patentinfringement
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HTC files two counterclaims against Apple in Florida
Today's exciting patent infringement news of the day comes courtesy of Computerworld, which reports that HTC -- which is being sued for patent infringement by Apple along with Motorola Mobility -- filed a counterclaim yesterday before a court in Florida. In its filing, HTC said that it had been assigned all rights, title and interest of a patent titled "Installation of network services in an embedded network server" that was originally assigned to HP. It said the same for another patent, "Method and system for central management of a computer network" that was assigned to Electronic Data Systems (EDS), which was acquired by HP in 2008. Both patents were apparently licensed or sold to HTC through HPs program for selling intellectual property. Yes, you too can license or buy these patents, then go to court to sue anyone who seems to be even partially infringing on HP's your intellectual property rights. HTC, which to my knowledge has never sold a server or any server administration tools, is claiming that Apple Remote Desktop, Apple Profile Manager, and other products infringe on the former EDS patent it now owns. It's also claiming that the "embedded network servers" exist in iOS and OS X in the form of services such as Newsstand, and that Macs and various versions of the iPhone and iPad are infringing on that HP patent. Excuse me, I'm going to Kickstarter a fund to license a bunch of HP patents and sue the pants off of HTC. It's a "quietly brilliant" idea, isn't it? Be right back...
Import ban on select Motorola Android products starts today
It's been a few months since the International Trade Commission affirmed its decision to ban a selection of Motorola's Android portfolio from import, but the ruling will only start in earnest from today. While the ITC mentioned the likes of the Google-powered Atrix, Xoom, Droid 2 -- alongside a whole pile of lesser-known models-- the exclusion covers all Motorola devices that infringe on Microsoft's patents for email-based meeting scheduling. Motorola has stated that it has already been proactive in ensuring its phones remain available in the US -- the ruling won't affect devices already in stock. In its own words: "In view of the ITC exclusion order which becomes effective Wednesday with respect to the single ActiveSync patent upheld in Microsoft's ITC-744 proceeding, Motorola has taken proactive measures to ensure that our industry-leading smartphones remain available to consumers in the U.S. We respect the value of intellectual property and expect other companies to do the same."
Nexus 7's Smart Cover-like magnetic sensors
Google's Nexus 7 tablet appears to have a feature that isn't showing up in any of the official specs. Over on YouTube, user wwscoggin showed off an experiment in which he used a magnet to discover a sensor that puts the display to sleep. Does this sound familiar? Yes, it's a function that has been used in the last two generations of iPad to allow the Smart Cover to switch off the display when closed. The Nexus 7 is manufactured by ASUS, and the company has demonstrated a case for the device that is surprisingly like Apple's Smart Case. It's unknown if the ASUS case will take advantage of the magnetic sensor to pull off a Smart Case functionality, but if it does this may add fuel to the fire for yet another patent infringement case from Cupertino. The original video is shown below for your edification.
Noise Free Wireless creating a lot of noise over alleged Apple infringement
When you're the big target, it seems like everyone is shooting at you. Apple is now being sued by a Silicon Valley company by the name of Noise Free Wireless over alleged infringement of a patent for mobile phone noise-reduction technology. Noise Free Wireless says that the company first showed off its patented technology to Apple at meetings in 2007 with a number of increasingly technical and confidential meetings following until 2010, when Noise Free found that Apple was going to use technology from Audience (a rival) in future products. However, in June of 2010, Apple filed an application for a patent covering noise suppression. Noise Free Wireless is alleging that Apple reverse-engineered their "proprietary and confidential object code, determined Noise Free's noise reduction software, and measured and duplicated the signal traces from the circuit board and microcontroller," and then supplied that information to Audience. The lawsuit was filed on July 3, 2012 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, with Noise Free asking for damages for the alleged infringement as well as an invalidation of Apple's patent.
ITC denies Apple's request for emergency ban against HTC products
Just like they have been, products like the One X and EVO 4G LTE will continue to pour through US Customs, as the ITC has now denied Apple's request for an emergency ban against the alleged infringing products. The news follows Apple's request for an emergency ban itself, in which the Cupertino outfit accused HTC of making false statements in order to bypass the terms of an exclusion order issued last December. In the most recent ruling, the ITC found that, "Apple has not demonstrated the propriety of temporary emergency action," and went on to state, "the commission will not direct Customs to detain all subject HTC products because the commission does not have the information necessary to determine whether the respondents are currently violating the commission's limited exclusion order." Just yesterday, the ITC began an investigation to determine whether HTC's products continue to violate a patent held by Apple, which would be a violation of December's exclusion order. Until the ITC issues a more definitive finding, however, it seems that HTC can breathe a sigh of relief.
