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Samsung intends to halt the release of the new iPhone 4S in France and Italy with court injunctions.

Samsung is accusing Apple of two patent infringements dealing with wireless telecommunications technology.

Both companies have been fighting each other through the international legal system with over twenty claims filed in ten countries since April.

Samsung already have international patent infringement claims against the three previous iPhone models.

Patents are one of the few battlegrounds where competitors can challenge hard in a world where Apple have superior product-vision and delivery.

Read by Joel Balsam 

Produced by Michael Lemieux 

Stories by Joel Balsam and Sarah Moore

-Tonstartssbandht

On September 23rd I dragged my weary bum out of my apartment to see some of my most highly-anticipated acts of the PopMontreal festival. I started off the night at the newly-opened Royal Phoenix, all the way up on the corner of Bernard and St. Laurent. I had been hearing good things about the venue through the grapevine for a while, so I was excited to see how it faired as a location for PopMontreal. Psychic Handshake, a label that has been burgeoning since its inception in 2003, was hosting a showcase of acts on their label. I wasn’t able to stay for the entire show but did catch two acts.

The first was a group of sweaty guys from New Jersey under the moniker Liquor Store. I can’t honestly say they were really my thing. There were three guitars, a bass, and a drummer in the lineup and their sound made me think of what the guys from Fubar would sound like if they formed a band. The tracks were loud and the singer’s wide-eyed attempt to look freaky was a little distracting. That being said, their drummer could keep the beat, to be sure, and the band was technically tight. If you’re looking for something you can scream to, check this band out. Next up was the “secret guest” of the night, local experimental artist Tonstartssbandht. Nice contrast to the last band, if you ask me. I had heard of Tonstartssbandht through the fantastic blog www.weirdcanada.com and was excited when I learned they would be playing. It was difficult to see the stage from where I was standing, but I think only one of the members of the duo were playing. It sounded as if he was playing an electric sitar and singing through various loop pedals and filters. As soon as he started, I was transported onto an incredibly trippy plane of existence. The beats were abstract, making me think of Steve Reich, but they were never quite being allowed to fall into time. The soundscapes created were awe-inspiring, raw, and dirty. I think my jaw must have dropped and remained there for a lot of the set. Tonstartssbandht, in my opinion, could be the future of dance music if people could only learn to dance to their beats.

With that abstract dance feel in my bones, I biked down to Club Lambi to catch the thing I was most excited about this year: Death Grips. I was happy to find that Death Grips were being preceded by an equally hardcore grime band from Houston called B L A C K I E. The atmosphere in Lambi was palpable; people were sweating, screaming, and crowd-surfing, and everybody on stage was down to their boxers. They brought Houston with them, it seemed. I have always loved Lambi because every time I’ve gone the owners keep telling everybody to turn it up. This was the case for Death Grips. It suited the music well; Zach Hill, the drummer from Hella, absolutely killed the beats with what sounded like a quadruple-kick pedal. The air was thrumming, the floor shook in time, the place was packed, and the crowd went bananas. It was everything I wanted it to be and so much more, and I think I am right in saying that everyone there felt the same way. Their albums Exmilitary and Black Google are free for download online. I imagine with the response they got they’ll be back soon.

-Danielle J hosts Runny Noise every Thursday from 10pm-12am

Activists across the country are advocating for safe injection sites after the Supreme Court ruled in favour of allowing it under provincial jurisdiction.

A group of Quebec activists want the government to open a supervised drug injection site in multiple locations throughout the province. 

They hope by doing so they will stop the spread of disease caused by used needles.

Montreal currently has a needle exchange program where people can go to inject their drugs under the supervision of medical professionals.

But renovations and distance from downtown has warranted criticism of the Saint-Roch facility.

Quebec Health Minister Yves Belduc said in May that the province would look into more sites if the Supreme Court made this ruling.