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Samsung and Kodak put an end to patent squabbles
It looks like Kodak and Samsung's 'patent squabble' can be attributed to misplaced affection. According to some newly minted PR, the companies have inked a technology cross-license that will allow each access to the other's portfolio. Details are scarce, but apparently Sammy has already made a payment to Kodak as credit towards the royalties it will owe once it dives into the classic imaging company's back catalog. And how about all that alleged patent infringement? The lovebirds have agreed to file joint requests to terminate proceedings and settle their lawsuits against each other, heralding a new era of peace, love, and cooperation -- a great way to begin a new decade, don't you think? Chuck Woolery, you've done well. PR after the break.
It's 2010 - Fox is still on TWC (for now) but Food & HGTV are off Cablevision
As two digits flipped over last night we waited to see if Fox and Time Warner Cable would work out their differences or turn channels dark.... and waited... and waited until we finally dozed off. As it stands, thanks to a series of extensions and ongoing negotiations, the channels are still on, but there's no new deal. As long as that remains to be the case, many football fans and several members of the government should be quite pleased, but in a New Year's Day surprise, Cablevision has rid itself of two networks on its service - Food Network and HGTV. While we've been upset by reports of some odd aspect ratio stretching on HGTV, these channels have their own fans that are upset to see them missing. Cablevision's posture seems to be that they won't be coming back, but parent company Scripps has already launched campaigns at ILoveHGTV.com and ILoveFoodNetwork.com for viewers to appeal for their return. We'll keep an eye on the ongoing Fox/TWC spat, though we're sure they wouldn't suddenly let channels go dark right before the Sugar Bowl tonight, would they?
Kodak wins preliminary ruling in patent squabble with Samsung
Good old December, the busiest time of the year for elves, reindeer, jolly old fat guys... and lawyers, apparently. Joining the rush to make momentous decisions before Santa arrives, the International Trade Commission has made a preliminary ruling in favor of Kodak in its dispute over digital camera patents with Samsung. Though the original lawsuit included LG, an out of court settlement has left only Sammy in the firing line, and this early decision has affirmed that two of Kodak's patents were infringed in the production of its cameraphones. It's still necessary for the full commission to look at and approve the judgment, but considering Samsung's vast range of camera-equipped phones, we'd throw legal caution to the wind and start bombarding the ITC with "holiday cheer" pronto.
FTC moseys into Intel / NVIDIA dispute
The dispute between Intel and NVIDIA has already reached legendary proportions, and it looks like now even the FTC is getting involved as a result of its longstanding investigation into Intel regarding another matter. While Intel just settled the antitrust fight with AMD that originally kick-started the investigation last month, the FTC is now reportedly talking to NVIDIA to see if its numerous complaints against the chipmaker actually hold water. While complete details are expectedly light and none of the parties involved are saying much on the record, some "people familiar with the matter" say that the FTC is trying to determine if a lawsuit filed by Intel earlier this year is nothing more than an effort to disrupt NVIDIA's business. Of course, things could well expand from there, considering what the FTC has waded into.
Intel shells out $1.25 billion to settle all AMD litigation
Intel sure sells a lot of chips, but man -- it sure blows a lot of that profit on lawyers. Just months after it got nailed with a $1.45 billion fine from the EU in an AMD antitrust case, nearly two years after AMD hit Intel with another antitrust probe and nearly 1.5 years after the FTC sparked up an investigation of its own, Intel has finally decided to pony up in order to rid itself of one of those back-riding monkeys. In an admittedly brief joint announcement released simultaneously by both firms today, Intel has agreed to cough up a whopping $1.25 billion in order to settle "all antitrust and IP disputes" with AMD. In fact, the pair went so far as to say the following: "While the relationship between the two companies has been difficult in the past, this agreement ends the legal disputes and enables the companies to focus all of our efforts on product innovation and development." Aside from AMD's coffers filling up with cash, the agreement also gives both firms patent rights from a new 5-year cross license agreement. Of course, we're betting that this isn't the end of this exceptionally bitter rivalry, and we highly doubt Intel wrote a check this large while grinning from ear-to-ear. That said, we're eager to see what AMD does with its newfound cheddar, and if we had our druthers, we'd sit back and watch it invest heavily into beating Intel to the punch with its next few platforms.
