Legal

Jules Yap might be Ikea's biggest fan, describing herself as "crazy" about the brand. But the blogger, known for her site that shows users how to modify Ikea furniture, is embroiled in an unusual spat with the Swedish chain. Last week, Ikea sent a cease and desist letter to Yap, the creator of IKEAhackers.net, saying that the site infringes its intellectual property rights and asking for the domain to be transferred over. Ikea has since toned down its rhetoric and is now "in dialogue" with Yap to resolve the issue, according to a posting on the website. 

Sport shoes maker Skechers USA said it filed a lawsuit against larger rival Adidas AG's Reebok International Ltd, alleging infringement of patents related to the company's Go Walk shoes. The suit seeks compensatory and punitive damages and injunctive relief for infringing Skechers’ patents and design rights as well as for unfair competition, the company said in a statement. Skechers also said it would take similar action against any retailer that sells Reebok's Walk Ahead RS shoes. Reebok said on Thursday it doesn't comment on pending legal matters.

The National Retail Federation (NRF) and the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) have asked an appeals court to overturn a federal judge's approval of a controversial lawsuit settlement over Visa and MasterCard's credit card swipe fees, saying it was negotiated by only a handful of merchants and would do nothing to bring the fees under control. The 2005 lawsuit was brought by 19 retailers and trade associations, but 10 of the plaintiffs, including all of the associations, rejected the settlement when it was unveiled in 2012.

A New York State Supreme Court judge ruled in favor of Macy's claim that J.C. Penney interfered with a merchandising contract with Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia when it cut a deal in 2011 to create a collection of home goods. But the judge, Jeffrey Oing, said Macy's failed to prove that Penney was liable for punitive damages since he says the actions weren't "malicious" or "immoral." Macy's is still entitled to attorney's fees and other monetary damages from Penney related to the selling of products that were designed by Martha Stewart but sold under the JCP Everyday name last year.

Should the internet be a tax-free zone like the duty-free shops in international airport terminals? Does it make sense to subject the internet to a different set of laws than any other space? These questions are central to the proposed Marketplace Fairness Act, which would empower states to collect sales tax from online sellers.

After Etsy implied that the criminals who had hacked eBay's database were behind a recent increase in spam being sent through its messaging system, eBay pushed back. In an obvious reference to the eBay security hack, Etsy issued a warning to users that spammers were logging into some member accounts, "a direct result of user names and passwords stolen in other attacks." Etsy surmised that the account takeovers were cases where its members had used the same user names and passwords across multiple sites.

As Alibaba prepares for what could be the biggest tech company IPO to date, the Chinese e-commerce giant has been counseling employees on how to deal with the roughly $41 billion they could unlock through a New York listing. While some staffers have enquired if premium brand BMW sells cars in Alibaba's corporate orange, others may invest windfall stock gains in property in North America or channel funds back into startup ventures in China, hoping to build future Alibabas, bankers and financial planners say.

The largest private employer in the U.S. continues to exploit tax breaks to reward its executives, according to the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS), a D.C. based think tank which has researched executive compensation, and Americans for Tax Fairness (ATF), a tax reform coalition. That finding was published in a report released yesterday, Walmart's Executive Bonuses Cost Taxpayers Millions, focusing on the retail giant's tax strategy.

A group director for the jewelry retailer Tiffany & Company sued the company in federal court last Thursday, accusing his employer of a "systemic, nationwide pattern and practice of racial discrimination." According to the complaint, of the more than 200 management positions that represent Tiffany to the public, only one is held by an African-American: Michael McClure, the plaintiff in this lawsuit. Robert D. Kraus, the lawyer representing McClure, says that pattern, along with his client's experience, demonstrates "racial bias in the belief, conscious or otherwise, that African-Americans aren't appropriate ambassadors for the iconic, luxurious and sophisticated Tiffany brand."

Swatch, the world's biggest watchmaker, has taken action against Apple over the company's use of the iWatch label, as it's too similar to its own iSwatch product, Chief Executive Officer Nick Hayek said. Swatch's measures include pointing out the use of "iWatch" to authorities in all the countries where it has been registered as a trademark, Hayek said in a telephone interview. He didn't say which countries had been contacted and when the measures started, adding there are no plans to take Apple to court.