PatentTroll
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Patent challengers must prove they have a 'significant presence' in the US: ITC
The International Trade Commission has become increasingly tired of all the patent mischief it's forced to deal with, just as we've become tired of reporting on it. That's why its latest defense against time-wasters could potentially be a very good idea. According to Reuters, the ITC will soon demand upfront proof that the complainant in a patent case has a "significant presence in the United States" and isn't merely a fly-by-night outfit created for the purpose of pursuing litigation. The new rule has already been trialed in a pilot program, and Google, Intel, HP and others have voiced their support. It can't fix everything, of course, since major companies will still be able to game the system to hamper their rivals, but with the FTC and the White House also taking steps to subject "patent-assertion entities" to greater scrutiny, it feels like the wheels of government may be starting to catch up with the trolls.
FTC planning to take on patent trolls, hopes to reduce frivolous lawsuits
Sick of endless patent wars yet? According to the New York Times, so is the Federal Trade Commission. Referencing the usual persons briefed on the matter, the NYT reports that FTC chairwoman Edith Ramirez is preparing to propose an inquiry that will put patent-assertion entities -- companies that exist solely to buy and collect royalties on patents -- under federal scrutiny. If approved, patent trolls that catch the FTC's attention will need to detail how they operate and if their legal proceeds pay out to the original patent owner. The chairwoman is expected to explain the proposal in more detail at a patent law workshop later this week. According to the NYT, Ramirez doesn't have any specific company in mind, but aims to investigate companies that might hamper innovation. With any luck, the inquiry will help curb spurious litigation and rampant patent trolling -- something most of us can probably get behind.
Obama administration announces initiative to target patent trolls, protect consumers
The White House announced an initiative today to curb the use of patents by patent holders as a tool for "frivolous litigation," and to protect "Main Street retailers, consumers and other end-users of productions containing patented technology." The initiative's inception is composed of legislative recommendations to Congress and a handful of executive actions being carried out directly by the White House -- it's essentially an initiative targeting patent trolls. Administration officials wouldn't say which congressional representatives might propose bills carrying the White House's recommendations; they characterized today's announcement as part of the administration's ongoing effort to reform patent law. Though the terms are broad, a senior Obama administration official told Engadget that today's announcement is "specifically designed to deal with abusive patent legislation" rather than sweeping patent reform, and is, "not designed in any way to pursue legit patent rights holders." The executive actions (five in total) range from making sure that patent holders are clearly identified -- meant to target patent trolls that intentionally confuse litigation with myriad "shell" companies -- to providing more clear information on patent use to consumers who may be targeted by patent trolls. The legislative recommendations list includes many of the same provisions as the executive actions, and adds even more protections for individual consumers (a stay in suits that target consumers when "an infringement suit has also been brought against a vendor, retailer, or manufacturer," for instance).
Obama to propose plan targeting Patent Trolls
With well over $100 billion in the bank, it's no great surprise that Apple, more than any other company on the planet, finds itself on the receiving end of lawsuits initiated by patent trolls. In 2012 alone, Apple was hit with 44 lawsuits from patent trolls, otherwise known as non-practicing entities (NPE). Seemingly, barely a week goes by without news of an obscure and often shady company taking Apple to court for allegedly infringing upon some questionable patent that was acquired second or third hand. While many topics in the tech world are often the cause of intense and passionate debate, the one issue that seemingly everyone can agree upon is that patent trolls are nothing more than poisonous entities looking to make a quick buck by piggybacking off of the success of others. Lodsys, for example, comes to mind. All that said, there may be good news on the horizon. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that President Barack Obama on Tuesday will announce a new plan intent on minimizing the prevalence and impact of lawsuits brought forth by patent trolls. All told, Obama's plan includes five executive actions and seven legislative recommendations. Mr. Obama's actions, which include measures he wants Congress to consider, are intended to target firms that have forced technology companies, financial institutions and others into costly litigation to protect their products. These patent-holding firms amass portfolios of patents more to pursue licensing fees than to build new products. ... To help deter questionable lawsuits, the Obama administration plans to, among other things, direct the Patent and Trademark Office to start a rule-making process aimed at requiring patent holders to disclose the owner of a patent, according to senior Obama administration officials. Businesses sometimes are sued by shell companies and don't always know who actually owns the patent they are being accused of infringing, and whether the firm holds other relevant patents. Obama's plan will also seek to pass legislation which would slap patent trolls with sanctions when they initiate lawsuits which are found to be abusive. To his credit, Obama appears to appreciate the threat patent trolls can have on the innovative process and, by extension, the American economy. Back in February, for instance, he remarked that patent trolls exist solely to "leverage and hijack somebody else's idea and see if they can extort some money out of them." Political leanings aside, I imagine that that's a sentiment most people can get behind. What's more, Obama will reportedly recommend that the USPTO to take a more discerning look at overly broad technology patents insofar as they are typically the type of patents wielded by patent trolls. After all, if conveniently vague and seemingly useless patent applications aren't granted in the first place, patent trolls won't have any patents to pester other companies with to begin with. Lastly, the Journal notes that Obama's plan will also seek to limit the extent to which companies can utilize the International Trade Commission (ITC) to seek import bans against competing products. As it stands now, Apple has a few cases of its own pending at the ITC.