THQ triumphant in WWE / JAKKS Pacific dispute
You may not know this, but THQ and JAKKS Pacific have been locked in a vicious courtroom tussle over payment for work on some of THQ's WWE titles. See, THQ and JAKKS had a deal wherein THQ was to pay JAKKS 10% of money accrued from the sale of the JAKKS-developed WWE games; however, the two ALL CAPS companies were set to renegotiate that deal when JAKKS jumped the gun, signing a new contract without THQ's consent. And, as you've probably guessed, that's when THQ sicked the lawyers on 'em. Today, the result of this ongoing cage match are in and THQ managed to pin JAKKS for the 1-2-3. In the end, THQ was able to get that 10% figure lowered to only 6%, which will save the company "approximately" $23 million. JAKKS is surely upset: before the suit, the company was set to receive $57 million for its efforts in developing WWE titles; now that figure is a much lower $34 million. And what have we learned here? In the fantastical world of WWE, signing important documents without the consent of your business partner might make for great television but ... wait, we need to rethink this lesson ... Source - THQ Prevails in JAKKS Pacific Arbitration Dispute Source - JAKKS Pacific Announces Result in THQ Arbitration
Labor dispute with Apple display supplier intensifies
After gathering in front of Apple's offices in Taiwan earlier this week, protesters are now demanding a substantive response from Apple by the end of the month regarding alleged workplace labor and safety violations at Wintek, one of Apple's display component suppliers. Labor groups associated with the protesters claim that Wintek unlawfully fired 619 workers, cut salaries without negotiation, and forced employees to work overtime without pay to fulfill rush orders. The company has since re-hired 20 of those workers and says it is operating within the law. Wintek has also threatened legal action if "company and stakeholder interests" are jeopardized. Wintek further claims that labor groups are violating their agreements and encouraging workers to demand benefits illegally. The protesters appear to be using the popularity of Apple's brand name to get attention to their cause. "We want to go through Apple to put pressure on Wintek," said Chu Wei-li, secretary-general of the Taipei-based National Federation of Independent Trade Unions. Apple Asia released a tepid response after the protests. Spokeswoman Jill Tan said, "Apple conducts regular audits of suppliers to make sure they comply with Apple's code of conduct. We require corrective actions when we find violations." An audit is exactly what aggrieved Wintek employees say they are demanding. MacNN says that rights groups associated with the protests are also asking the Electronics Industry Citizen Coalition to investigate Apple's delay in responding to the matter. Wintek was recently rumored to be the winner of the display contract for Apple's "media pad" tablet device. Some analysts predict the tablet will go on sale next year. Apple has previously found itself in the middle of other labor disputes. In 2006, Foxconn workers protested low pay and poor working conditions while assembling iPods. Apple conducted its own investigation and found that the company violated overtime rules and unreasonably punished workers. Since then, cute pictures of Foxconn employees have thawed the image of the supplier.
WNWO to provide Olympics programming on Buckeye CableSystem, future still uncertain
We had a feeling folks on both sides of the WNWO / Buckeye CableSystem table would come to terms in order to keep the Olympics coverage flowin' despite their disagreements, but it seems the future beyond that is still murky. The local NBC affiliate in Toledo, Ohio will allow coverage to continue on the aforesaid carrier until August 24th, but there are still terms to hash out before a retransmission agreement for September and beyond is agreed upon. Nothing like broadcast drama, right?[Thanks, Keith]
Federal court ratifies Pulse~LINK UWB patents in Tzero case
At long last, it seems the legal spat between Pulse~LINK and Tzero has come to an end. Federal courts have ratified the former company's patents in a UWB-over-coax patent infringement case against Tzero, affirming that Tzero will now have to pay licensing fees to use Pulse~LINK's technology. In the settlement, it was noted that Tzero had "suspended development of products that were the subject of the legal action," and if it chose to re-introduce any of those wares, it would first cut a check to Pulse~LINK. Time to hug it out? Nah, we thought not.
Suddenlink, LIN TV reach retrans deal, restore KXAN & KBIM
New Years Day was a sad one for cable customers served by Suddenlink and LIN TV, when their previous retransmission consent agreement expired, KXAN-TV (NBC) in Austin and KBIM-TV (CBS) in Albuquerque went dark. Three months later, they've come to terms and restored the channels to 30,000 affected customers. No word on what it took, but LIN TV claims all subscription services have to recognize "fair market value" of its stations. (Warning: PDF read link.)
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.
Vonage, Nortel call a truce -- no cash changing hands
Although the press release issued to announce the settlement between Vonage and AT&T earlier this month is still the shortest we've seen in all of 2007, we're pretty certain the one doled out to trumpet the truce between Vonage and Nortel is holding down the two-spot. In just five wee sentences, we learn that the two have agreed in principle to end the litigation pending between 'em, and though no cash will be changing hands, the agreement does involve a limited cross license to three patents per firm. Way to put the past behind before entering into the new year, we say.
iRobot awarded $286 million military contract
In a shocking tale of totally expected events, iRobot has been awarded a tidy $286 million army contract to produce a merciless, bone-crushing battalion of 3,000 peaceful, loving, bomb-disarming robots (and their spare parts). This comes hot on the heels of Robotic FX getting its walking papers (as well as a canceled contract) on the same military work, so we can't exactly say we're surprised. Just another chapter in the ever-unfolding legal and philosophical drama that is the iRobot / Robotic FX story. iRobot -- this round is all yours.
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.
Canadian iPhone delayed by trademark dispute?
Mirroring the premature trademark dispute surrounding the launch of the Cisco iPhone in the US, Apple's Canadian launch of its respective iPhone could be delayed due to a trademark dispute with a product that shares the same name as Apple's gadget. Comwave Telecom in Toronto owns the trademark rights to the name "iPhone" in Canada for use on its VoIP products and services, and has filed a complaint with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office over Apple's application for the trademark rights of the name for its future Canadian version of the iPhone. Sounds like a case of how much Apple is willing to pay, or how long they're willing to delay.
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.
Canon set to buy out Toshiba's display stake, SED production in sight?
There's not too many technologies that eventually surfaced after hitting as many snags as these long-awaited SED TVs, but it looks like the final hurdle may finally be overcome. Canon has just announced that it will buy out Toshiba's stake in the pair's joint venture in order to get that pesky Nano-Proprietary patent lawsuit off their collective backs. The lawsuit claimed that its original agreement to license technology to Canon did not extend to Toshiba, thus presenting quite the quandary when Toshiba kept trying to get its SED displays out to showroom floors. SED TV production, however, is still up in the air, as Canon said that prior plans to erect a $1.49 billion manufacturing facility in Japan is now "under review," and an analyst even mentioned that the company might end up "reconsidering growth drivers to replace SED." Nevertheless, Canon is still clinging to the idea of popping out SEDs for now, although it was mentioned that it would be "on a smaller scale," which isn't apt to give these elusive sets any kind of price advantage whenever it lands. Interestingly, Toshiba still stated that if things went smoothly, it would buy some of the manufactured SED displays directly from Canon and throw its own logo on it, theoretically bypassing the lawsuit and simultaneously snubbing Nano-Proprietary. But hey, we've got no qualms with a little joint venture competition, and considering how every other HDTV price is falling through the floor, we'll bet they need it.[Thanks, Greg]
Charter cable customers in St. Louis could lose KMOV HD signal
Apparently, love isn't the only game that requires a bit of give and take, as just months after Charter blessed its St. Louis, Missouri customers with two new sparkling HD channels (TNT-HD and MHD), the firm is now about to remove one. Charter Communications has reportedly hit a wall in discussions with Belo. Corp. (which owns KMOV) in regard to the fees that the station wishes to collect from Charter. Although Charter hasn't had any issues receiving permission from other locals to broadcast their HD signals, KMOV is playing hardball, suggesting that Charter pay up to compensate for the "value gained" by having the HD flavor of their station available to users. Of course, the cable company complains that charging for signals that can be received over the air gratis is absurd, and neither party seems to be budging just yet. St. Louis Charter subscribers could lose the signal "as early as tomorrow" unless any band-aids get applied today, but either way, you'll soon be receiving a letter in the mail explaining why there's a sudden black hole where KMOV used to be if things aren't permanently resolved.
Belkin and Microsoft make nice, settle U2 lawsuit
No, we're not talking Apples and Apples here, nor does this have anything to do with Bono (nor the Edge, actually); rather, Belkin and Microsoft have finally made nice regarding Belkin's consistent use of Microsoft's "U2 technology," which allows keyboard and mice to detect what type of connection (USB or PS/2) is needed. While other accessory makers, namely Targus and Fellowes, have been paying Gates and Co. royalties for years to borrow said technology, Belkin has been resisting the pressure "for more than two years." Eventually the misalignment between companies came to blows, creating a lawsuit that suggested Belkin pay fees for using the detection technology in its third-party peripherals. The decision was settled when Belkin finally agreed to pay an undisclosed amount to the Redmond giant to continue using its patented U2 goodness, and both sides actually went so far as to say they were "pleased" with the outcome. C'mon folks, can't we just learn from this and all strive to get along?
TomTom loses latest round in Garmin dispute
So it looks like it won't be a Garmin-free European Christmas for TomTom after all: despite the Dutch manufacturer's claim that its American rival has been copying the design of its nav units, a judge in The Hague has ruled that there are in fact "clear differences" between the two companies' products. TomTom originally filed the suit two weeks ago in hopes of forcing Garmin's devices off of European shelves during the lucrative holiday spendfest; however, the angular design of StreetPilot units was judged to be dissimilar to the curvier Go products even at first glance. Although this latest round of legal shenanigans finds Garmin coming out on top, TomTom is still waiting for the results of another summary proceeding, and of course, there's always the small matter of those three patent infringement suits that have yet to be settled. Since both companies come out with very capable products, we can't say that we have a preference regarding the outcome of this dispute, although we wouldn't mind if Garmin won just enough money from TomTom to keep the latter company from producing anymore of those awful TV commercials.
