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Google Patents search gets upgrade, now filled with prior art and European patent goodness
The legal tussles between Apple and Samsung have previously placed a spotlight on stuff like 2001: A Space Odyssey by way of prior art. Now Google's patent search is giving prior art some love as well with the addition of the aptly named "Prior Art Finder" to its patent search tool. Marked by a patently obvious blue button, the new addition serves up relevant prior art results by using key phrases from a patent's text and putting them together in a search query. Besides drawing from Google Patents, the finder displays results from Google Scholar, Google Books and the web's other nooks and crannies. The recent improvement also adds some Euro flavor to Google's patent search by including submissions to the European Patent Office. The addition should work well with an update to Google Translate earlier this year that added parallel patent texts from the aforementioned European agency to allow for translations between English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German and Swedish. As always, folks can check the source link for the full details.
European Patent Office invalidates IPCom 3G patent, gives good news to Nokia and HTC
IPCom's had its way with many mobile manufacturers, including Nokia and HTC, by suing them for patent infringement in German courts. However, the Finnish and Taiwanese firms got good news today when the European Patent Office invalidated one of its 3G patents -- the very same one it used to obtain an injunction against HTC. IPCom's not going away quietly, however, as it plans to appeal the EPO's decision. That means that the folks in Espoo and Taoyuan City aren't out of the woods yet -- but it should at least give them a bit more bargaining power in negotiations to end their (seemingly endless) legal spats.
