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Kodak Scores A Win Against Apple In Their Patent Fight

Posted in Commentary with tags , , , on May 15, 2011 by itnerd

Eastman Kodak has scored a victory with an initial ruling from a U.S. International Trade Commission judge stating that the company has not infringed two Apple patents cited in a lawsuit filed last year:

Neither of the two patents in Apple’s case before the ITC were being infringed, and one of the patents is invalid, Judge Robert Rogers in Washington said yesterday. The judge’s findings are subject to review by the six-member ITC, which has the power to block imports of products that infringe U.S. patents.

That’s gotta suck for Apple’s iLawyers. But you have to keep in mind that this is just an initial ruling and is still subject to full ITC review. So this isn’t over just yet. Which is good if you’re a lawyer.

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Google’s Bid For Nortel Networks Patents Approved

Posted in Commentary with tags , , on May 2, 2011 by itnerd

The news hit the Interwebs today that Google’s attempt to score Nortel Networks patent arsenal has been approved by a court today… Sort of:

Nortel Networks Corp. said Monday it has received court approval for a $900-million “stalking horse” bid by Google for the company’s remaining patents and patent applications.

Qualified bidders hoping to top the Google offer will be required to submit offers by June 13, while the auction is set for June 20.

That’s the good news. If you’re a Nortel pensioner or creditor, here’s the bad news:

The company has said it doesn’t expect its common shareholders, or holders of Nortel Networks Ltd. preferred shares, will receive any of the proceeds.

It’s also unlikely that Nortel pensioners in Canada who have fought the company over the windup of their pension plan will get any of the money raised from the asset sales.

That sucks. I wonder who’s pocketing that cash?

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Samsung Sues Apple…. And It Begins Again

Posted in Commentary with tags , , , on April 23, 2011 by itnerd

All I have to say is that I am not the least bit shocked that Samsung has decided to sue Apple to defend itself against Apple’s patent lawsuit against them:

“Samsung is responding actively to the legal action taken against us in order to protect our intellectual property,” the statement said.

Charming. And so begins the pattern of tit-for-tat lawsuits that tends to happen in the patent lawsuit space. Oh well. Check back in about 3 to 5 years and maybe this will be sorted out. Not that you’ll care by that point.

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Apple Sues Samsung Over Phones And Tablets

Posted in Commentary with tags , , , on April 18, 2011 by itnerd

Another day, another patent lawsuit. This time it’s Apple suing Samsung:

“It’s no coincidence that Samsung’s latest products look a lot like the iPhone and iPad, from the shape of the hardware to the user interface and even the packaging,” an Apple representative told Mobilized. “This kind of blatant copying is wrong, and we need to protect Apple’s intellectual property when companies steal our ideas.”

Sigh, this patent lawsuit nonsense is getting stupid. I really wish that there was a better way of dealing with this sort of thing. Just to prove how stupid it is, Apple lost a round with HTC in the patent lawsuit between those two companies.

At least the lawyers will continue to be able to continue stimulating the economy by buying BMW’s with the cash earned from lawsuits like these.

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Microsoft/i4i Patent Fight Goes To The U.S. Supreme Court

Posted in Commentary with tags , , , on April 18, 2011 by itnerd

According to The Toronto Star, there seems to be an endgame to the Microsoft vs. i4i patent fight. Here’s why Microsoft wants to keep i4i from cashing in:

The hour-long hearing before eight Supreme Court justices delved into the intricacies and the history of the U.S. patent system. Chief Justice John Roberts recused himself from the hearing since he owned more than $100,000 (U.S.) in Microsoft stock in 2009.

Microsoft wants the high court to make it easier for companies to challenge the validity of other firms’ patents. The current standard requires a defendant to prove by “clear and convincing evidence” that a plaintiff’s patent is invalid.

Here’s what i4i had to say:

Lawyers for i4i and the Obama administration argued, however, that there’s little point in granting patents to inventors if corporations can simply infringe upon them with impunity.

“It’s a marathon, not a sprint, but I think it went very well,” Loudon Owen, i4i’s chairman, said on the steps of the iconic Supreme Court building following the hearing.

“The bottom line is whether there’s a robust patent system, and whether or not if you get a patent, it means something. If the law goes the way Microsoft wants it to, it will mean it will be very easy to invalidate patents, which will make it hard to justify why one seeks a patent in the first place.”

Now there’s only going to be 8 rather than 9 judges ruling on this, so this could end up in a tie decision. If that happens, then Microsoft loses. So this is an “all-in” moment for the software giant. Meanwhile, for i4i, a win would validate that Microsoft ripped them off. Expect a decision sometime in June.

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Google Comes Up With $900 Million For Nortel Patents… Microsoft Might Have Something To Say About It Though

Posted in Commentary with tags , , , on April 4, 2011 by itnerd

The news came out today that Google is going after the patent portfolio of bankrupt Nortel Networks:

Google has bid $900 million US to buy about 6,000 patents in what’s called a stalking horse bid.

That sets the lower limit in an auction scheduled for June, avoiding bids that are unrealistically low. Other potential buyers will be free to make competing offers.

I’m sure that Google can find a few things that are useful that are in that patent portfolio. After all these patents cover wired, wireless and digital communication technologies. Though Microsoft thinks that this doesn’t change the fact that they have rights to these patents. Here’s what a Microsoft mouthpiece spokesperson said:

“Microsoft has a worldwide, perpetual, royalty-free license to all of Nortel’s patents that covers all Microsoft products and services, resulting from the patent cross-license signed with Nortel in 2006.”

