Google countersues BT over alleged IP networking patent violations

Google countersues BT over alleged conferencing, quality patent violations

Google isn't letting BT's Android patent lawsuit go unanswered, even if it's taking its sweet time. Over a year after BT struck first, Google has filed a countersuit against BT that claims the provider is infringing four patents relating to IP-based conferencing and quality of service delivery. The search firm makes clear that its lawsuit is leverage for a possible truce: it's using the action as a "last resort" to fend off both BT and the patent holding companies that BT uses as proxies, according to a Google spokesperson. BT hasn't had a chance to respond -- or to be formally served, as of this writing -- but we can't imagine that a company which once sued over hyperlinks will simply agree to a stalemate.

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Via: Reuters

Source: TechCrunch

Oracle begins appeal process in its Java patent case against Google, Android

You should know by now that it's never truly over when tech giants resort to legal warfare over their technology, and just as it said it would, Oracle has filed an appeal of the US District Court ruling in its case against Google. In case you'd forgotten, back in May Judge William Alsup found that the structure of its Java APIs were not copyrightable so Oracle had to settle for $0 in damages over its claims that Android infringed on its patents and copyrights. FOSS Patent's Florian Mueller has a full breakdown of what he sees in the case, meanwhile we'll be preparing our fallout shelters for potential Android Armageddon... again.

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Oracle begins appeal process in its Java patent case against Google, Android originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Oct 2012 23:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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US Appeals court rules Motorola can’t enforce injunction against Microsoft in Germany… again

US court rules Motorola can't enforce German injunction against Microsoft, keeps the Xbox 360s flowing

In another face of the ever turning world of patent battles, Reuters reports Microsoft has snagged a victory over Motorola as the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in its favor today. Motorola had obtained an injunction in Germany against Microsoft products -- including the Xbox 360 and Windows 7 -- based on its h.264 patents back in May, but today the court upheld a previous decision putting enforcement on hold because of Microsoft's existing lawsuit against Moto for breach of contract. Microsoft's push to leverage its patents into licensing payouts from manufacturers of Android devices have seen the two at each other's throats since at least 2010, when the folks from Redmond lodged an ITC complaint over nine patents and followed up with another suit accusing Motorola of charging unfair license fees for its patents. Motorola fired back with its own pair of lawsuits -- all of this a year before we heard it would be acquired by Google -- and the battle was on. Whether or not this moves us any closer to any resolution remains to be seen, but at least Bavarian gaming consoles are safe, for now.

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US Appeals court rules Motorola can't enforce injunction against Microsoft in Germany... again originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Sep 2012 19:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceDan Levine (Twitter), Reuters  | Email this | Comments

LG Display countersues Samsung over OLED patent infringement

Samsung 55-inch OLED TV at CES

The strained relationship between the two tentpoles of Korea's tech industry is starting to wear, now that LG Display has counter-sued its local rival over OLED patents. Earlier this month, Samsung filed for an injunction accusing its frenemy of stealing secrets, but LG is claiming instead that it's the victim. If successful, Lucky Goldstar would seek a ban on devices including the Galaxy S III, Galaxy Tab and Galaxy Note on the pair's home turf -- so, yeah, this one looks like it's going to run and run.

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LG Display countersues Samsung over OLED patent infringement originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Sep 2012 06:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceThe Wall Street Journal  | Email this | Comments

Apple seeks additional $707 million, permanent injunctions in patent case against Samsung

In a court filing late Friday night Apple has requested the court enhance the $1.05 billion in damages a jury awarded it from Samsung for their patent lawsuit in California. FOSS Patents' Florian Mueller has a breakdown of the figures, revealing that Apple has chosen to seek enhancement just on what the jury deemed "willful" patent infringement to the tune of $135 million (less than the 3x amount it could have pursued) plus an additional $400 million for infringement of trade dress. That adds up to $1,756,455,218 it's now seeking from Samsung, plus, as Reuters reporter Dan Levine notes, the expected request for permanent injunctions. That could cover more than the products mentioned in the lawsuit, as Mueller also points out Apple is asking for an injunction against other products with similar features, which could extend to devices like the Galaxy S III. As usual, it's all still far from over and the figures could change, but Samsung is probably just hoping Apple's lawyers use iOS 6 Maps for their next trip to the courtroom.

Update: Per FOSS Patents, adding in interest and supplemental damages Apple's total request is now a tidy $707 million. What does Samsung want? According to Reuters, it's requesting an entirely new trial, because who doesn't want to do this whole thing over again? Stay tuned.

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Apple seeks additional $707 million, permanent injunctions in patent case against Samsung originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 22 Sep 2012 03:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceFOSS Patents, Dan Levine (Twitter), Reuters  | Email this | Comments

Skyhook sues Google for patent infringement… again

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.