Google to pay $0 in damages to Oracle, wait for appeal
After watching Judge Alsup strike down its patent and Java API infringement claims, Oracle seems to be cutting its losses, agreeing to accept $0 in damages from Google. Confused? So was the Judge, who reportedly responded to the proposal by asking, "is there a catch I need to be aware of?" No catch, but Oracle isn't giving up, stating that it's taking its case to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. If successful, the appeal could put the two firms back in Alsup's courtroom, perhaps asking for somewhere between the previously proposed $32.3 million and today's sum total of zilch. We'll let you know when the drama comes around again.
Samsung will seek compensation from Apple following 3G patent ruling
Samsung will seek damages from Apple after a ruling yesterday in The Hague stating that Apple had infringed on a 3G patent. The Dutch court ruled in favor of Samsung, stating that Apple must pay compensation for infringing European patent EP1188269. Previously, Samsung had unsuccessfully attempted to ban sales of iPhones and iPads in Europe based on four patents that are essential to implementation of 3G. The court ruled that the technology in question is subject to "fair, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory (FRAND)" licensing, so Samsung was not entitled to ask for a ban on sales of the infringing Apple devices. Those devices include the iPhone 3G, 3GS, and 4, as well as the iPad 1 and 2. The ruling of the court means that Apple will need to pay damages to Samsung for these devices, which use baseband chips manufactured by companies other than Qualcomm.
Kodak loses ruling in patent fight with Apple
Struggling camera and film pioneer Kodak is going through Chapter 11 bankruptcy. While it deals with angry creditors, the company is also juggling a legal battle with Apple over the rights to several patents in its patent portfolio. According to Bloomberg, Kodak recently was handed a setback in its fight with Apple when US Bankruptcy Judge Allan Gropper told the camera maker the dispute would be processed as part of the bankruptcy proceedings and won't be fast tracked by the court. "An adversary proceeding will permit the parties to raise issues in an orderly and expeditious fashion and preserve all of their just rights," Gropper said in a hearing on Wednesday. The dispute involves imaging patents that Apple says it should own. The patents, Apple claims, are derived from technology it shared with Kodak when it worked with the camera company on the QuickTake 100, an early digital camera Apple sold in 1994. Apple says Kodak misappropriated this technology and patented it without Apple's consent. Kodak, however, claims it owns the patents and want to sell them to raise money for its bankruptcy proceedings.
Apple denied Galaxy S III injunction in the US
US District Judge Lucy Koh denied Apple's request for an injunction that would ban the sales of the new Samsung Galaxy S III, according to a report by Reuters. Koh said Apple's request to block the June 21 launch of the Android handset would "overload her calendar." Instead of pausing to consider the injunction, Koh would rather focus on the larger trial between Samsung and Apple, which is slated to pick up again in July.
HTC decides to buy S3 after all, keeps it on ice for future patent wars
HTC was exhibiting more than a bit of buyer's remorse after its acquisition of S3 Graphics went off the rails: it had used the $300 million deal to scoop up a company with a victory over Apple in a patent dispute at the ITC, only to see that decision reversed and its dreams crumble. S3 will be glad to know that HTC wants the shotgun wedding to last. The One X creator's general counsel, Grace Lei, is now promising that the buyout will wrap up at some point in the near future after "cautious assessment" of its worth. The union won't help HTC fend off escalating Apple assaults, but the 270 patents may make other companies think twice before starting a feud -- oh, and give HTC some graphics technology to improve its products.
