USITC
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US opens investigation into Google amid Sonos patent suit
It's been about a month since Sonos sued Google for allegedly violating some of its patents behind syncing wireless speakers, and now the US government is getting involved. The US International Trade Commission today announced that it had voted to investigate whether Google and its parent company Alphabet have imported patent-infringing products into the country. To be clear, this doesn't mean the US government has decided that Google has violated Sonos' patents -- but whether or not those patents were violated should fall under the scope of this investigation.
Nintendo faces Switch patent infringement investigation in the US
Nintendo is under investigation by the US International Trade Commission, and the fate of the Switch hangs in the balance. Gamevice, the company behind the Wikipad and a line of snap-on controllers for mobile devices, says the Nintendo Switch violates its patents on attachable handheld gamepads and their related accessories. Alleging violations of the Tariff Act of 1930, Gamevice is requesting a cease and desist order against Nintendo, a move that would halt imports of the Switch into the US.
US trade commission looks into Qualcomm's patent fight with Apple
Qualcomm's patent beef with Apple just took an important step forward. The US International Trade Commission has decided to investigate Qualcomm's complaint that some iPhones violate six of its patents. If the chip maker has its way, the ITC would ban imports and sales of Apple's handsets. Not surprisingly, Qualcomm says it's "pleased" with the choice, and eagerly anticipates the "accelerated relief" it could get if the Commission finds in its favor.
ITC decides Apple didn't violate Motorola WiFi patent after all, tosses case back to judge
Trouble looked to be brewing for Apple last April: an International Trade Commission judge made an initial ruling that Apple infringed on a standards-essential Motorola WiFi patent, raising the possibility of a trade ban if the verdict held true. The fellows in Cupertino may have caught a big break. A Commission review of the decision on Friday determined that Apple didn't violate the patent, and it upheld positions that exonerated the iPhone maker regarding two others. Apple isn't entirely off the hook, however. The ITC is remanding the case to the judge to review his stance that Apple hadn't violated a non-standards-based patent, which still leaves Apple facing the prospect of a ban. However, having to revisit the case nearly resets the clock -- we now have to wait for another ruling and a matching review, and that likely puts any final decision well into 2013. Google-owned Motorola isn't lacking more weapons in its arsenal, but any stalled proceedings take away bargaining chips in what's become a high-stakes game.
ITC says again that Apple and RIM don't violate Kodak patent
Kodak hasn't caught a break lately, and that trend isn't easing up any time soon with a second rejection arriving in its main International Trade Commission (ITC) patent dispute with Apple and RIM. Despite having had its case remanded after a loss last year, Kodak is once more being told that BlackBerrys and iPhones don't violate a patent on previewing photos. The one violation was rendered moot through "obviousness," according to administrative law judge Thomas Pender. It's still an initial ruling, and Kodak is trying to put a positive light on the situation -- it's "pleased" there's still an infringement, even if the patent claim is invalid -- but the patent wars aren't looking good for a photography company that has already had to give up cameras to have a chance of staying afloat. Most of Kodak's hope, then, will be pinned on a second wave of ITC disputes that might stand a better chance of putting at least Apple's feet to the fire.
Apple v. Nokia: USITC comes out on Nokia's side in pre-trial hearing
It'll be a good, long while before the various spats between Nokia and Apple over intellectual property ever get fully resolved -- but Espoo's got an early ally in the form of the US International Trade Commission. The USITC has said early in the patent trial -- in which Apple is the plaintiff -- that "the evidence will not establish a violation" on Nokia's part, elaborating that portions of some patents were invalid and others simply weren't infringed at all. The judge in the case isn't expected to lay down the law (quite literally) until next February -- and he isn't obligated to take the USITC's side on the matter -- but we're sure the boys and girls over in Finland are high-fiving a bit on the news. Update: Reader Florian Mueller wrote us to point out that the USITC comments only affect four of the many patents Apple is wielding against Nokia (alongside HTC and Motorola) in a variety of cases -- so yeah, this is far from over.
Apple / Nokia federal lawsuit put on hold pending ITC investigation
We normally wouldn't cover something so procedural, but given the heightened interesting Apple's patent dealings this week, we thought we'd note that Cupertino's tiff with Nokia in the federal courts has been put on hold while both companies argue their case before the US International Trade Commission. We expected the ITC to be the primary front in this fight from the start, but now we'll be particularly focused on the Commission's ruling, since several of the patent claims Apple's asserting against Nokia in this case are also being claimed against HTC. We don't have a timeline on when the Commission will reach a decision, but we'll keep an eye on things.
