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

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.

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

Filed under: , ,

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.

Permalink TechCrunch, WSJ  |   | Email this | Comments

Fujitsu and Acacia resolve patent disputes with settlement, keep it out of the courts

Fujitsu and Acacia resolve patent disputes with settlement, keep it out of the courtsFujitsu's bank balance may be a little lighter today, since Acacia Research Corp. has reported that subsidiaries of both companies have signed a settlement deal over patent disputes. As usual, Acacia is keeping tight-lipped about exactly what the patents cover, but a little digging on our part has revealed they are related to flash memory and RAM technologies. The agreement resolves lawsuits in the works at district courts in Texas and California, which is probably a good thing. After all, these cases can get pretty messy when they go to court.

Continue reading Fujitsu and Acacia resolve patent disputes with settlement, keep it out of the courts

Filed under: , ,

Fujitsu and Acacia resolve patent disputes with settlement, keep it out of the courts originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Aug 2012 10:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceRopes & Gray (1), (2)  | Email this | Comments

Cher Wang: HTC will grab as many patents as it can

Cher Wang HTC will grab as many patents as it can

HTC co-founder and chair Cher Wang has said that her company plans to register and buy a host of patents in order to maintain parity with its competition. Speaking at the firm's 15th anniversary party, she said that despite being unable to use S3 Graphics' patents in ongoing litigation, the company will register and purchase patents in a variety of "different fields." It looks like we can expect to see a lot more filings at the USPTO in the future, and perhaps a few more buyouts along the way.

[Image Credit: WSJ / Zuma Press]

Cher Wang: HTC will grab as many patents as it can originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 14 Jun 2012 12:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink CNET  |  sourceChina Post  | Email this | Comments

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

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.

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

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.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Apple denied stateside Galaxy S III injunction

Apple denied Stateside Galaxy S III injunction

Judge Lucy Koh has denied Apple's request for a domestic sales ban of Samsung's latest flagship. Her Honor put her foot down, saying that adding any more litigation to the already overcrowded docket would cause the courtroom action to be postponed again. Cupertino subsequently relented, eager to get the trial proper started, which is currently slated to begin on July 30th.

Apple denied stateside Galaxy S III injunction originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Jun 2012 04:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Reuters  |  sourceOrder (PDF)  | Email this | Comments

Samsung sues Australian patent office to force judicial review of Apple patents

Image

Samsung has sued the Australian patent commissioner to seek judicial review of four patents granted to Apple in the country. It alleges that Cupertino's innovations patents, the legal equivalent of calling shotgun on new tech, weren't withdrawn by the commission when the full ones were awarded. If the Korean company is successful, the four patents will be declared invalid since they were improperly granted -- keeping them out of the barrage of litigation that surrounds the Galaxy Tab 10.1. A directions hearing is scheduled for June 25th, where Judge Annabelle Bennett will decide if Apple will lose out due to the error.

[Thanks, James]

Samsung sues Australian patent office to force judicial review of Apple patents originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Jun 2012 05:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink ZDNet  |  sourceITNews  | Email this | Comments

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

all day sign

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.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Nokia loses UK appeal against IPCom’s pointless patent posturing

Image

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]

Continue reading Nokia loses UK appeal against IPCom's pointless patent posturing

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.

Permalink Slashgear  |  sourceReuters  | Email this | Comments

Apple v. Samsung judge yells ‘get to the point, you two’

ImageJudge Lucy Koh, presiding over the courtroom battle 'twixt Apple and Samsung has ordered that both companies slim down the bundle of litigation so its easy for juries to understand. The docket currently contains 16 patent violations, six trademark issues, five "trade dress" claims and an antitrust matter -- which her Honor Judge Koh described as a "cruel and unusual punishment" for a jury. If both companies can't get over a table and produce a Cliffs Notes edition of their global patent battle, then she'll postpone the trial date until 2013.

Apple v. Samsung judge yells 'get to the point, you two' originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 May 2012 10:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Phone Scoop, Techmeme  |  sourceComputerworld  | Email this | Comments

Nokia gets it: launches patent lawsuits against HTC, RIM and Viewsonic

Image

Nokia has just announced that it is commencing patent litigation against HTC, Research in Motion and Viewsonic in the US and Germany. It's claiming that a number of its patents are being infringed and has registered complaints with the ITC and courts in Delaware, Dusseldorf, Munich and Mannheim. Espoo's legal chief Louise Pentland has said that while the company currently licenses its FRAND patents to "more than 40 companies," it had no choice but to lay some courtroom smack-down on the named offenders. It appears that after losing its global market share crown and billion-dollar losses, the company is finally going on the offensive with its deep patent portfolio. You can judge that for yourself when you read the official line after the break.

Update: We've received some clarification from Nokia on what exactly is on the docket here. "Four of the patents asserted against Viewsonic in Mannheim are standards essential. The rest against Viewsonic and all against HTC and RIM are implementation patents, not declared essential to any standard and so we have no obligation to grant licenses."

Continue reading Nokia gets it: launches patent lawsuits against HTC, RIM and Viewsonic

Nokia gets it: launches patent lawsuits against HTC, RIM and Viewsonic originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 May 2012 09:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments