When speculators start flipping properties, you know that the real estate market is hotter than hot. But we haven’t seen much property flipping in the intellectual property market — until now. In an unexpected move, Microsoft unloaded much of the patent portfolio it has recently acquired from AOL to Facebook. But was it really that unexpected?
Yahoo has fired another salvo in its patent battle with Facebook, adding more allegations of infringement (from 10 patents to 12) and accusing Facebook of violating an agreement between the two companies to notify each other of possible infringement before filing suit.
Alexander Poltorak was interviewed by Seattle, Wash. public radio station KUOW about Facebook's purchase of hundreds of patents from Microsoft - which had just purchased those same patents from AOL. ("Microsoft Gives Facebook a Leg Up in Patent Wars" KUOW.org - April 24, 2012)
Excerpt of transcript: Alexander Poltorak is chairman of General Patent Corporation, the country's oldest patent licensing firm.
April 23, 2012 - Last month Facebook bought 750 IBM patents to beef up its portfolio in preparation for two big events: its IPO and the lawsuit filed against it by Yahoo.
This week, Twitter seemingly took a bold stance against the "Patent Wars" when the social networking company made public its new Innovator's Patent Agreement (IPA). But a closer look at the document (which you can view here on GitHub) reveals how much legal leeway Twitter left itself.
April 15, 2012 - Apple filed a motion to intervene in the Lodsys case back in July 2011, and Texas district judge Judge Rodney Gilstrap just granted Apple permission to do so.
GPC's Alexander Poltorak comments on the true value of the 800 patents Microsoft purchased from AOL in a recent article that examines the true impact of the deal on both the buyer and the seller. ("What is AOL’s Patent Portfolio Really Worth to Microsoft?" Wall Street Cheat Sheet - April 12, 2012)
April 11, 2012 - The jury trial in the patent infringement lawsuit between Oracle Corp. and Google Inc. is set for April 16 and is expected to last eight weeks. The judge in the case, U.S. District Judge William Alsup, warned the attorneys for both parties that it will be the "World Series of IP cases," and that "only one winner comes out of the World Series."
A poet and pillow-maker has filed a copyright infringement suit against department store chain Stein Mart Inc. as well as K&K Interiors Inc., Debra McMurray DBA Creative Quilts and Carol Strawn DBA Full Life Photography.
The astounding sum paid by Microsoft for 800 AOL patents has led to speculation over whether Microsoft overpaid. GPC's Alexander Poltorak offered his opinion on the patent purchase in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. ("Tech Patents Soar in Value" The Wall Street Journal - April 9, 2012)
AOL just sold 800 patents to Microsoft, and this latest patent super-sale has IP experts speculating about how Microsoft will use this latest infusion of IP. Alexander Poltorak explained the significance of this sale and of patents in general in an LA Times article. ("What Microsoft's really buying in AOL patents deal: Leverage" The Los Angeles Times - April 9, 2012)
Alexander Poltorak was recently interviewed for an AP article on why patents are so important to big tech businesses. ("Microsoft deal with AOL part of patent scramble" Associated Press - April 9, 2012)
Article excerpt: ...[P]atents are likely to keep driving deals.
The Bank of America's Small Business Online Community blog featured a post on how small businesses can prepare for the changes the America Invents Act will bring this year and in years to come. GPC's Alexander Poltorak was one of the experts featured in the article and spoke about the downsides of the new law.
Seven isn't always a lucky number: A patent lawsuit that's been in the works for seven years, and which was supposed to go to trial May 7, ground to an abrupt halt this week when the judge found that the seven patents-at-suit were invalid. (Anvik Corp. v. Nikon Precision Inc.)
The news that Microsoft's European logistics operations will move from Germany to the Netherlands because of its patent dispute with Motorola points to just how high the stakes can be in patent litigation - even for big corporations. GPC's Alexander Poltorak commented on Microsoft's action in a Wall Street Journal blog post. ("Regulators Turn Eyes on Patent Combatants" The Wall Street Journal - April 3, 2012)
GPC's Alexander Poltorak commented on the lawsuit filed by NXP Semiconductors NV against Research in Motion, which has suffered from eroded market share and an 80 percent drop in its share price in the past year. ("BlackBerry maker RIM sued by NXP over patents" 4-traders.com - April 3, 2012)
Zoolert Licenses Data Distribution Technologies' Patent
Suffern, N.Y., April 2, 2012 − General Patent Corporation (GPC), a leading patent licensing and enforcement firm, announced today on behalf of its subsidiary, Data Distribution Technologies LLC (DDT), that it settled a patent infringement lawsuit with Zoolert LLC of Langhorne, Penn., operator of zooLert.com. Zoolert is the first website operator to license the patent from DDT. Under the license agreement, Zoolert will pay a 1% royalty.