Customs stops delaying HTC One X and EVO 4G LTE devices after 'review'
HTC-branded crates have been trickling through customs for ten days already, following a total clamp-down earlier in May, but it's only now that they're able to pass through without lengthy extra checks. The manufacturer says it has "completed the review process with US Customs" and that it is "confident that we will soon be able to meet the demand for our products." That obviously raises the question as to why the HTC One X and EVO 4G LTE devices were held up in the first place. The ITC had earlier ruled that HTC infringed on an Apple patent about data detection, concerning a handset's ability to recognize and move around personal data, for example between the contact entry and the calendar, and it had given HTC until April to remove that feature. HTC agreed to that, but it appears customs officials initially needed to check every box to ensure that products arriving in the US were of the compliant type. Meanwhile, the LTE part of the EVO 4G is still waiting for its luggage.
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.
Samsung accuses Apple of withholding evidence
Earlier this week, CEOs from Apple and Samsung met for court-ordered mediation talks that turned out to be fruitless. Now, the two companies are back to their legal hijinks with Samsung claiming Apple is withholding evidence, according to a report in FOSS Patents. Samsung is asking the United States District Court for the Northern District of California to penalize Apple for not complying with an April 12, 2012 order that required Apple to provide Samsung with documents from related proceedings. Apple tried to comply, but some of the documents were from ITC investigations and the ITC wouldn't let Apple share them with Samsung. Florian Mueller of FOSS Patents believes Samsung is using this document request to delay the trial. It will take time for the district court and the ITC decide which documents can and cannot be shared with the Korean company. Apple is asking for clarification from the court on this point and is waiting for a response.
Jury issues verdict in Android suit, finds that Google doesn't infringe Oracle patents
It appears that the jury has come to a conclusion in the Oracle v. Google trial, determining that Android does not infringe Oracle patents. Judge William Alsup of the US District Court for Northern California exonerated the search giant following a trial that lasted three weeks, ruling that Google did not infringe on six claims in US Patent RE38,104, along two claims in US Patent 6,061,520. Jurors were dismissed following today's ruling, with the trial's damages phase reportedly set to begin on Tuesday. According to The Verge, the jury did determine that Google was responsible for two counts of minor copyright infringement, relating to the order of Java APIs and several lines of rangeCheck code, which could be matched with a maximum penalty of $150,000 for each count. Regardless, it appears that the lawsuit, which dates back to 2010, when Oracle filed against Google for copyright and patent infringement related to Sun's Java code, could finally be coming to a close.
Apple files (again) for a preliminary ban against the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1
If you found yourself longing for the minor tweaks Samsung made to the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Germany earlier this year, you may be in luck: Apple's filed for a preliminary injunction against the slate stateside. It isn't the first one, either, Cupertino filed something similar back in February, though it didn't quite pass legal muster. After gaining some headway earlier this week, Cook's crew is in for round two, according to FOSS Patents, asking for Judge Koh to rule in their favor without a new hearing. Concerned consumers, however, can sidestep the whole mess by simply opting for an injunction-exempt Galaxy Tab 2. Details and speculation can be found at the source link below, just in case you aren't already sick to death of the whole Samsung / Apple spat.
ITC bans Motorola mobile devices for infringing Microsoft patent (updated: MMI responds)
At the end of last year, an Administrative Law Judge issued an initial ruling that Motorola's mobile devices infringe a bit of Microsoft's IP. Now, the Commission has affirmed that decision and issued an exclusion order to ban Moto's offending devices from importation into the US. In case you weren't aware, the four patent claims at issue generally cover technology for scheduling meetings over email using a mobile device. So, unless Motorola removes the feature, pays for a license or whips up a workaround Microsoft's patent in short order, its inbound RAZRs, Droid 4s, Bionics and other offending handsets will be stuck in customs alongside HTC's One X and EVO 4G LTE -- that is, unless Obama steps in to save the day during the prescribed presidential review period. Microsoft, naturally, is quite pleased with this development and has issued a statement: Microsoft sued Motorola in the ITC only after Motorola chose to refuse Microsoft's efforts to renew a patent license for well over a year. We're pleased the full Commission agreed that Motorola has infringed Microsoft's intellectual property, and we hope that now Motorola will be willing to join the vast majority of Android device makers selling phones in the US by taking a license to our patents. -- David Howard, corporate vice president and deputy general counsel Microsoft We've reached out to Motorola for comment on the matter as well, so stay tuned to see what it has to say. Update: Motorola has issued an understandably somber statement on the ruling: Microsoft started its ITC investigation asserting 9 patents against Motorola Mobility. Although we are disappointed by the Commission's ruling that certain Motorola Mobility products violated one patent, we look forward to reading the full opinion to understand its reasoning. Motorola Mobility will not experience any impact in the near term, as the Commission's ruling is subject to a $0.33/per unit bond during the 60 day Presidential review period. We will explore all options including appeal.
