May 7, 2012 - Though much more remains to be decided in the much-anticipated patent lawsuit between Oracle and Google, the jury delivered a partial verdict that gave each side something to cautiously celebrate.
The jury found that Google did infringe Oracle's copyrights for Java APIs (Application Programming Interfaces, which are programming tools), and that the Google Android operating system infringes nine lines of code.
May 7, 2012 - Eastman Kodak Co.'s patent infringement lawsuit against Shutterfly Inc. and Tiny Prints Inc., a printer of personalized cards, is currently on hold because of Kodak's Chapter 11 bankruptcy. However, Kodak has filed a motion in U.S. Bankruptcy Court to modify the automatic stay on the lawsuit and allow it to proceed.
May 3, 2012 - Nokia filed patent suits against HTC with the U.S. International Trade Commission, and against HTC, Research in Motion Ltd. and Viewsonic Corp. in the U.S. and Germany. The lawsuits cover a total of 45 patents Nokia claims are infringed.
May 1, 2012 - Microsoft has settled the patent infringement lawsuit it filed against Barnes and Noble last year, and the two companies have formed a new, as-yet-unnamed Barnes & Noble subsidiary currently referred to as "Newco."
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.
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.
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."
March 26, 2012 - Facing a patent lawsuit filed against it by Yahoo, Facebook bought 750 patents from IBM to boost its portfolio. The patents are said to cover software and networking.
Prior to this purchase and the Yahoo lawsuit, Facebook also acquired patents from Hewlett-Packard and Friendster. It also has 56 issued patents and 503 filed patent applications.
March 19, 2012 - A Federal judge in California ordered Fresenius USA Inc. to pay Baxter International Inc. over $23.5 million in damages and royalties in their patent infringement litigation that has lasted almost nine years.
The patent that Fresenius was found to infringe covers touch-screen interfaces on kidney dialysis machines.
March 13, 2012 - Yahoo has followed through with the patent lawsuit it threatened Facebook with last month, filing suit against the social networking site as it prepares for its upcoming IPO.