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UK High Court finds invalidity in Qualcomm's patent dispute with Nokia
Just days after the ITC upheld a December ruling that stated that Nokia did not violate Qualcomm patents, the UK High Court has handed down its decision on a lawsuit initially filed in May of 2006. If you'll recall, the case involved Nokia's GSM / GPRS / EDGE-only handsets and a pair of Qualcomm's patents "that cover certain power saving and power control technologies." Nearly two years after the spat got real, the court has ruled that "although the Nokia accused products included the patented technologies, the power saving patent is invalid and that the power control patent is partially valid but, insofar as it is valid, is not infringed by Nokia." Granted, we reckon that could have been spilled out with fewer complexities, but the end result has Qualcomm considering "whether to seek permission from the UK court to amend the patents and appeal the decision." Please, just let it go.
Comcast and Big Ten Network still can't come to terms
Don't worry -- that feeling of déjà vu actually isn't just in your head. Going back as far as last June, you'll find disagreements between Comcast and Big Ten Network, and for whatever reason, those conflicts still exist today. Just days after we heard that BTN remained anxious to land a deal with Charter, a new report out of the Chicago Tribune asserts that wheels are still spinning between the network and Comcast. Reportedly, BTN President Mark Silverman was "optimistic" about inking an agreement last month, but here we are a month later without any sort of deal in place. Granted, Mr. Silverman still suggests that talks are continuing, but we're beginning to wonder how long it'll be before these friendly conversations lead to a bona fide business transaction.
Green Bay FOX affiliate refusing to give HD to TWC
In Green Bay, Wisconsin, there's Packers football, and then there's Packers football. 'Course, if you can't make it out to the stadium, the next best option is kicking back and watching Favre lead the Pack to victory in beautiful high-definition. Unfortunately for Time Warner Cable (partly owned by Time Warner, parent company of AOL, which owns Engadget) customers in the area, you won't be indulging without an antenna. As we've seen in so many other cases, WLUK FOX 11 is refusing to hand over its HD content to local cable / satellite providers gratis, and is currently seeking "around $0.02 per day for each digital household." To make matters worse, it's the only remaining network of The Big 4 not available in HD with TWC, and unfortunately, it doesn't even seem like an agreement is within sight. Just another excuse to make it out to Lambeau Field, right?[Thanks David S., image courtesy of Flickr]
Talks between Apple and China Mobile squelched... or are they?
Barely a fortnight after Apple began talking with China Mobile about getting the iPhone into the ginormous Chinese market, it seems that negotiations are off -- or still on, or something. Yesterday, Nanfang Daily reported that China Mobile's CEO felt that the "iPhone model was not suitable for China," but unnamed reporters suggested that the real reason behind the call-off was the inability for both entities to agree on -- surprise, surprise -- a revenue sharing model. Today, however, a report over at Bloomberg notes that Apple has in fact not ended discussions with China Mobile, and moreover, it was said to have "denied newspaper reports" claiming otherwise. 'Course, we've got two sides of the story here, and while Apple may feel that there's still room to negotiate, China Mobile may see things quite differently. Time will tell, we guess.[Via Macworld]Read - Nanfang Daily reportRead - Bloomberg report
Samsung and Matsushita close to settling PDP patent dispute
It takes some serious swallowing of pride -- or a rather large check -- for a company to put aside its legal beef with another and agree to move forward, but that's about to happen in the nearly two year-old dispute between Samsung and Matsushita. Reportedly, the two have "entered into a memorandum of understanding in which they have agreed in principle on terms and conditions of a formal settlement and cross-license agreement," which would finally conclude the bickering surrounding patents for plasma screens. Essentially, the two have accused each other of infringing on PDP-related patents for years, but it seems that all this holiday cheer has gotten the best of 'em. Notably, no terms of the (potential) agreement were loosed, but we're expecting some serious coin to change hands, regardless.