Apple, HTC ordered by judge to sit down, try and make nice on August 28th
There's a trend starting to emerge of judges wanting Apple to talk settlements with others rather than duke it out in the courtroom. Just two weeks after Apple and Samsung were steered towards talking about a potential deal, a Delaware court has ordered Apple and HTC to meet on August 28th in the hopes that they could shake hands and put an end to an increasingly hectic legal battle under the eyes of a mediating judge. Whether or not that happens is very much up in the air. Apple CEO Tim Cook has said he's not a fan of lawsuits, but he hasn't showed indications that he would take legal action off the table just yet. Likewise, HTC is no doubt eager to eliminate phone shipping delays stemming from Apple's court wins, but the lack of immediate pressure and the hopes of winning countersuits might lead it to hold off. Still, if the court's ideal vision of the world comes to pass, you could see HTC's Cher Wang shopping in an Apple Store without staff giving her the evil eye. [Image credit: mobile01]
Apple gets another bite, wins appeal to pursue preliminary injunction against Samsung
We'll forgive you if you've forgotten, given the myriad Apple/Samsung legal shenanigans, but back in February, Apple attempted to obtain a preliminary injunction against Samsung to prevent the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and a few phones from being sold in the US. Samsung emerged victorious, as the district court denied Cupertino's request because it questioned the validity of a couple of Apple's patents and didn't see how Apple would be irreparably harmed if it failed to get Sammy's products banned. Naturally, Tim Cook's crew appealed that decision, and the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) has decided to give Apple another crack at obtaining an injunction. The CAFC upheld the lower court's ruling as to three of the four patents, but found fault with the District Court's holding that Apple's tablet design patent had substantial questions of validity. Essentially, the lower court held that Apple's patent was likely no good because it was an obvious design in light of two tablets that were created long before Apple patented the iPad's look. However, the CAFC found that one of the previous slate's asymmetrical bezel and lack of an unbroken, all-glass surface (among other differences) were sufficient to render Apple's patent non-obvious. Basically, the appellate court found that the District court "construed the claimed design too broadly," and remanded the issue so that the district court could complete its preliminary injunction analysis. So, Apple's cleared a big hurdle towards getting the Galaxy Tab 10.1 off the US market, but the company's still got to persuade Judge Koh that it'll be irreparably harmed without the injunction. This decision assures even longer legal proceedings, but given how well both of these tech titans are doing these days, we're pretty sure they can afford the attorneys' fees.
Apple and Samsung drop some claims but still disagree
Apple and Samsung are battling in a California courtroom over Samsung's Galaxy line of smartphones and tablets. On Monday, the Cupertino company limited the scope of the case by cutting its patent and trademark infringement claims in half, says a report in FOSS Patents. Samsung responded by dropping 5 of the 12 patents in its counterclaim. Despite this reconciliatory move, the two companies still disagree about many details of the lawsuit. The two companies are bickering about the ability of the case to go to trial starting this summer. Apple says Samsung is being uncooperative, while Samsung blames Apple for keeping the case too broad. The two companies also disagree about the infringement with Apple calling Samsung a copycat and Samsung arguing it used "innovative, independently developed technologies." You can read a detailed analysis of these latest developments on FOSS Patents's website.
Apple and Samsung finally agree... to drop a plethora of claims from their patent spat
Last week, Judge Lucy Koh informed Apple and Samsung that they would have to reduce the number of patent claims at issue in the parties' Northern District of California litigation. And now, each has complied, with Samsung dropping its total number of asserted patent claims from 75 to 15, while dismissing two patents from the case altogether. For its part, Apple has reduced its case to one claim from each of its asserted utility patents, its four iPhone and one iPad design patents, and its trade dress claims for those two devices. Keep in mind, however, that they did so without prejudice, which means that either party can reassert these dismissed claims in a later lawsuit. That said, the parties have at least attempted to placate Judge Koh in order to keep their July 30th trial date, which is when the real legal fireworks begin. Feel free to check the filings below for the full scope of this most recent patent pruning.
