Sun-Oracle merger gets nod

Sun Microsystems' stockholders have voted in favour of Oracle's $7.4 billion takeover, reports The Wall Street Journal.

Sun said in a press release that 62% of holders of its common stock had voted to accept the agreement at a special meeting at its headquarters.

Under the terms of the deal, database maker Oracle will acquire each Sun share for $9.50 in cash.

For the second time in a little more than three years, Research In Motion (RIM) has shelled out a nine-figure sum to settle a long-standing patent dispute related to a core piece of technology used in its BlackBerry devices, reports Financial Post.

Since 2006, the company has spent nearly $900 million on patent dispute settlements, or roughly four times as much as Jim Balsillie, RIM's co-chief executive, bid for the NHL's Phoenix Coyotes this year.

Yesterday, the BlackBerry maker announced it had reached a settlement with Visto by paying the California-based mobile-technology firm a $267.5 million settlement.

Microsoft has sued a Hong Kong seller of mobile ringtones, saying the company used phishing techniques to flood Microsoft Live Messenger users with spam messages, ITWorld reports.

The lawsuit accuses a company called Funmobile of sending out thousands of spam instant messages over the past four months.

The case was filed last month in King County Superior Court in Seattle, but Microsoft did not name the company involved until Thursday.

In a survey of consumers in the UK, Sony came out as the leader in all technology brands, says Blorge.

In its 11th year, the Superbrands survey has become a key indicator of the strength of brands in the UK. The selection process was independently administered by The Centre for Brand Analysis on behalf of the Superbrands organisation.

While Superbrands says consumers choosing a brand in any of its categories means consumers recognise the name as being one of “quality, reliability and distinction”, it could also just mean they saw a brand name they recognised while filling out the form.