May 2010

General Patent Settles All Patent Infringement Lawsuits with Verizon Wireless over Key Cell Phone Patent

Patent Litigation Addressed Both Cell Phone and Bluetooth Applications

Suffern, N.Y., May 26, 2010 − General Patent Corporation (GPC), a leading patent licensing and enforcement firm, announced today on behalf of its subsidiary, Digital Technology Licensing LLC (DTL), that it reached a settlement with Cellco Partnership d/b/a Verizon Wireless of three lawsuits involving the DTL cellular communications patent.

More Qui Tam False Marking Lawsuits Filed Against Delta Faucet and Other Companies

Submitted by patentadmin on Mon, 05/24/2010 - 10:27

May 24, 2010 - A company called San Francisco Technology Inc. filed a false marking lawsuit against Delta Faucet and 13 other, unrelated companies for using expired patent numbers on their products.

The type of lawsuit San Francisco Technology filed is called a qui tam lawsuit, which means a lawsuit that any citizen can bring on behalf of the government.

Know When To Fold `Em

Submitted by patentadmin on Mon, 05/24/2010 - 06:30

Generally, our society holds perseverance to be a virtue. We look with disdain upon “quitters.” Nevertheless, there are times when it is best to accept your losses and simply walk away. It would seem, however, that some folks don’t recognize this. (Aristocrat Technologies et al. v. International Game Technology et al.)

FINIS

Submitted by patentadmin on Mon, 05/17/2010 - 20:48

Several of our recent blog entries have dealt with the increasingly popular sport of suing attorneys. Well, all good things must come to an end. Frankly, we think we have just about exhausted both the educational and entertainment content of this topic. Therefore, we are concluding with some facts and statistics we cribbed from the Profile Of Legal Malpractice Claims, 2004-2007 compiled by the American Bar Association Standing Committee on Lawyers Professional Liability.

Patent Office Finds i4i Patent Valid in Landmark Microsoft Case

Submitted by patentadmin on Wed, 05/12/2010 - 10:27

May 12, 2010 - On April 28, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office informed Canadian software company i4i of its intent to issue an ex parte reexamination certificate on the patent the company successfully sued Microsoft for infringing - and all the patent's claims were confirmed. With the patent's validity upheld, Microsoft is running out of options and will likely petition the Supreme Court to take the case.

A Pox On Both Their Houses

Submitted by patentadmin on Thu, 05/06/2010 - 17:34

As the reader of our blogs may have discerned, we generally are not sympathetic to attorneys who commit malpractice. We are equally unsympathetic to disgruntled clients who bring frivolous malpractice suits against their former attorneys. A recent case, however, involves a pathetic defense to what may well be a weak claim. A pox on both of their houses. (JS Products Inc. v. Standley Law Group et al.)

The Cost of Misconduct

Submitted by patentadmin on Thu, 05/06/2010 - 17:26

Occasionally, we encounter a case which is both ironically entertaining and instructive. (Lockheed Martin Corp. v. L-3 Communications Integrated Systems)

Lockheed is the producer of the popular – in military circles – P3 Orion anti-submarine aircraft. Although the Orion is no longer in production, vast sums are spent annually, by armed forces around the world, to refurbish and upgrade existing aircraft.

Remember When?

Submitted by patentadmin on Tue, 05/04/2010 - 06:48

As the reader may (should) know, a copyright assignment, if it is to be enforceable, must be “in writing and signed.” Clear? Maybe not.

Must the written document identify the copyrights which are being transferred, or is it sufficient that the document merely indicate that some of the transferor’s copyrights are being transferred, leaving a court to determine which ones? Surprisingly, this question has apparently never been addressed – until now. (The SCO Group v. Novell)

Looks Can Be Deceiving

Submitted by patentadmin on Tue, 05/04/2010 - 06:44

While it may seem unbelievable to the average layperson (note political correctness – layPERSON), some attorneys are unethical, even some PATENT attorneys. (In The Matter of S. Michael Bender)

Back in the 1990s – the mills of justice grind slowly – Bender was employed by American Inventors Corp., a so-called “invention promotion” firm. AIC charged inventors a fixed fee to promote their inventions, promising to refund the fee if AIC failed to procure a patent on the invention.

Google's Android name at center of trademark infringement suit by an Illinois developer

Submitted by patentadmin on Mon, 05/03/2010 - 00:00

May 3, 2009 - (Source: ComputerWorld) - Illinois developer Erich Specht, filed suit this week for trademark infringement against Google and some 47 other companies in the Open Handset Alliance. At stake are the rights to the Android name which denotes Google's version of Linux that adorns their handsets.