Permalink FOSS Patents  |  sourceComplaint (PDF)  | Email this | Comments

Microsoft wins injunction against Motorola in German court, aims to strike patent license deal

Motorola and Microsoft are no strangers to the patent war tango, and today marks the third injunction against the Droid maker in the German court. Judge Dr. Guntz of the Munich I regional court ruled that Motorola infringes on a Microsoft patent for "soft input panel system and method," granting Microsoft the ability to ban sales of some Motorola devices in the country. Essentially, the patent in question covers the software required to let applications flexibly receive input from different sources, such as the touchscreen keyboard and voice input.

As Florian Mueller of Foss Patents points out, the functionality covered by this patent is utilized by the vast majority of apps, and among Android device makers only Google-owned Motorola Mobility is not paying Microsoft a patent license for this feature. Microsoft Corporate Vice President David Howard issued a statement with a not-so-subtle dig at the company in question: "We will continue to enforce injunctions against Motorola products in Germany and hope Motorola will join other Android device makers by taking a license to Microsoft's patented inventions." Google can (and most certainly will) appeal the ruling, so the saga continues...

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Microsoft wins injunction against Motorola in German court, aims to strike patent license deal originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Sep 2012 11:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceFoss Patents  | Email this | Comments

Apple adds Samsung’s Galaxy S III, Galaxy Note and Galaxy Note 10.1 to ongoing patent lawsuit

The Apple v. Samsung patent war that will seemingly never end has taken another turn today, as Apple is asking the court to add newer Samsung Galaxy hardware, including the Galaxy S III, Verizon Galaxy S III, Galaxy Note and Galaxy Note 10.1 to its complaint against the Galaxy Nexus and other related devices. If you thought updated software and designs would keep these newer smartphones and tablets out of the fight -- you were wrong. Just to help you keep things straight, remember this is a separate case from the one that ended exactly a week ago with a decision in Apple's favor to the tune of more than $1 billion in damages.

At issue here are eight of Apple's utility patents that it says Samsung has infringed upon. The headliner patents at issue are '721 which covers slide to unlock, and '604, which could apply to the universal search feature Samsung has been pulling from its phones recently. Another familiar entry is the '647 patent Apple slapped HTC with in 2010, which has a vague description but applies to clicking on a phone number in an email, for example, to call it. You can read the details on each and every one in the PDF linked below, we'll be doing... anything else.

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Apple adds Samsung's Galaxy S III, Galaxy Note and Galaxy Note 10.1 to ongoing patent lawsuit originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Aug 2012 21:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Apple Insider  |  sourceApple's amended complaint (PDF)  | Email this | Comments

Google on Apple v. Samsung: most infringed patents ‘don’t relate to the core Android operating system’

When the jury in Apple v. Samsung handed down its verdict on Friday, we watched Apple take a victory lap and heard Samsung warn of hampered competition, but one company remained conspicuously silent: Google. This weekend, though, Mountain View finally released a statement, insisting that while Samsung lost the trial, the ruling doesn't actually implicate Android. "The court of appeals will review both infringement and the validity of the patent claims. Most of these don't relate to the core Android operating system," the company said, noting that several of these patents are being revisited by the US Patent Office. Still, buried in that statement is an implicit acknowledgment that if Samsung can't reverse the decision on appeal, innovation among Android devices might well be be stifled:

"The mobile industry is moving fast and all players - including newcomers - are building upon ideas that have been around for decades. We work with our partners to give consumers innovative and affordable products, and we don't want anything to limit that."

Of course, Samsung has indeed said it intends to appeal (and an internal memo reported by CNET corroborates this), so it would seem that the proxy battle against Android is far from over, and the drone of legalese is sure to continue.

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Google on Apple v. Samsung: most infringed patents 'don't relate to the core Android operating system' originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Aug 2012 09:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceBBC, All Things D, CNET  | Email this | Comments

Google on Apple v. Samsung: most infringed patents ‘don’t relate to the core Android operating system’

When the jury in Apple v. Samsung handed down its verdict on Friday, we watched Apple take a victory lap and heard Samsung warn of hampered competition, but one company remained conspicuously silent: Google. This weekend, though, Mountain View finally released a statement, insisting that while Samsung lost the trial, the ruling doesn't actually implicate Android. "The court of appeals will review both infringement and the validity of the patent claims. Most of these don't relate to the core Android operating system," the company said, noting that several of these patents are being revisited by the US Patent Office. Still, buried in that statement is an implicit acknowledgment that if Samsung can't reverse the decision on appeal, innovation among Android devices might well be be stifled:

"The mobile industry is moving fast and all players - including newcomers - are building upon ideas that have been around for decades. We work with our partners to give consumers innovative and affordable products, and we don't want anything to limit that."

Of course, Samsung has indeed said it intends to appeal (and an internal memo reported by CNET corroborates this), so it would seem that the proxy battle against Android is far from over, and the drone of legalese is sure to continue.

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Google on Apple v. Samsung: most infringed patents 'don't relate to the core Android operating system' originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Aug 2012 09:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceBBC, All Things D, CNET  | Email this | Comments