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Toshiba / Samsung joint venture hit with lawsuit by LG over DVD+RW/RAM patents
LG Electronics has found itself at the center of quite a few patent lawsuits in recent years (both as a plaintiff and defendant), and it's now kicked yet another one off. As Bloomberg reports, LG has today filed suit against Toshiba Samsung Storage Technology, alleging that the Toshiba / Samsung joint venture violated a number of patents related to DVD+RW and DVD-RAM technology. In the complaint, LG further alleges that TSST is knowingly infringing on the patents as they were previously licensed to Toshiba itself (and TSST as an affiliate company) as part of a deal that expired in 2010. LG is asking for a jury trial to sort things out, and demanding that TSSC pay "no less than a reasonable royalty" along with some unspecified damages. You can find the complaint in full at the link below.
Apple and Samsung finish closing arguments, jury to decide their fate
It's just one among many, but the headlining case in the Apple v. Samsung global war is finally drawing to a close. Today, each party attempted to persuade the jury of nine one last time with their closing arguments, and with the rebuttals complete, it is time for deliberation. Starting at 9AM tomorrow morning, the jury's job is to sift through the mountains of evidence proffered by each side, decipher the verdict form provided and reach a unanimous decision on the patent and trade dress claims at issue. Will Apple emerge victorious or will Samsung's arguments carry the day? Could a hung jury and a mistrial be the result? Tune in tomorrow (and maybe the next day, and the next...) to find out.
Microsoft earns patent for claimed wireless charging improvement, pad with info screen
Device makers are bent on bringing us inductive charging, and Redmond has joined the fray with a recently allotted patent that describes all kinds of tech that could make it work better. For the charging itself, a trick is proposed that's similar to one we've seen before -- careful matching of the resonant frequency of charger and device. That would amplify efficiency and allow more than one device to be charged at a time. To make it easier to use, a pressure sensor could detect if a device was on the pad, with different parts of the pad allocated for smartphones or tablets, for instance. The patent also proposes a display placed opposite the charger to give it another use when it's not juicing, which would be determined by a gyro to sense which side was facing up. Of course, a lot of patents are whimsical things, which never amount to anything -- but judging by the detail in this one, Microsoft may have something more concrete in mind.
Post-acquisition Motorola files fresh ITC complaint against Apple
We hope you didn't think that Motorola would fight a purely defensive patent war against Apple after Google's acquisition closed. Just days before a final ruling on its initial complaints, the RAZR maker has filed another dispute with the International Trade Commission that accuses Apple of violating patents through some iOS devices and Macs. Exact details of the dispute are under wraps for now; Motorola, as you'd imagine, only contends that it has no choice after Apple's "unwillingness to work out a license." While Apple hasn't said anything about the subject, we already know how much it disagrees with Motorola's previous licensing strategy -- it's unlikely Apple will just roll over, no matter what's at stake.
OnLive on rumors of closure: 'of course not' [update]
InXile Entertainment's Brian Fargo tweeted this morning that he heard from someone inside Onlive that it was closing down, and has now posted that everyone on staff has lost their jobs, and that "a new company will be formed" soon after. A Mashable report from an anonymous source alleges the same. Joystiq reached out to OnLive directly to ask about the rumors, and Director of Corporate Communications Brian Jaquet replied to us with a blunt denial: "We don't respond to rumors, but of course not." "The exciting news is that the first VIZIO Co-Stars (Google TV stream players) with the OnLive app built-in have just arrived in customer homes," he continued, "and our second of three 'Indie Giveaway Weekends' is going on now. OnLive users can get a free copy of the award-winning games Space Pirates and Zombies and SpaceChem." So it sounds like OnLive is still open for business. Joystiq followed up to ask if there were any layoffs at the company this morning at all, and Jaquet could only confirm that "the OnLive service is not shutting down." We'll update this post with any more details if we can get them. Update: Kotaku is now hearing from "a source inside OnLive" that there in fact was a meeting this morning where CEO Steve Perlman told the staff that the company was filing for bankruptcy, and that no one would be employed by the current OnLive going forward. We're still researching this story, and will provide more information when we get it. Update 2: IDG's Martyn Williams reports via Twitter that he's outside OnLive's headquarters in Palo Alto, CA, and that he's seeing "employees leaving OnLive headquarters with moving boxes." It's looking more and more like there were layoffs at the company today. Joystiq is continuing to follow up. Update 3: OnLive laid off "at least 50 percent" of its staff this afternoon, and the company is being taken over by an unknown third-party. More through this link.
