November 2012

Tom's Hardware - "RIM Loses Patent Dispute With Nokia, Must Pay Royalties"

When RIM and Nokia's licensing discussions failed to bear fruit because RIM claimed an earlier license covered Nokia's WiFi patent, a judge in Sweden ruled that RIM must pay Nokia royalties and damages - and the ruling can't be appealed. GPC's Alexander Poltorak comments on what the ruling means for U.S. consumers in an article on the Tom's Hardware tech news website. ("RIM Loses Patent Dispute With Nokia, Must Pay Royalties" Tom's Hardware - November 29, 2012)

Reuters - "BlackBerry maker RIM loses patent dispute with Nokia"

Research in Motion (RIM), the maker of BlackBerry devices, was the loser in its patent licensing dispute with Finnish cellphone maker Nokia Oyj when a Swedish arbitrator issued a ruling that RIM may not make or sell mobile devices that can connect to WiFi networks. Now RIM must come to a new licensing arrangement with Nokia or risk having its BlackBerry products banned, because the U.S. and other countries will enforce the arbitrator's decision. GPC's Alexander Poltorak predicts what is likely to happen next between Nokia and RIM in this licensing dispute.

AfterDawn.com - "Nokia wins patent case against RIM"

Nokia won a ruling against Research in Motion, and that ruling can't be appealed. Will the BlackBerry be the target of an injunction in the U.S.? GPC's Alexander Poltorak offers his prediction of what RIM will do next. ("Nokia wins patent case against RIM" AfterDawn.com - November 28, 2012)

Article excerpt: RIM has lost a patent case against Nokia and will have to reach a new royalties deal or potentially have the sale of their devices halted.

Wall Street Journal - "Ericsson Files Patent Claim Against Samsung"

Ericsson filed suit against Samsung for infringing some of its patents on mobile technology after the companies failed to come to an agreement on renewing an existing patent license that covered hundreds of Ericsson patents. Samsung claims that Ericsson unfairly raised the royalty rates on the patents they'd already licensed. GPC's Alexander Poltorak speculated on the effect this newest lawsuit would have on Samsung's ongoing, epic patent litigation with Apple.

Professor's Company Wins $1.6 Million in Patent Infringement Lawsuit Over Board Games

Submitted by patentadmin on Mon, 11/26/2012 - 11:39

November 26, 2012 - Innovention Toys LLC, a company headed by a Colorado professor named Michael Larson, won its patent infringement lawsuit against MGA, Wal-Mart Stores and Toys "R" Us. A federal jury in New Orleans found that the defendants had infringed Innovention's patent on a strategy board game using lasers and mirrors.

Patent Infringement Lawsuit Filed Against Apple over iCloud

Submitted by patentadmin on Mon, 11/19/2012 - 12:53

November 19, 2012 - A company called Innovative Automation sued Apple for patent infringement, claiming that the iCloud product and service infringe two of their patents.

Both of the allegedly infringed patents are titled "Method and System for Supplying Products from Pre-Stored Digital Data in Response to Demands Transmitted via Computer Network."

Wealthcare Capital Management Settles Patent Infringement Lawsuit with PIEtech, UBS Financial

Submitted by patentadmin on Tue, 11/13/2012 - 21:09

November 13, 2012 - Last December, we wrote a blog post about the lawsuit between Wealthcare Capital Management and UBS Financial Services over patented financial planning processes. PIEtech, the maker of the MoneyGuidePro software that UBS was using and which Wealthcare claimed infringed its patents, also joined the lawsuit at the end of last year in order to help defend its client, UBS.

Cisco Tries New Approach to Patent Lawsuits Filed by NPEs

Submitted by patentadmin on Mon, 11/12/2012 - 20:11

Over a year ago, we reported on the patent lawsuits brought by Innovatio IP Ventures LLC against a host of companies that offer free WiFi to their customers. The defendants in that litigation include over 220 individual hotels in Illinois. Interestingly, however, Innovatio didn't file lawsuits against Motorola Solutions and Cisco Systems - the companies that manufacture the WiFi equipment used in the alleged infringement.

Federal Judge Dismisses Patent Lawsuit Between Apple and Motorola Mobility

Submitted by patentadmin on Tue, 11/06/2012 - 20:43

November 6, 2012 - For the second time this year, a U.S. federal district judge has tossed a patent lawsuit between Apple and Motorola Mobility.

In the first trial, Judge Richard Posner dismissed the two companies' lawsuits against each other because neither had presented a strong case for damages and also because imposing injunctions on either party would not be in the public interest.

Don't Quote Me on That

Submitted by patentadmin on Tue, 11/06/2012 - 11:54

We're all for copyright owners' rights, but this one might be stretching a bit: The owners of the copyrights to the late William Faulkner's literary works sued Sony Pictures Classics and a group of movie exhibitors because of two sentences uttered by actor Owen Wilson in Woody Allen's 2011 movie Midnight in Paris.

Small Business Files Patent Infringement Lawsuit Against Microsoft over Windows 8

Submitted by patentadmin on Mon, 11/05/2012 - 10:48

November 5, 2012 - A Portland, Maine-based company named SurfCast sued Microsoft for allegedly infringing a patent (one of four held by SurfCast) on a "System and method for simultaneous display of multiple information sources."

SurfCast, which has been in business since 1998 and has tried to monetize its patents in the past through a product called the "Broadband Browser," claims that the animated tiles in Windows 8 infringe the SurfCast patents.