the Cleveland Indians, illegal user of... hams... on his... fists?
The full record: Click on images for the full-sized page.

The Florida Bar v. John Bruce Thompson

Case No: 78,765 and 79,339
Florida Bar File Nos: 89-71,062;89-71,416
Date: Oct. 1, 1992
Outcome: Guilty plea. Public reprimand for professional misconduct and $3,000 for costs.
Summary: This record was on the verge of being deep-sixed when I rescued it from the Florida Bar. Unfortunately, it is very light on details. All I can gather is that Thompson was accused of, and later admitted to, trying to get someone to hire him as a lawyer after the person already had one. He also admits to not doing an adequate pre-filing investigation in an unnamed case.
Best Thompsonism: Document is just a summary and totally lacking in quotes.
Names the judge was called: Document is just a summary and totally lacking in quotes.
Names he called himself: Document is just a summary and totally lacking in quotes.
The full record: Click on images for the full-sized page.

Take-Two interactive just filed notice that a shareholder has filed a complaint against Take-Two and some of their execs for fraud.

Richard Lasky filed the complaint on July 12 in the District Court of the Southern District of New York, alleging, among other things, that Take-Two and certain current and former officers and directors of the company violated the anti-fraud provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

Basically, it sounds like he's claiming insider trading between April 1998 and May 2002 and that Take-Two issued knowingly false statements about the company's financial condition and business prospects. Lasky is seeking unspecified damages.

Take-Two says that they are reviewing the allegations and have referred the complaint to their Special Litigation Committee. Ooooh, it can't be good when a company has to create a whole committee to look at litigation claims.

Interestingly, Take-Two says they don't plan on reporting any future lawsuits that deal with the same claims. I wonder if that means they don't have to report when the inevitable happens and this becomes a class action? Brian Crecente

Atari got wind of the clock and, you guessed it, lawyered up and contacted Buro Vormkrijgers.

Basically ATARI demanded we shut down our website immediately, and halt all production. The reason for that; they stated they own the Pong name and game characteristics, on which we were infringing in their eyes. Needless to say we were unaware of such possible infringements when we started this endeavour.

On advice of our lawyer, we seconded those claims, and kept our website live. However, in the meantime we halted all production and other investments, and cancelled our display-order from china, to prevent getting stuck with huge financial damage [these things are very expensive] and stocks that need to be destroyed, if these claims got confirmed. For us the Pong Clock started out as a fun project within our office,that got so much attention, that we then decided to produce and sell it to share the fun with you, not to get bankrupted by.

After a lot of back and fourth, BV and Atari were able to reach an agreement. Atari said they liked the clock and realized that it was really more a homage than a deliberate attempt at infringement. So Atari licensed BV to produce a limited run of 400 Pong Clocks.

This new agreement requires that the clock have some sort of credit to Atari, so BV had to cancel their order for the special LCD screens. Unfortunately, these screens are only made in bulk (think thousands) so BV now has to wait for a larger company to place a big order for them and piggy back on that order. What that means is that I'm still getting my clock, and it will be worth lots more since they are never making any more, but it's going to be months.

BV says in the email they expect some cancellations, so they are still taking pre-orders. Order now, or forever be without Pong Clock.