Apple wins patents for Apple TV nav, DVR features
Apple was recently granted a patent (no. 8,243,017) that describes a video device with an onscreen menu, a recording feature and a channel navigation system. Patently Apple hypothesizes that this patent describes a way the Apple TV could be used to display, record and control the playback of cable TV programming. One figure in the document clearly shows a video device that sits in between your cable set top box and your TV. It includes menu options to display an onscreen guide that lets you choose between television programs like Lost, Nature and Desperate Housewives. Another figure shows a channel navigation menu that's populated with shows from HBO, CBS and Discovery. There are also references to a DVR-like recording feature. The patent was originally filed in Q4 2006 and published this week by the US Patent and Trademark Office.
Google Patents search gets upgrade, now filled with prior art and European patent goodness
The legal tussles between Apple and Samsung have previously placed a spotlight on stuff like 2001: A Space Odyssey by way of prior art. Now Google's patent search is giving prior art some love as well with the addition of the aptly named "Prior Art Finder" to its patent search tool. Marked by a patently obvious blue button, the new addition serves up relevant prior art results by using key phrases from a patent's text and putting them together in a search query. Besides drawing from Google Patents, the finder displays results from Google Scholar, Google Books and the web's other nooks and crannies. The recent improvement also adds some Euro flavor to Google's patent search by including submissions to the European Patent Office. The addition should work well with an update to Google Translate earlier this year that added parallel patent texts from the aforementioned European agency to allow for translations between English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German and Swedish. As always, folks can check the source link for the full details.
Sony patents a two-way folding device, wants you to have extra screen real estate where you need it
Phones with dual displays have been done, and Sony's foldable Tablet P brought similar functionality to tablets with mixed results. It looks like the Japanese electronics giant isn't done with such devices, however, as it's just been granted a patent for a gadget that can fold on multiple axes. The patent in question describes a device constructed of two rectangular casings that can be "rotated relatively in one of a first rotation direction and a second rotation direction orthogonal to each other." Translation: a sort of next-gen Jacob's ladder with hinges that open up on both sides of a right angle, which would allow you to set screens side by side or on top of one another. Want to know more? Check out all the patent claims and drawings at the sources below.
Apple gets patent for in-cell touch display with impeccable timing
So Apple could be working on an iPhone with a thinner display, you say. Look what we have here, possibly in the nick of time: it's a newly granted Apple patent for a screen with in-cell touch, where the LCD and touch recognition are integrated into one panel instead of stacking up in separate layers. Apple's implementation would slim things down by either having electrodes share duties, both driving the display and taking finger input, or stuffing two electrodes into each pixel to accomplish the same goal. The net effect isn't just one of squeezing a device into a thinner chassis; the company also envisions costs coming down by reducing the number of parts and streamlining the manufacturing process. As envisioned, the screen looks like an ideal fit for a significant revamp of Apple's mobile display technology, although we'd be careful about assuming that this or any in-cell touch implementation is a lock for potentially imminent iOS hardware. Apple first filed the patent in early June 2007, before the original iPhone had even marched into a retailer -- display technology has come a long way since then.
Samsung's defense against Apple patents begins with DiamondTouch table, LiveTile UI prior art
Samsung may have convinced Judge Koh to toss a few international handsets out of Apple's lawsuit, but the Korean firm still has Cupertino's patent licensing accusations to contend with. Their tactic? Convince the court that Apple's claim to the inventions are invalid, and that the technology was developed prior to the disputed patent's filing. It's called showing "prior art," and Sammy's done it before -- famously showing a scene from 2001: A Space Odyssey in an attempt to put Apple's iPad design claims to rest. Today's examples were more grounded in reality, focusing on debunking Cupertino's claim to the "bounce back" effect that happens when a user reaches the end of a page and common multitouch zoom / navigation gestures. Samsung pitted the famous "bounce back" feature against an old PocketPC interface called LaunchTile, which allowed users to navigate through 36 applications by zooming in and out and a panning across a grid-like "world view" of said apps. Movement between grids snap to each zone, marking the end of a page. Apple shot back, noting that LiveTile's snapping navigation didn't work on diagonals, and cited other differences as well. Samsung wasn't deterred, however, and brought out DiamondTouch, a projector based multitouch table that utilized both one touch scrolling and pinch-based zoom gestures. The table even takes aim at the aforementioned bounce-back patent with a technology called TableCloth, which bounces back images that are pulled off screen. DiamondTouch's creator, Adam Bogue, told the court that he had demoed the technology to Apple privately back in 2003, noting that it was also available to anyone who visited the Mitsubishi Electronic Research Laboratories' lobby. If the jury takes to Samsung's claims of prior art, it could severely cut Apple's claims against it. Even so, Cupertino's lawyers aren't going down without a fight, and still have a number of navigation and design claims that Samsung hasn't addressed. The two parties are expected to keep up the fight for about a week, we'll keep you posted on the inevitable revelations as they come.
