Tag Archives: intellectual property

Lenovo Buys Motorola Mobility from Google for $2.91B

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Lenovo Buys Motorola from Google

Motorola’s mobile phones division will soon have a Chinese parent, mostly because of its unpopularity with Google shareholders.

Earlier this week, Google and Samsung signed a patent cross-licensing agreement. The next day, Samsung announced that it would give up most of its proprietary Android apps in favor of apps made by Google. The world is wondering what’s happening with Android, especially since yesterday Google said it would sell Motorola Mobility to Lenovo for $2.91B.

Buying Motorola in 2012 for $12.5B and selling it now for $2.91B doesn’t seem to be exactly the deal of the century. If you add to that that Lenovo is going to pay that money in several installments, the deal looks even worse. However, there’s a catch to all this. Google will keep most of the 17,000 Motorola Mobility patents and will share them with Samsung.

As mentioned before, Lenovo won’t be paying the entire amount upfront, but only $1.41B, and that as $660 million in cash and $750 million in shares. The rest of $1.5B will be paid over the next 3 years. Since the

Larry Page mentioned in an official blog post that “the smartphone market is super competitive, and to thrive it helps to be all-in when it comes to making mobile devices. It’s why we believe that Motorola will be better served by Lenovo — which has a rapidly growing smartphone business and is the largest (and fastest-growing) PC manufacturer in the world. This move will enable Google to devote our energy to driving innovation across the Android ecosystem, for the benefit of smartphone users everywhere.”

Yang Yuanqing, Lenovo’s chief executive, made a statement that sounds very promising: “We will immediately have the opportunity to become a strong global player in the fast-growing mobile space. We are confident that we can bring together the best of both companies to deliver products customers will love and a strong, growing business.”

Ever since Google bought Motorola, some really decent smartphones came out, but none of them was truly revolutionary, except for Project Ara, the modular phone, which Google is going to keep anyway, along with Motorola’s Advanced Technology group. On top of that, Motorola is said to have been really unpopular with Google shareholders, so after all, maybe it’s better that Lenovo will take care of it.

If you liked this post, please check the Nest Labs acquisition by Google and the patent cross-licensing deal that Samsung and Google signed.

Google and Samsung Sign Global Patent Cross-Licensing Agreement

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Google - Samsung Patent Cross-Licensing Agreement

The two companies have strengthened their relationship by signing a deal that enables each of them to use the patents licensed to the other.

Samsung and Google have been strong allies ever since the South Korean company decided to use Android, the search giant’s mobile operating system, in most of its devices. A few Nexus smartphones and tablets later, they are still working together to bring the world some of the best devices ever. Still, not few were the occasions when tech rivals such as Apple accused them of implementing technologies that did not belong to them. In most cases, such allegations have been disputed in a court of law, and the ones to lose the lawsuit always ended up paying hard cash for this. As you know, results differed from one country to another, so there’s no definitive answer to the problem, but protecting the patents in the way Google and Samsung have recently did is certainly a viable solution.

Allen Lo, deputy general counsel for patents at Google, pointed out that “By working together on agreements like this, companies can reduce the potential for litigation and focus instead on innovation.”

On top of that, Seungho Ahn, head of Samsung’s Intellectual Property Center, stated that “Samsung and Google are showing the rest of the industry that there is more to gain from co-operating than engaging in unnecessary patent disputes.”

The agreement that the two tech giants have reached will allow to use each other’s patents for the next 10 years. This measure, along with the other deals Samsung is making with other tech companies, should keep lawsuits at bay for the foreseeable future.

Just to see how patent infringements can affect technological progress, in October 2013, a consortium of tech companies that included Apple, Microsoft, BlackBerry Ltd., Sony Corp. and Ericsson filed a lawsuit against Samsung, Google, and other manufacturers of Android devices, accusing all of them of using certain features without a license. Luckily for Samsung, Ericsson announced this morning that it decided to end its patent dispute and furthermore, that a cross-licensing deal has also been signed between the Swedish telecommunications company and the South Korean manufacturer.

Intellectual property theft should be discouraged at all costs, but if more companies could reach such cross-licensing agreements, progress in the tech industry wouldn’t hinder that much and that often.

If you liked this post, please check the Samsung-illycaffè deal and the Sparq acquisition by Yahoo.

HP Sold Palm, iPaq, Bitfone and a Few Other Patents to Qualcomm

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Qualcomm Buys Palm, iPaq and other 2,400 Patents and Patent Applications from HP

The manufacturer of the Snapdragon chipsets, which power most Android devices, has increased its portfolio by buying 1,400 US patents and patent applications, as well as 1,000 patents and patent applications abroad from HP.

Just when everyone thought that Palm is dead, buried and smelling putridly, Hewlett Packard’s iconic PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) makes a comeback as part of a major patent sale. Some have already started claiming that Qualcomm wants to bring PDAs back, but since smartphones and tablets are so prevalent, how would that make any sense?

Another theory is that Qualcomm will offer patent protection to any OEMs who buy their chipsets. This would keep such companies as HTC, LG and Samsung away from getting sued by Apple and Nokia all the time. Beefing up on key patents was a move that HP themselves did back in 2010, when they purchased Palm for $1.2 billion. From Qualcomm’s viewpoint, this huge portfolio of patents and patent applications will represent a major selling point for their chipsets.

LG has launched a gigantic smart TV running webOS at CES 2014, and since that new line of tellies uses HP and Palm patents, it will be interesting to see how LG interacts with Qualcomm. LG bought the rights to webOS from HP, but the deal did not include any of the patents that are now owned by Qualcomm.

In an interview with The Verge, an HP spokesperson mentioned that “This does not change our strategy with respect to mobile, and we will retain a license to these patents.” In other words, don’t be surprised if you see a Palm or iPaq device coming from HP in the near future, as retaining the licenses would allow them to do that.

