Apple reaches smartphone patent licensing deal, agrees to pay Japanese company $10 million for rights

Apple reaches smartphone patent licensing deal, agrees to pay Japanese company $10 million for rights

You can't normally read about IP and the mobile industry without coming across two endlessly warring tech companies -- especially when Apple is involved. But today marks a different sort of patent exchange for Cupertino: a cooperative one. Japan-based Access Corporation, a mobile software provider, has agreed to license its patent portfolio -- acquired from its purchase of PalmSource (yes, that's the company behind Palm OS) -- to Apple, in a deal valued at about 1 billion Yen (roughly $10 million USD). It's not the first deal of this kind for Access' smartphone IP. Back in 2010, Microsoft entered into a similar arrangement that gave it the rights to the same portfolio. The lesson here, kids? Money, it solves everything.

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Via: Apple Insider

Source: Macotakara (Translated)

HTC and Apple settle all patent issues, enter 10-year licensing deal

HTC and Apple have just confirmed that they've settled all of their ongoing patent disputes, ending all of their lawsuits and opting into a 10-year licensing agreement. To refresh your memory, this particular saga begin back on March 2nd, 2010, when Apple filed lawsuits with the International Trade Commission and US District Court. That initial filing covered 20 patents related to iOS, which it accused HTC of infringing upon, and since then it has only been an ever-expanding battle. Essentially all the juicy details of the settlement between the companies are completely under wraps, but both HTC's CEO, Peter Chou and Apple's man-in-charge, Tim Cook have issued brief words for the official joint statement (the whole of which can be seen after the break):

"HTC is pleased to have resolved its dispute with Apple, so HTC can focus on innovation instead of litigation," said Peter Chou, CEO of HTC.

"We are glad to have reached a settlement with HTC," said Tim Cook, CEO of Apple. "We will continue to stay laser focused on product innovation.

Notably, this settlement applies to all past and future patents for the companies, meaning we shouldn't be witnessing the two fight it out in court for years to come -- at least on the patent front. Hopefully we'll soon begin to see more of the same with other ongoing patent wars -- Apple vs. Samsung, anyone?

Continue reading HTC and Apple settle all patent issues, enter 10-year licensing deal

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HTC and Apple settle all patent issues, enter 10-year licensing deal originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 10 Nov 2012 21:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple strikes licensing deal with Motorola in Germany, heralds more peaceful times?

Apple strikes licensing deal with Motorola in Germany

Motorola's war with Apple has certainly been overshadowed by the showdown with Samsung. But, with the latter melodrama shifting into quiet mode, focus is coming back to the battle with Moto. That ongoing story has taken a rather unexpected turn, however. A filing on Monday revealed that the Google subsidiary has agreed to license some (if not all) of its standards-essential patents to Cupertino... in Germany, at least. When exactly the deal was struck isn't clear, and neither side has announced a royalty rate as of yet. It could be that the German courts will decide what is appropriate according to FRAND rules, but the agreement also includes an admission by Apple that it is liable for past damages relating to these patents. The terms seem to include only "cellular standard-essential" patents, which means the company's claims regarding WiFi and video codecs could still be used as an avenue of attack. But, with at least one set of FRAND patents set aside, we wouldn't be surprised if the rest followed. It may be that Moto has simply decided to pick its fights more carefully, in light Apple's recent legal victory and growing pressure from the European Commission surrounding potential abuse of standards-essential patents. Or, it could be an olive branch and a sign that the patent wars are winding down -- a possibility we'd joyously embrace.

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Apple strikes licensing deal with Motorola in Germany, heralds more peaceful times? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Aug 2012 10:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Honeywell next up to get a patent license from Microsoft, goes the Android handheld route

Honeywell next up to get a patent license from Microsoft, goes the Android route

Stop us if you've heard this one before: a company that wants to start using (or keep using) a Google OS strikes a patent licensing deal with Microsoft to avoid the legal barrage that will invariably follow if it says no. It's Honeywell singing the tune this time, and the company has reached an agreement that will let it use Android or Chrome OS on devices like a new edition of the Dolphin 7800 rugged handheld (shown here) without perpetually looking over its shoulder. Neither side is going into the specifics, although Microsoft has steered Honeywell into using its boilerplate copy about royalties trading hands. The truce won't help the prices of Honeywell devices; even so, it's good news for developers and customers who've been part of the company's official Android feedback program. We're still yearning for the day when we can get root access on a Honeywell thermostat.

Continue reading Honeywell next up to get a patent license from Microsoft, goes the Android handheld route

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Honeywell next up to get a patent license from Microsoft, goes the Android handheld route originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Aug 2012 21:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rambus planning appeal after losing ITC patent case against LSI and STMicroelectronics

Rambus planning appeal after losing ITC patent case against LSI and STMicroelectronics

Rambus has lost the ITC dispute it filed with most of the electronics industry back in the day. Only LSI and STMicroelectronics remained as respondents after the company negotiated settlements with Freescale, Broadcom, MediaTek and NVIDIA. In its decision, the court found that some of the patents were unenforceable, while others ceased to be under the "clean hands" doctrine because Rambus had allegedly destroyed relevant documents. Company general counsel, Thomas Lavelle, has said in a statement that its next move might be to make an appeal to the Federal Circuit -- where it's hoping for better luck.

Continue reading Rambus planning appeal after losing ITC patent case against LSI and STMicroelectronics

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Rambus planning appeal after losing ITC patent case against LSI and STMicroelectronics originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Jul 2012 13:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft beats Motorola in German SMS patent suit, litigation world cup continues

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Munich's regional court has ruled that Motorola is infringing one of Microsoft's patents relating to displaying multiple SMS messages. It's one of the sub-cases that's separate to the larger FRAND matters that are raging along in the background, but still has enormous ramifications. Redmond's deputy general counsel, David Howard said that he hoped Motorola would (join over 70 percent of all Android OEMs) license Microsoft's patent portfolio. If Google's latest plaything doesn't start writing cheques, then it's likely to have its handsets banned from Germany, at least in the short term.

Continue reading Microsoft beats Motorola in German SMS patent suit, litigation world cup continues

Microsoft beats Motorola in German SMS patent suit, litigation world cup continues originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 24 May 2012 11:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Facebook paying Microsoft $550 million for 650 patents, Ballmer clicks ‘like’

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Microsoft has agreed to sell on around 650 patents to Facebook in a deal worth $550 million. The Haüs of Zuckerberg will stump up the cash in exchange for various social networking patents that were registered by AOL (disclaimer: Engadget's parent company) and sold to Redmond for $1 billion a fortnight ago. Microsoft will hold onto the remaining 275 in its portfolio and cross-license those that it's sold on, but not the 300 patents that AOL licensed but kept hold of. The social network will likely utilize the portfolio to better defend itself from litigation like the lawsuit brought by Yahoo back in March. If you're interested in reading the phrase "protect Facebook's interests over the long term," then head past the break for the official word from the men who invented poking.

Continue reading Facebook paying Microsoft $550 million for 650 patents, Ballmer clicks 'like'

Facebook paying Microsoft $550 million for 650 patents, Ballmer clicks 'like' originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Apr 2012 12:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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