Judge cuts international Galaxy S and S II, Galaxy Ace from Apple lawsuit against Samsung
Apple rested its side of the case in its main lawsuit against Samsung on Monday, and with the switch of focus came a small sacrifice. While Samsung failed in a Hail Mary bid to have the suit dismissed, it successfully argued that a few devices should escape the clutches of a full-fledged ban. Don't get too excited, though: the exclusion list mostly touches on phones that only reach US shores through unofficial importers, including the Galaxy Ace as well as international editions of the Galaxy S and Galaxy S II. The decision still leaves the American variants of phones under scrutiny, and it doesn't change Apple's hopes of a large licensing fee for all the alleged transgressions. We'd still say the exemption provides some small amount of relief for Samsung, however. Most of Apple's early, less-than-flattering accusations of trade dress violations focused on the more familiar-looking foreign Galaxy models and lose some of their thunder when leveled against the conspicuously altered designs that eventually set foot in the US.
Apple details 2010 presentation to Samsung on Android patent infringement, licensing offer
As the battle between Samsung and Apple closed out another week in US District Court, lawyers for the latter focused its argument on evidence and testimony covering a presentation Apple made to Samsung in 2010, and its offer to license the patents. AllThingsD has the deck of slides from the meeting (embedded after the break), specifying areas and specific patents Apple believes Android as an OS infringes or things Samsung specifically copied elements from, plus a report on testimony from Apple executive Boris Teksler. He testified today about the meeting with Samsung, calling it a "trusted partner" (should be, since Apple paid it paid $5.7 billion for parts that year) that both Tim Cook and Steve Jobs spoke to directly about the issue. While more information is expected from Teksler next week, he did have time to put a dollar amount on the licensing deal Apple subsequently offered, at about $30 per smartphone and $40 per tablet, as well as royalties also collected from phones running Symbian and Bada, with the possibility of a 20 percent discount if Samsung would cross license its own technology back to Apple. The companies are restricted by Judge Koh to 25 hours each to argue their points (Apple is at 11 and a half hours while Samsung has crossed over 12 with its own arguments yet to come) but we're sure there's enough time left for a few more revelations before any resolution is reached.
Samsung patents perfume-packing cellphone... again
Seriously, Samsung, what the heck is with the scented cellphone patents? This isn't the first, or even the second time you've thought to put pockets of perfume in a handset. This latest patent is slightly different from earlier concepts, we suppose. We see this one has a scent refilling station built into the charging dock. So, when you set the phone down to charge the battery, it also "charges" the aromatic sponge in the body. It's also notable that this isn't a passive scented strip or a spraying mechanism. Instead the "absorbant material" is heated, either by the battery directly or by circuitry triggered as part of an alert. So, every time your hippy buddy calls, your phone could blast Phish and fill the air with the scent of patchouli (or, something else...).
Steve Jobs and the "rubber band" patent
There's a lot of patent throwdowns going on in the tech industry lately, and it's very easy to see them as just a battle of titans, of huge corporations going up against each other for assets and portfolios of arbitrary "features." But here's a story that reminds you of the human side of all of this, and of what these patent battles are really supposed to be: Protection for those people who have the creativity and courage to put new ideas forward. One of the patents involved in the Apple/Samsung battle right now is the so-called "rubber-band" patent, according to Yoni Heisler at NetworkWorld it was one of Steve Jobs' favorite features. That's the scrolling effect that occurs when you reach the end of a webpage in Mobile Safari. It was later used for a "pull-to-refresh" effect that quite a few companies have copied since. The Next Web recounts that this patent was ascribed to a UI designer named Bas Ording, who Steve Jobs reportedly hired after meeting him in the lobby the afternoon after an unsuccessful job interview. Ording supposedly showed him a demo of a feature that would allow users to see more icons in their OS X Dock by pulling up a magnifying glass whenever they hovered over the icons already there. "I said, 'My God,' and hired him on the spot," says Jobs in Walter Isaacon's biography. Ording later came up with the scrolling feature and, according to testimony from Scott Forstall in the ongoing Samsung/Apple trial, the role it played in creating the iPhone interface made it one of Jobs' favorite patents. Forstall said that "rubber banding is one of the sort of key things for the fluidity of the iPhone and - and all of iOS, and so I know it was one of the ones that Steve really cared about." In initial talks with Samsung, that patent was one of the items that Jobs specifically laid claim to as Apple's. That's one of the main reasons that Apple and Samsung are fighting so vehemently over the patent portfolio. It's easy to see these as patent battles as two companies fighting over millions of dollars, but it's also important to remember that there are human achievements to recognize among these patents as well.