Lawyer at Apple law firm started planning patent attack just after iPhone introduction
Ars Technica has a fascinating story about a lawyer for one of Apple's hired law firms and his close relationship with a patent company that sued the Cupertino company for infringement. This tale of legal intrigue revolves around lawyer John McAleese who worked for Morgan, Lewis & Bockius. At the same time his law firm was working with Apple, he was helping his wife, Jennifer McAleese, launch a patent company, FlatWorld Interactives, that targeted Apple and its iPhone. This conflict of interest dates back to 2007, when the original iPhone was released. FlatWorld Interactives courted known patent trolls and Apple competitors, suggesting their touchscreen patent could help these companies sue Apple. To Google, Jennifer McAleese wrote: The patent link below may be of interest to Google regarding Apple's swiping mechanism. Our inventor, Slavko Milekic was granted this patent in 2005. In 2007, we placed the patent in reissue to tailor it more closely to iPhone claims. We have been told by many law firms that the patent is extremely valuable even without the reissue possibilities... If you are interested in discussing the patent please let us know. I think it could be an important asset for your ongoing 'talks' with Apple. Flatworld Interactives sued Apple in 2012, but John McAleese's role as both a lawyer for an Apple law firm and an adviser to a patent troll was not known until this year. Not surprisingly, Apple is using this potential conflict of interest in its case against Flatworld Interactives. You can read more about McAleese and his wife's patent troll startup in the Ars Technica article.
Google, BlackBerry, EarthLink and Red Hat ask DoJ and FTC to help starve patent trolls
Tired of all the patent-related stories? Especially the ones that seem like they are more about financial gain than fairness? We thought so. We'd imagine it's even more of a frustration if you're one of the companies regularly involved. No surprise then that some firms -- such as Google, BlackBerry, EarthLink and Red Hat -- have decided to do something about it, taking the fight directly to the FTC and DoJ. In a recent blog post, Google explains that -- along with its collaborators -- it has submitted comments to the aforementioned agencies, detailing the impact that "patent trolls" have on the economy. While the financial cost to the US taxpayer is said to be nearly $30 billion, the four companies also point out how such behavior hurts consumers even further, suggesting that when start-ups and small businesses are strong-armed, innovation and competition suffer. Some specific practices such as "patent priveteering" -- when a company sells patents to trolls who don't manufacture anything and therefore can't be countersued -- also come under direct criticism. The cynical might assume this all comes back to the bottom line, but with the collaborative extending an invitation to other companies to help develop revised, cooperative licensing agreements, they are the very least making it difficult for them to engage in similar behavior in the future. At least until the FTC and DoJ respond.
