WSJ: Kynetic's Fanatics.com raises $170 million at $3.1 billion valuation





Tom Paine



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Fanatics.com has raised $170 million, the Wall Street Journal is reporting (subscription required) , quoting Michael
Rubin, Chairman & CEO of Conshohocken-based Kynetic LLC, which owns a majority stake in Fanatics.com

The Journal cites a source as saying the round doubles Fanatics.com's valuation to $3.1 billion.

Rubin told the Journal he expected Fanatics to reach about $1 billion in revenue this year, up from about $800 million last year and $600 million in 2011.

Fanatics.com is a leading online retailer of licensed sports merchandise. It is based in Jacksonville, FlA.


Local firm's lawsuit vs Apple causes big headaches for Morgan Lewis



Tom Paine



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A little over a year ago, I posted about a lawsuit filed by FlatWorld Interactives LLC, a Villanova-based firm founded by U of Arts Professor Dr. Slavko Milekic against Apple, claiming it violated at least one patent he was awarded related to touch screen technology. The lawsuit was dismissed by many observers at the time of being typical "patent troll" behavior. The FlatWorld lawsuit claimed that virtually every Apple device incorporating touch screen technology violated its patent(s).

Although FlatWorld made some small efforts at commercialization, they didn't seem to get very far.

Ars Technica revealed in an article by Joe Mullin published last week that John McAleese, an attorney (as of know, formerly) with Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, which does considerable IP work for Apple, controlled 35% of FlatWorld and played a key role in initiating the legal action. My report from last year had identified his wife, Jennifer Wilson McAleese, as a partner in FlatWorld, but did not make the connection to her husband. John McAlesse was an environmental law litigator at Morgan Lewis, not typically involved in technology patent issues.

John McAleese claims that he did not dip into proprietary, confidential data that Morgan Lewis maintained for Apple, but Apple disputes that, and is arguing that the Seattle law firm the McAleeses used to file the suit, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, be removed from the case since it is now tainted by alleged access to privileged information obtained through Mr. McAleese at Morgan Lewis.

Beyond the scope of the case itself and its potential impact on Morgan Lewis' important relationship with Apple in the future, the situation may also raise broader issues about controls at Morgan Lewis regarding client confidentiality and potential conflicts of interest.

Ars Technica provides much more detail on the story.




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Daily Links 6/6/2013: IMS Health acquires SaaS vendor for Life Sciences reps; Magneto merchants can now use GSI fulfillment services






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Comcast exec insists Americans don’t really need Google Fiber-like speeds (BGR)

Light Bulbs Get a Smartphone App as Comcast Goes Beyond Cable (Bloomberg)

Pa Convention Center picks SMG - Update: Shapiro's 'Aye' (Philadelphia Inquirer)

'Solid', 'not massive' profit on LifeShield deal; Hagan joins DirecTV
(Philadelphia Inquirer)

IMS Health Announces Acquisition of Incential Software
Expands Leading-Edge SaaS Incentive Compensation Capabilities for Life Sciences
(Business Wire)

3Pillar Global Receives $12 million Series A Funding led by NewSpring Capital (PR Web)

Exclusive: eBay Extends GSI Fulfillment Service to Magento Merchants (eCommerceBytes)

SAP dips its toe in the e-commerce pool (Jon Reed/Diginomica)

SAP at work on Sentinel, an 'Amazon for Stocks' (Computerworld)

Seaport ad firm Allen & Gerritsen takes on Philly’s Neiman in friendly acquisition (Boston Business Journal)

Carriers Sell Users’ Tracking Data in $5.5 Billion Market
(Bloomberg)
SAP a big participant in emerging market.

Lockheed Martin completes functional testing of first GPS III satellite bus electronic systems
(Phys.org)

Amazon’s Relational Database Service Hits General Availability, Gets SLA With 99.95% Monthly Uptime Promise (TechCrunch)




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