Tag Archives: PatentLicensing

Via Licensing assembles an LTE supergroup to share standards-essential patents

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Via Licensing assembles an LTE supergroup to share standards-essential patents

Dolby spinoff Via Licensing has shone a signal into the night sky and assembled some of the world's biggest telecoms players to form a patent supergroup. AT&T, NTT DoCoMo and Telefonica are some of the names that'll pool their standards-essential LTE patents to prevent getting embroiled in litigation over FRAND licensing. While there are some notable holdouts to the team, we suggest company president Roger Ross coax them over by hiring Michael McCuistion to write them a rockin' theme song.

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Via Licensing assembles an LTE supergroup to share standards-essential patents originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Oct 2012 01:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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RIM licenses Microsoft’s exFAT file system to stuff extra-large files into BlackBerry devices

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RIM has big ambitions for media on BlackBerry hardware -- really big. Accordingly, it just reached a patent licensing deal with Microsoft that lets it use the exFAT file system on "certain BlackBerry devices." We have a hunch that's a reference to future BlackBerry 10 phones and tablets rather than retrofits of existing (and likely incapable) mobile gear. The move will let any devices that do recognize exFAT handle much larger files, such as long videos, in addition to streamlining transfers between computers and other gadgets. The conditions of the deal haven't been given out, but we suspect RIM's negotiations with Microsoft were on more voluntary terms than those faced by Android supporters.

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RIM licenses Microsoft's exFAT file system to stuff extra-large files into BlackBerry devices originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Sep 2012 12:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rovi lands Google Fiber patent license deal, keeps program guides flowing

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Rovi strikes Google Fiber patent license deal, keeps program guides flowing

Rovi considers itself the master of TV program guides everywhere -- even if some disagree -- so it's almost inevitable that the company would negotiate a new patent license with Google. The deal puts all of Google Fiber's TV interfaces in the clear, whether it's the set-top box near the TV or the less traditional interfaces found on the web and the Nexus 7 remote. Considering Rovi's existing connection to Google TV, the new pact may cement the company and its partner in Mountain View as surprisingly close friends.

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Rovi lands Google Fiber patent license deal, keeps program guides flowing originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Aug 2012 17:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple and Liquidmetal hug it out, lengthen their pact until 2014

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Liquidmetal exampleThe deal between Apple and Liquidmetal was originally supposed to be a short-term fling. Technically, it expired in February this year, less than two years after the couple first met. There must have been a spark, as the two have just decided to extend their licensing deal through to February 2014. Of course, simply having a deal isn't the same as putting it to use, and there's no certainty that we'll see anything exotic materialize out of it: the last time Liquidmetal's extra-sturdy alloy was used in an Apple product, it wound up in a SIM card ejector tool. Still, Apple must have found something it wants to make in order to keep its union going forward, whether it's another tiny pack-in with an iPhone or (once costs allow) something a tad larger.

Apple and Liquidmetal hug it out, lengthen their pact until 2014 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 19 Jun 2012 12:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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InterDigital’s Bill Merritt on patent trolls, standards development and disputes with the big boys

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The Engadget Interview InterDigital CEO Bill MerrittYou probably won't know the name, but you most certainly use its technology on a daily basis. InterDigital is a pioneering company that helped develop WCDMA, 3G and HSDPA during its 50-year history. It counts former Apple CEO Gil Amelio as one of its directors, but the only time you'll ever hear its name is when it's embroiled in litigation.

Either because it's suing, or being sued for licensing fees in the complex, murky world of wireless technologies, it's easy to get the idea that InterDigital is a patent troll. A name that, both Nokia and most recently, Huawei have barely stopped short of throwing at the company.

But what's it like being painted as the villain in the wireless business pantomime? Company president and CEO William "Bill" Merritt took the time to answer some of our questions, talk about what the company actually does, what's in the future and why they definitely aren't a patent troll.

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InterDigital's Bill Merritt on patent trolls, standards development and disputes with the big boys originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 14 Jun 2012 10:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Huawei files EU antitrust complaint against InterDigital

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Huawei has filed an EU antitrust complaint against InterDigital to end its "abuse" of the allegedly standards-essential patents it controls. The company has urged the commission to examine its demands, which are considered too hefty to come under the protection of FRAND terms. The shoe normally resides on the other foot, with InterDigital previously instigating battles with Nokia, Samsung and ZTE. This time, it looks like the Chinese giant was tired of being pushed around by what it's derisorily called a non-practicing entity -- which we've taken to be a polite euphemism.

Update: InterDigital has released a statement, which we've included after the break.

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Huawei files EU antitrust complaint against InterDigital originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 May 2012 10:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nokia loses UK appeal against IPCom’s pointless patent posturing

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Nokia has had its appeal dismissed in the UK High Court in its Europe-wide patent battle against IPCom. The court found that the handset maker had infringed the German firm's 3G patent, but only on the Nokia N96 -- a phone the company no longer sells. IPCom can now request a ban on all British sales of the 2008 handset, a move that will probably affect tens of people. We've got an official response from Nokia's Mark Durrant after the break.

[Image credit: Wikimedia Commons]

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Nokia loses UK appeal against IPCom's pointless patent posturing originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 May 2012 06:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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