Nokia / InterDigital patent drama continues with ITC ruling in Espoo's favor
Corporate legal teams are so large, so powerful, and often so evenly-matched that when you combine them with the glacial wheels of justice, patent disputes can take years to resolve -- in fact, we'd say it's the rule rather than the exception -- and inevitably, they end in anticlimactic fashion with the alleged offender agreeing to shell out some fraction of the plaintiff's original request in exchange for sweeping the whole matter under the rug. Nokia's had its fair share of such spats, and one that's been dogging the company for a good long while now is with InterDigital, which has been systematically targeting firms in the industry for years with claims that it holds patents inherently required for UMTS -- in other words, if you make UMTS gear, you automatically owe InterDigital money. Of course, Nokia has been politely disagreeing with that claim all along, and the US International Trade Commission has just issued an initial determination in its favor, saying that it doesn't violate the four patents InterDigital's all worked up over. For the record, the US ITC has been investigating this issue for a solid two years now, so yeah, if someone's ripping off your IP, don't expect a speedy resolution. The commission's initial determination will be followed by a final, binding determination this December; in the meantime; Espoo "will continue to present its case." Now that we think about it, we're pretty sure we saw this episode of Law & Order already.
Sharp LCD panels banned from US import until further notice
Chalk up another huge win for Samsung in its long-running patent dispute with Sharp: the US International Trade Commission has just issued a ruling banning importation of Sharp LCD panels that infringe one of Samsung's viewing-angle patents. As you might imagine, the ban covers a wide swath of Sharp's consumer products, including the Aquos TV line, but it's not clear on how it'll affect other companies that use Sharp panels -- this ruling could potentially have a huge impact on the entire tech market. On the other hand, we'd bet that Sharp's lawyers are furiously putting together a request to have the ban delayed while an appeal is sorted out, so this is far from over -- in fact, we'd say the real fireworks are just beginning.
US Prez upholds Qualcomm chip ban, Verizon snickers
Qualcomm -- a company that's arguably more used to suing than being sued -- isn't finding much luck in its protracted quest to avoid a Broadcom-led ban of its 3G hardware from coming into the States. Following a recent denial of its motion to stay the ban in the court system, the President of The United States himself (or his administration, anyway) has swooped in to render an executive judgment, and it ain't looking any better for Qualcomm. Saying that the importance of protecting IP rights outweighs the inconvenience of the ban, the Bush folks have stood by the ITC's decision to impose the ban in the first place, making it seem all that much smarter now for Verizon to have sidestepped the whole ordeal and paid Broadcom itself. Barring any last minute antics, the ban gets enforced starting tomorrow.
Clock ticking for ITC to justify Qualcomm chip ban
It seems the feds agree with us that a broad, sweeping ban on little morsels of 3G goodness is just flat-out uncool. The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has turned the proverbial hourglass upside down, giving the US International Trade Commission two weeks to justify its partial halt on the import of devices equipped with 3G chipsets manufactured by Qualcomm. The spat originates over a Broadcom claim that Qualcomm's silicon infringes on its patents, and the court system is interested in hearing why the USITC thinks the ban should remain in place while Qualcomm appeals. Intellectual property issues aside, the ITC's cold-turkey ban stands to have a significant impact on carriers, handset manufacturers, and customers (that's us, by the way) as the selection suddenly dries up -- so at the very least, we're hoping everyone affected has a little more time to get their ducks in a row while the patent suit navigates the legal system (please?).
Feds impose "partial ban" on Qualcomm-powered phones
Stock up on those 3G handsets, folks -- they could become very valuable commodities here in the next few weeks. As part of an ongoing series of spats between wireless giants Qualcomm and Broadcom, the US International Trade Commission has ruled that handsets containing Qualcomm 3G chipsets (and that's a whole heck of a lot of handsets) that are manufactured starting today may not be imported into the US. By all accounts, this appears to be much more than legal posturing on Broadcomm's part -- a ban is a ban -- and we've gotta believe this'll resolve itself right quick. But if for whatever reason it doesn't, get ready for an eBay free-for-all in a gloomy, scorched-earth future where the only high speed handsets are pawned for thousands of New Dollars on the black market. [Warning: subscription required]