EchoStar CEO trivializes DirecTV's 100 HD channels
Merely days after DirecTV reassured its customer base that hordes of new HD channels were (still) on the way, EchoStar Communications CEO Charlie Ergen has reportedly downplayed the whole shebang. During a second-quarter conference call, Ergen was quoted as saying that "there's not 100 channels of HD that [he] would watch," and supposedly insinuated that he didn't think having "70 or even 100 HD channels" was all that important. 'Course, he made sure to mention that Dish Network has 50 of its own, and did state that having 100 HD offerings was "a good round number to get people excited." Sure sounds like a case of bitterness to us.
Universal Studios VP sez HD DVD is 'more affordable' than Blu-ray
As if the format war really needed another quote for fanboys on both sides to jump on and argue over, none other than Ken Graffeo (an executive vice president at Universal Studios) threw a proverbial can of lighter fluid right on the fire. Responding to the recent Target reports that misinterpreted Sony's purchase of an "end cap" for Blu-ray players as the ousting of HD DVD from the store, Ken went on to say that "standalone HD DVD players are still much more affordable than Blu-ray players," and moreover, he reportedly added that HD DVD provided a better experience, and welcomed a direct comparison between movies such as 300 and Blood Diamond, which are available on both formats. 'Course, there certainly seems to have been a lot more price cutting going on in the HD DVD camp of late, but regardless of price quarrels, what does this say about Universal's chances of actually supporting Blu-ray anytime soon?
Qualcomm's request for stay on chip ban refused... again
Talk about tough luck. For the second time in as many month's, Qualcomm has been flat out denied by the courts as it has attempted to stall a ban on its chips over the Broadcom patent disputes. This time around, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit "dismissed Qualcomm's request for a stay of the ban, saying that it can't consider a stay until a presidential review period is over." Furthermore, this harsh news (for Qualcomm, at least) comes just days after being evaded by Verizon, and if that wasn't enough, the EU's stamp of approval on DVB-H could put MediaFlo in a world of hurt. Hang in there Qualcomm, all's not lost... yet.
Google to Microsoft: more changes to Vista, please
Just when you thought the bickering over Vista's search capabilities were finished, along comes Google to fuel the nearly extinguished flame. Apparently, Microsoft's actual filing that spelled out its intentions to alter the search functionality within Vista wasn't as clear cut as previously understood, and now Google is out for even more blood. Google's chief legal officer, David Drummond, called the remedies "a step in the right direction," but also declared that the changes "should be improved further to give consumers greater access to alternate desktop-search providers." Essentially, it seems like Google will be barking up Redmond's proverbial tree until Microsoft allows users to disable Vista's built-in search (or better yet, choose Google) entirely. Oh, the drama.[Via Slashdot]
Augmented reality relationship game plays with your emotions
If you couldn't quite make it to the last Wii marriage counseling session, there's still good news coming from Georgia Tech. Thanks to a group of engineering minds at the university, a new augmented reality game (dubbed AR Facade) is placing you in the center of a marital spat with nearly limitless options. The program apparently runs on a back-worn laptop and utilizes an oh-so-tacky head mountable display, and developers suggest that being placed in the midst of an "interactive drama" allows you to choose sides, attempt to mediate, and basically "define your own way to win" as you try to talk some sense into the flustered couple. Interestingly, there's even talk of bringing such games "onto mobile phones" and into the workplace, but it looks like they've got a bit of hardware trimming to do first.[Via The Raw Feed]
Microsoft lawyer whines about Apple's DRM complaints
The gloves have long since been removed in the battle war between Cupertino and Redmond, and while we wouldn't deem this a direct hit, it's a mighty blow to gut regardless. Microsoft's general counsel and executive vice president Brad Smith has apparently decided that whining about whiners is the best approach to garner public support, as he mouthed off to reporters and suggested that Apple should just shut its trap in regard to the limitations of DRM, and in a completely unrelated addition, claimed that sales of the iPod should be good enough for that oh-so-greedy corporation. More specifically, Mr. Smith claimed that he wasn't a "big believer in just blaming the music industry for Apple's inability to sell every conceivable iPod," but contradicted himself ever so slightly by insinuating that Apple should leave well enough alone and enjoy the profits the player is already pulling in. Is it just us, or do you sense this vibe of bitterness mixed in there somewhere, too?[Via GizmoNews, picture courtesy of Worth1000]