Lodsys: 150 iOS developers give in to patent demands
Lodsys filed what many are calling a "patent troll" lawsuit against a number of smaller iOS developers last year, claiming that while Apple may have licensed its in-app purchase technology patents for iOS, individual developers have not, and should be held accountable for using it. Despite the fact that this seems patently absurd (pun intended), Lodsys claims that over 150 developers have licensed the technology for themselves, with the majority of them actually doing so "outside of the litigation process." The exact charges of licensing the tech aren't known, but it's rumored to be around 2.5 percent of whatever revenues are earned with in-app purchases. In other words, over 150 of the targeted developers have decided to pay licensing fees to Lodsys, rather than face the threats of legal action or further fines. Lodsys originally offered $1,000 to any developers it said had been wrongly targeted by the lawsuit, but of course that would be after costly court action due to the legal challenges. It's possible that these developers simply decided it wasn't worth the trouble fighting for their cause. Apple promised to assist these developers in court, and tried to make the case that its own licensing payment covers third-party developers. But Lodsys says separately that the issue is still "unresolved and clearly contested." Lodsys seems dedicated to going after smaller developers who lack the huge legal or monetary resources that Apple itself can use, and thus can be more easily threatened into paying out licensing fees rather than face an expensive court battle. [via GigaOm]
Ameranth claims Apple's Passbook violates reservation patents
In the latest in patent infringing suits against Apple, iOS 6's Passbook is the target. Apple Insider reports that Ameranth, which produces poker and restaurant software, claims that the ability to store movie and airline tickets and hotel reservations in Passbook infringes on patents that the company has filed between 1999 and 2005. GigaOM points out that Ameranth has filed similar suits against other companies this summer, and VentureBeat adds that Microsoft and Motorola hold a stake in the company. Ameranth has a history of mostly focusing on enforcing its patents, but with actual products and that financial stake under its belt, they might be a bit more than an ordinary patent troll.
Apple, Google sued by mobile web pioneer
A pioneer in the field of mobile browsing has now set its sights on Google and Apple with a brand new patent lawsuit. A company called Unwired Planet, which used to be known as OpenWave (and helped to create the original mobile browser protocol known as WAP) has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against both Apple and Google, claiming it has patents related to their cloud messaging, content and mobile advertising applications. Unwired Planet started to transition away from actual mobile browsing last year, and is now basically a bundle of patents that the company is trying to "maximize shareholder value" with. Of course, the courts will have to figure this one out, but it seems like Unwired is grabbing at straws here, hoping that one of their patents actually does apply so they can leech some licensing fees off of Google or Apple. Yes, if they did the work, they should reap the rewards, but this just smacks of desperation to me. Depending on what Unwired is actually asking for, they may even just be hoping that Apple or Google would rather pay out than worry about what happens in court. We'll see.
InterDigital wins appeal in never-ending Nokia patent battle
We'll leave labeling of InterDigital to the individual -- whether you prefer patent troll or non-practicing entity, the semantics don't concern us. What does concern us, however, is the IP firm's ongoing legal battle with Nokia, and its recent victory over the Finnish manufacturer in the US Court of Appeals. The ruling reverses a previous decision handed down by the ITC that found Nokia did not violate InterDigital's patents, but the trio of judges hearing the appeal disagreed. The claims in question relate to 3G radios and networks -- the same patents that the firm used to target ZTE and Huawei. It doesn't appear that there will be any immediate repercussions for Nokia, either in the form of import bans or settlement fees. The Windows Phone champion is considering its next move, which may involve appealing the appeal.
NTP reaches agreement with 13 patent defendants including Apple, Microsoft and Google
One of the original "non-manufacturing IP firms," NTP, has just signed an agreement with 13 of the companies it sued for infringing its email patents. The tech industry whales paying for licenses include Google, Microsoft and Yahoo on the software side; wireless operators Verizon, AT&T, Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile; and handset companies Apple, HTC, Motorola, Palm, LG and Samsung. If all the litigation is blurring together in your head, we remind you that NTP is one of the founding patent under-bridge dwellers who made lawyers' eyes everywhere light up with a $612 million payout from RIM back in 2006. That seemingly gave them the courage -- and bankroll, presumably -- to attack the above companies in 2010 for infringement of its eight wireless email patents, including push technology. The terms of the settlement weren't disclosed, but considering the dollars paid out by RIM, "we can imagine quite a bit," to quote Han Solo. [Image credit: Shutterstock]
Google lobs antitrust complaint against Microsoft, Nokia in EU, claims they're playing patent footsie (updated)
The gloves just came off at Google: the company has just filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission against Microsoft and Nokia. Its gripe accuses the two Windows Phone partners of playing dirty pool through handing 1,200 wireless-related patents to Mosaid, a Canadian firm which spends most of its time suing the industry over WiFi rather than making products. Microsoft and Nokia are allegedly hiking the prices of devices by "creating patent trolls" that bypass deals preventing them from suing directly, possibly steering a few companies towards picking Windows Phone instead of Android. Google argues that it's launching the complaint as an early defensive measure. Neither Microsoft nor Nokia has responded, although there's a degree of irony to the action: the complaints assert that Nokia is jeopardizing standards-based patents, but Google's recent acquisition Motorola has itself come under EU scrutiny for possibly abusing standards with its lawsuits against Apple and Microsoft. Either way, it's clear Google is concerned that Microsoft's Android patent licensing campaign might lose its decorum in the near future. Update: Nokia's decided to have its say, in an email to Reuters: "Though we have not yet seen the complaint, Google's suggestion that Nokia and Microsoft are colluding on intellectual property rights is wrong. Both companies have their own IPR portfolios and strategies and operate independently."