So it’s a safe bet that there are a team of Google lawyers that are looking at this to see if this is true or not. If it is, expect a legal crapstorm to start shortly.

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Paul Allen Sues World + Dog…. Again

Posted in Commentary with tags , on December 29, 2010 by itnerd

Remember that rather vague lawsuit that Paul Allen filed against pretty much everyone in the tech world that was tossed out of court for lacking specifics. It’s back. This time it’s got specifics:

In the suit, Mr. Allen’s firm claims four of its patents – chiefly related to the way Web data is sorted and presented – have been infringed by a number of successful companies.

The first patent concerns the generation of data related to information being browsed. Interval claims Google uses this technology to match advertisements from third parties to content being displayed, while AOL’s sites use it to suggest items related to news stories.

Interval claims Apple’s iTunes service uses the technology to suggest music based on a user’s searches, and that eBay Inc., Facebook, Netflix, Yahoo Inc. and Office Depot’s sites have also infringed the patent in the way they direct users to related content.

The second and third patents concern relaying information on a computer screen in a peripheral, unobtrusive manner, such as in an instant messaging box or overlay.

Interval claims its patent has been infringed by features in AOL’s Instant Messenger, Apple’s Dashboard, Google Talk and Gmail Notifier, Google’s Android phone system and Yahoo Widgets.

The fourth patent concerns alerting web browsers to new items of interest based on activity of other users. Interval claims AOL uses this technology on its shopping sites, while Apple’s iTunes uses it to recommend music.

Interval claims eBay, Facebook, Google, Netflix, Office Depot, Staples Inc., Yahoo and Google’s YouTube all have infringed the patent in the way they suggest content to users.

This seriously sounds like a major cash grab. To think that the co-founder of Microsoft has been reduced to a patent troll is really sad. As always, the only winners will be the lawyers. That too is sad.

<sigh>

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Paul Allen’s Lawsuit Dismissed For Not Being Specific Enough

Posted in Commentary with tags , on December 13, 2010 by itnerd

Frequent readers might recall that a group led by Paul Allen had sued pretty much every tech company for patent infringement. That lawsuit got a big dose of reality when a judge decided to dismiss the lawsuit. But the case isn’t over:

U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman on Friday set a Dec. 28 deadline for the plaintiff, a company controlled by Mr. Allen called Interval Licensing LLC, to file an amended complaint. A spokesman for Mr. Allen said it plans to do so soon, calling the judge’s order a “procedural issue” that won’t halt the case. 

Charming. This makes me recall what I said when this case hit the interwebs:

This really sounds like patent trolling to me. I am surprised that someone like Paul Allen would be behind something like this. But I guess he needs the cash, even if his lawyers are going to get a significant cut. In any case, he’ll see these companies in court.

Given this setback, I really feel that this lawsuit is junk. Hopefully the courts see this.

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Paul Allen Files Patent Suit Against Apple, Google, Yahoo, To Name A Few

Posted in Commentary with tags , on August 27, 2010 by itnerd

Paul Allen who is best known for helping to co-found Microsoft, is suing a number of tech companies for patent infringement:

Mr. Allen’s suit, filed in federal court in Seattle, asserts those three companies and eight others are using technology developed a decade ago at the billionaire’s now-defunct Silicon Valley laboratory. Mr. Allen, a pioneer of computer software, didn’t develop any of the technology himself but owns the patents.

The targets of the suit are a who’s who of the tech world. Apple, Google, AOL, eBay, Facebook, Netflix, Office Depot, OfficeMax, Staples, Yahoo and Google’s YouTube subsidiary are all named, and Google for one plans to fight:

“This lawsuit against some of America’s most innovative companies reflects an unfortunate trend of people trying to compete in the courtroom instead of the marketplace,” a Google spokesman said. Other companies named in the suit said they planned to defend themselves or weren’t available to comment.

The lawsuit centers around four patents that appear to be key technologies of the operations of the companies that are being sued. Not to mention that they would be technologies of e-commerce and Internet search companies in general:

The technology behind one patent allows a site to offer suggestions to consumers for items related to what they’re currently viewing, or related to online activities of others in the case of social-networking sites.

A second, among other things, allows readers of a news story to quickly locate stories related to a particular subject. Two others enable ads, stock quotes, news updates or video images to flash on a computer screen, peripherally to a user’s main activity.

This really sounds like patent trolling to me. I am surprised that someone like Paul Allen would be behind something like this. But I guess he needs the cash, even if his lawyers are going to get a significant cut. In any case, he’ll see these companies in court.

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Apple Meddles In Attempt To Standardize Widgets…. But Strangely, It’s Good For Us

Posted in Commentary with tags , , on April 8, 2009 by itnerd

If you’re wondering about the title of this post, it will become clear shortly.

First, let’s get to the details. The W3C Web Applications Working Group, has been trying to come up with a standard for Widgets so that they not only work on any platform, but can update themselves. Apple has decided that  patent 5,764,992 which covers automatic software updates, cannot and will not be used royalty-free. That means that there now has to be a lot of work to get around this patent if widgets are to be standardized.

Here’s how it’s good for us. If the W3C went ahead and used Apple’s patent, Apple could cash in either through royalties or through lawsuits. Now because they’ve warned the W3C of it’s rather dubious patent, it can be avoided and Apple gets nothing. While it would have been nice if Apple had simply just said that anybody could use it royalty free and not look like Microsoft in the process, this will do nicely.

Oh, there’s coverage of this here, and here if you want some different views.

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