I remember owning a Palm Treo 680 back in 2008, and saying that by today’s standards that was a relic would be an understatement. Over time, I also go my mittens on iPaq devices and other PDAs made by HP, and seeing these making a comeback would be somehow unsettling. HP’s smartphones and PDAs made history at that time, but I’m not sure that bringing back devices under those name would have a major impact on people.

Things are still uncertain as to how Qualcomm will use all these patents, but moving from chipsets to whole mobile devices wouldn’t be easy for them. On the other hand, the patents would work as a defense mechanism, anyway.

If you liked this post, please check the Google Chromebook 11 made by HP that charges over microUSB and the HP Slate 21.

Six Ways to Make Innovation A Reality

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There is a fundamentally new class of individuals entering and circulating in the job market. They tend to be adaptable and mobile, East-Coast-educated but West Coast-bound, willing to take risks,...
    






OnLive Asset Sale Brings Only $4.8 Million

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It hasn't been very long since cloud-based videogame company OnLive went belly up. The company owned patents and intellectual property believed to be worth $18.7 million. As it turns out Lauder...

Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit tells Judge Koh to revisit Galaxy Tab 10.1 injunction

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One of the hallmarks of the US judicial system is its seemingly inexhaustible system of appeals -- a system for which Samsung is likely most grateful at the moment. Its earlier entreaty to Judge Lucy Koh to have the Galaxy Tab 10.1 preliminary injunction lifted may have been denied, but the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit is giving the Korean company another bite at the Apple. That court has granted Samsung's request to have the injunction issue remanded so that the trial court can re-consider Samsung's motion to dissolve it. The ruling enables Samsung to argue that the injunction should be lifted because the jury failed to find infringement of the tablet design patent upon which the injunction is based. Will Judge Koh lift the ban? Perhaps, but we're pretty sure that the crowd from Cupertino will be doing plenty to prevent that from happening. Stay tuned.

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Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit tells Judge Koh to revisit Galaxy Tab 10.1 injunction originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Sep 2012 15:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Skyhook sues Google for patent infringement… again

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Skyhook sues Google for patent infringement again

Last time Google found itself in court proceedings opposite Skyhook, it was facing anticompetitive and IP legal claims for forcing Android OEMs to use Google's location services. Yesterday, Skyhook filed a new complaint alleging that Google is infringing nine of its patents. FOSS Patents reports that the IP in question is, like last time, all about geolocation technology. The patents cover various aspects of a WLAN-based positioning system, and all but one of them were granted after the prior lawsuit, hence the new legal action. We've yet to hear Google's side of the story, but you can take a peek at Skyhook's airing of grievances at the source below.

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Skyhook sues Google for patent infringement... again originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Sep 2012 22:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple wins injunction against Motorola in Germany over ‘rubber-banding’ patent

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Apple wins injunction against Motorola in Germany

Hope and pray all you want, but the patent wars are far from over. The latest chapter in the ongoing game of IP Risk hands Apple a victory over the Google-owned Motorola Mobility in Germany. If you thought the recent licensing deal would put the kibosh on further flare ups between the two, you were sadly mistaken. The Munich I Regional Court awarded Cupertino an injunction against Moto devices over the so-called "rubber-banding" patent, which relates to the bounce back animation when scrolling to the bottom or top of a list. The fate of infringing phones isn't set in stone yet, as there's still room for appeal, though, a €25 million bond would score Apple an enforceable preliminary injunction. One relatively simple solution would be for Moto to implement the stock Android "glowing" animation, which would bypass Apple's claims. Though, an even better solution would be for all parties involved to quit their bickering over patent minutia and focus on making the best products possible.

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Apple wins injunction against Motorola in Germany over 'rubber-banding' patent originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Sep 2012 14:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tim Cook and Larry Page reportedly chat about patent war

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Tim Cook and Larry Page reportedly chat about patent wars

According to Reuters, Tim Cook and Larry Page have been having behind the scenes chats over the last week or so, most notably about the ongoing patent proxy war between the two companies. According to sources, the Apple and Google CEOs spoke last week over the phone and are planning a meeting where, hopefully, they can hash out some of their differences. Discussions are also apparently taking place at lower levels, which could indicate this is a concerted effort to put to rest the tiresome battles over intellectual property. Unfortunately, details about what exactly the two talked about, and how broad those conversations were are unknown. But, it's definitely a good sign that the two sides are talking. Perhaps the relatively new corporate heads can avoid going completely "thermonuclear," as Cook's predecessor infamously threatened.

Update: All Things D has gotten confirmation from its own sources, and points out that Google is "wearing several hats here," including one as the owner of Motorola Mobility, which is currently suing Apple. However, we're still holding out hope that the licensing deal struck between those two companies is a sign of better days to come.

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Tim Cook and Larry Page reportedly chat about patent war originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Aug 2012 14:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Breaking down Apple’s $1 billion courtroom victory over Samsung

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Breaking down Apple's $1 billion courtroom victory over Samsung

With a 20-page verdict form and 100 pages of instructions to explain it, many figured it would take longer for the jury to render a decision. But, the tech trial of the century has concluded, with Apple scoring a not-quite-flawless victory over its rival Samsung. While the company didn't win on every count, its cadre of lawyers did convince the nine jurors to award Apple over $1 billion in damages for Samsung's IP transgressions. Join us after the break and we'll hit you with the legal math that gave Apple a ten-figure bump to its bottom line -- and served as a shot across the bow of every other mobile phone manufacturer.

Continue reading Breaking down Apple's $1 billion courtroom victory over Samsung

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Breaking down Apple's $1 billion courtroom victory over Samsung originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 25 Aug 2012 10:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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