Intellectual Ventures' Nathan Myhrvold defends patent trolling, calls tech industry immature
Intellectual Ventures' CEO and founder Nathan Myhrvold, who previously spent some 14 years at Microsoft Research, took the stage here at D10, and as predicted, his interview with Walt Mossberg was quite the invigorating one. You may know the man and his company for its vicious patent trolling -- or, what appears to be patent trolling. In essence, a lot of its business comes from acquiring patent portfolios, and then licensing and / or suing companies to "enforce" them. Naturally, Nathan has a radically different perspective than most sane individuals on the matter, insisting that the system isn't necessarily broken, and that "making money from enforcing patents is no more wrong than investing in preferred stock." The talk centered predominantly around how Intellectual Ventures operates, what it does, and if its CEO feels that the "rat's nest of lawsuits" -- as Walt put it -- was getting out of control. Despite saying that his company has hundreds of people working on new inventions to help deliver medicines in Africa (in response to a question from the crowd on whether his outfit was truly helping people), he confessed that suing to enforce patents was simply another method of capitalism working. Care to take a ride on the crazy train? Head on past the break for a few choice quotes from the interview.
Huawei files EU antitrust complaint against InterDigital
Huawei has filed an EU antitrust complaint against InterDigital to end its "abuse" of the allegedly standards-essential patents it controls. The company has urged the commission to examine its demands, which are considered too hefty to come under the protection of FRAND terms. The shoe normally resides on the other foot, with InterDigital previously instigating battles with Nokia, Samsung and ZTE. This time, it looks like the Chinese giant was tired of being pushed around by what it's derisorily called a non-practicing entity -- which we've taken to be a polite euphemism. Update: InterDigital has released a statement, which we've included after the break.
Potter Voice Technologies sues Apple, Google over voice patent
The latest in a string of patent lawsuits has just been announced: a relatively unknown Colorado company named Potter Voice Technologies claims that all major smartphone vendors, including Apple, are infringing on a patent on natural-language voice control of a computer. Apple's in good company -- the other companies named in the lawsuit include Google, Microsoft, Nokia, RIM, Samsung Electronics, Sony, LG Electronics, Motorola Mobility, ZTE, Huawei Technologies, Kyocera, Sharp, and Pantech. Potter Voice Technologies is seeking damages "but in no event less than a reasonable royalty," injunctions against the companies, and attorney's fees. Potter claims that Apple, Microsoft and Sony must have known about its patent and that the three companies are guilty of willful infringement, which allows for increased damages to the plaintiff. The patent, "Method and apparatus for controlling a digital computer using oral input," was issued in 1998 and was cited in a 2004 patent filing involving SRI International, the company which developed Siri. Potter's idea was to eliminate the training that was required for other voice-control systems. The patent describes spoken words being received by a microphone, interpreted by voice recognition algorithms, and then being used to "search the contents of a tabular data structure organized in rows and columns." The defendants may have the America Invents Act on their side. The law, which went into effect last year, was designed to discourage patent trolls from going after multiple parties in one suit.