Microsoft and Sharp strike licensing deal for use of exFAT technology in Android-based devices
Microsoft already has licensing agreements with the companies accounting for the vast majority of Android devices on the market, but it's not done just yet. The latest to come on board is Sharp, which has signed a deal that will allow it to use Microsoft's Extended File Allocation Table file system (otherwise known as exFAT) on its Android-based devices -- that's a slightly more specific agreement than most others, where the contents haven't been disclosed. While Sharp isn't exactly a major smartphone player here in North America, it is in Japan, where it had a market share of 17.5 percent in 2011 (second only to Apple). As with other similar deals, this agreement will see Microsoft receive royalties on all Sharp Android devices sold, although neither party has commented on the specific terms. You can find the official word after the break.
Apple lands patent for NFC-ready shopping app, could make impulse spending an iPhone tap away
Apple has been filing more than its fair share of NFC-related patents, but it was just granted what could be one of its more important wins at the USPTO. The design for an "on-the-go shopping list" app would help buyers find and pull the trigger on deals through every tool an iPhone has at its disposal, whether it's taking a snapshot of goods with the camera, punching in the UPC code by hand or tapping an item for an NFC-based "touch scan." We'll admit that we're a bit disappointed at how NFC is used, however. As with an earlier filing, the very short range wireless is kept largely to price comparisons and adding products to a list for a purchase from a store clerk later on, rather than closing the deal outright as we've seen with Google Wallet. The original 2008 filing date will also have seen a lot of water flowing under the bridge; there's no guarantee that any enthusiasm for NFC from the iPhone 3G era will have transferred to the present day. Accordingly, we would be careful about drawing any connections between iOS 6's Passbook and Apple's ideas from four years ago -- even if Apple has regularly been a never-say-never sort of company.
Microsoft patents contextual ads in e-books, whether we like it or not
We have ad-supported e-reading today, but the ads always sit on the periphery at most. That makes us more than slightly nervous about a newly-granted Microsoft patent for contextual e-book ads. The development would make the pitch based on not just targeted pages but the nature of the book in question: a sci-fi novel might try to sell lightsabers, and characters themselves might slip into the ads themselves if there's a fit. Promos could be either generated on the spot or remain static. Before anyone mourns the end of unspoiled literature, just remember that having a patent isn't the same as using it -- Microsoft doesn't have its own dedicated reading app anymore, let alone any warning signs that it's about to pepper our digital libraries with marketing. If the Newco partnership results in copies of War and Peace bombarded with Black Ops II ads, though, we'll know where to place the blame.
Google gets patent for eye tracking-based unlock system, shifty looks get you access
Look up. Now down. Back up here again? Imagine having to do that every time you wanted to unlock your phone, as this granted Google patent for "Unlocking a screen using eye tracking information" possibly suggests. Okay, it actually looks more like it's intended for the firm's super spectacles -- which given their general hands-free nature -- makes more sense. The claims are fairly straightforward, unlocking of a device would be granted based on "determining that a path associated with the eye movement substantially matches a path of the moving object". As long as those moving objects aren't moving too fast, we think we can work with that.
Honeywell next up to get a patent license from Microsoft, goes the Android handheld route
Stop us if you've heard this one before: a company that wants to start using (or keep using) a Google OS strikes a patent licensing deal with Microsoft to avoid the legal barrage that will invariably follow if it says no. It's Honeywell singing the tune this time, and the company has reached an agreement that will let it use Android or Chrome OS on devices like a new edition of the Dolphin 7800 rugged handheld (shown here) without perpetually looking over its shoulder. Neither side is going into the specifics, although Microsoft has steered Honeywell into using its boilerplate copy about royalties trading hands. The truce won't help the prices of Honeywell devices; even so, it's good news for developers and customers who've been part of the company's official Android feedback program. We're still yearning for the day when we can get root access on a Honeywell thermostat.
Microsoft patent applications take Kinect into mobile cameras, movie-making
Microsoft has never been shy about its ambitions for Kinect's depth sensing abilities. A pair of patent applications, however, show that its hopes and dreams are taking a more Hollywood turn. One patent has the depth camera going portable: a "mobile environment sensor" determines its trajectory through a room and generates a depth map as it goes, whether it's using a Kinect-style infrared sensor or stereoscopic cameras. If the visual mapping isn't enough, the would-be camera relies on a motion sensor like an accelerometer to better judge its position as it's jostled around. Microsoft doesn't want to suggest what kind of device (if any) might use the patent for its camera, but it's not ruling out anything from smartphones through to traditional PCs. The second patent filing uses the Kinect already in the house for that directorial debut you've always been putting off. Hand gestures control the movie editing, but the depth camera both generates a model of the environment and creates 3D props out of real objects. Motion capture, naturally, lets the humans in the scene pursue their own short-lived acting careers. We haven't seen any immediate signs that Microsoft is planning to use this or the mobile sensor patent filing in the real world, although both are closer to reality than some of the flights of fancy that pass by the USPTO -- the movie editor has all the hallmarks of a potential Dashboard update or Kinect Fun Labs project.