Kodak moves to block Apple's latest patent suit from proceeding in federal district court
In a move that's sure to surprise no one, Kodak is fighting Apple's latest round of patent litigation -- a suit that would force Kodak to pause plans to sell up to $2.6 billion in digital imaging patents as a condition of its bankruptcy loan. In documents filed late last week, Kodak argued the dispute should be heard by the same bankruptcy court that's already overseeing its insolvency proceedings. In fact, Kodak's bankruptcy filing back in January caused all pending litigation (from Apple and RIM, among others) to come to a screeching halt, but Apple is nonetheless pushing for a reboot, arguing it's the owner of "a number of valuable patents," including one that could be lost if that planned $2 billion sale goes through. So where might this legal catfight take place? A bankruptcy judge is expected to hear arguments from both sides on Thursday.
Nintendo says it refuses to 'succumb to patent trolls' as it wins Maryland case
Nintendo issued a fairly terse press release earlier today, announcing that it has prevailed in a US patent lawsuit for the "third consecutive time this year." That particular case concerned Nintendo's Wii Balance Board accessory and Wii Fit and Wii Fit Plus software, which a company called IA Labs said infringed on one of its patents (No. 7,121,982); a claim that was dismissed by the Maryland District Court judge in the case. IA Labs was also more or less dismissed as a company by Nintendo's senior vice president of legal and general counsel Rick Flamm, who said that "we vigorously defend patent lawsuits when we firmly believe that we have not infringed another party's patent," and that "we refuse to succumb to patent trolls." The company's full statement can be found after the break.
Apple sued by patent holder Brandywine over voicemail
It's tough when you're at the top of your game, because everybody wants to shoot you down. A new lawsuit against Apple by Brandywine Communications Technologies claims that our buddies in Cupertino are infringing on two patents that vaguely describe mobile voicemail. And who is Brandywine? If your answer includes the words "patent troll," you may already be a winner. Brandywine Communications Technologies is a firm that Verizon -- in a lawsuit against the company -- called "a patent holding company that is in the business of enforcing patent rights through the filing of various lawsuits." In other words, a patent troll. The two patents that Brandywine is suing over are No. 6,236,717 and No. 5,719,922, both of which cover a "simultaneous voice/data answering machine." Not vague enough for you? Here's the description from the patent filings: "A simultaneous voice and data modem coordinates the storage of voice messages and data messages on an audio answering machine and a personal computer, respectively. This allows the called party to subsequently retrieve, via the simultaneous voice and data modem, both a voice message and an associated data message, i.e., a multimedia message, where the called party listens to the voice message while viewing the data message. The called party can retrieve the multimedia message either locally or from a remote location." Sounds just like Visual Voicemail on the iPhone, doesn't it? Along with Lodsys and NTP, Brandywine appears to be working on the assumption that it's easier to make money by filing lawsuits than by actually creating something of value. Apple has not commented on this latest lawsuit.
Watson now hunting down patent trolls, plans Ken Jennings' elaborate demise
The Watson supercomputer used its speech recognition, natural language processing, machine learning and data mining abilities to crush puny human Ken Jennings' dreams of winning at "Jeopardy!", but now Big Blue has it chasing down medical patent trolls for fun. Incorporating the Strategic IP Insight Platform, IBM has now programmed Watson to scan millions of pharmaceutical patents and biomedical journals to discover, analyze, and record any info pertaining to drug discovery. SIIP can then look for the names of chemical compounds, related diagrams, the company and scientist who invented and works with the compounds and related words to determine a patent's rightful owner. The SIIP function can also highlight which patents could be targeted for acquisition by trolls looking to control a property via a lawsuit or licensing agreement. Click past the break for a video outlining the project, along with Watson's announcement of its engagement to "Skynet".
Personal Audio strikes again, has the Kindle Fire in its patent trolling sights
'Tis the season for reflecting upon our many gifts in life and giving thanks for them. If you're Personal Audio, however, once you've thanked your lucky stars that you own a patent on musical playlists, you then file an infringement suit against Amazon. That's right folks, Personal Audio is up to its old tricks again in the Eastern District of Texas, but instead of alleging iPods are infringing its IP, the Kindle Fire is squarely in the company's sites. The patents in question are number 6,199,076 that generally claims an audio player, and number 7,509,178 which claims the aforementioned downloadable playlists. Who knows if Amazon will settle out like Apple did, but as the web retail giant will move a ton tablets (among other things) this holiday season, it should have no shortage of cash do so.
