patents

Teppanyaki-style grill gets a face-lift

If you've been a reader for a while, you may remember the Cook-N-Dine teppanyaki-style cooking table, whose patented design allowed you to sear and saute meats and veggies on the same surface from which your guests eat. The trick to the Cook-N-Dine was in its reaction to being heated: the center of the table turns slightly concave when it's heated, trapping all of the juices in the center as the food cooks.

CDS, inventors of the Cook-N-Dine, have redesigned its patented line in this new family of indoor cook tops. The features that made hoards of customers fall … Read more

TiVo sues AT&T, Verizon over DVR patents

This was originally posted at ZDNet's Between the Lines.

TiVo said Wednesday that it is suing AT&T and Verizon over three DVR patents. The complaints seek damages and a permanent injunction.

Simply put, TiVo is pursuing the same legal playbook it followed against Dish/EchoStar. The patents in question include 6,233,389, 7,529,465 and 7,493,015.

TiVo recently won another legal victory against EchoStar, which was found in contempt of court in its legal spat. TiVo won $103 million in damages, but the case will have another hearing in November or so. EchoStar … Read more

Microsoft files appeal in Word injunction case

Microsoft late Tuesday filed its formal appeal of a patent infringement ruling that threatens to halt sales of Word in its current form.

In May, a jury ordered Microsoft to pay $200 million for infringing on a patent held by Canada's I4i. Earlier this month, a federal judge increased that monetary award and also issued an injunction barring sales of Word that include the custom XML code found to infringe on I4i's patents.

"We believe the court erred in its interpretation and application of the law in this case and look forward to the September 23 hearing … Read more

Hearing set for appeal of Word injunction

A federal appeals court has scheduled a hearing next month to decide whether to uphold a ruling that would force Microsoft to stop selling Word in its current form.

A district court judge last week issued an injunction that would halt sales of any version of Word that includes a custom XML function that was found by a jury to infringe on a patent from Canada's I4i. In May, that jury also dinged Microsoft with $200 million in damages, an amount that the judge hiked to more than $290 million at the same time he ordered the injunction, which … Read more

Microsoft asks for stay of Word injunction

This story was updated with comment from I4i Chairman Loudon Owen and Microsoft spokesman Kevin Kutz.

Microsoft on Tuesday asked an appeals court to halt an injunction that would force the company to stop selling Microsoft Word in its current form.

A judge last week issued an injunction that would force Microsoft to stop selling versions of Word with a custom XML function that a jury found infringes on a patent held by Canadian software maker I4i. The judge had ordered the injunction to go into effect 60 days after the ruling.

In its "emergency motion," made Tuesday, … Read more

HTC patents stylus for capacitive screens

Just a few days ago, we read about BlackBerry's patent on a hybrid resistive capacitive touch screen. This would give you the best of both worlds--the sensitivity of a capacitive screen for finger input and the flexibility to use a stylus when needed.

Well, it looks like HTC has a similar idea, according to its latest patent, but achieved more simply.

The Taiwanese company has concocted a stylus with a magnetic tip. Being able to conduct electricity, it simulates the human finger so it will work with regular capacitive screens.

The advantage is, of course, its thinness compared with … Read more

Microsoft's 'Custom XML' patent suit could put ODF at risk

The infamous U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas has slapped Microsoft with a permanent injunction that "prohibits Microsoft from selling or importing to the United States any Microsoft Word products that have the capability of opening .XML, .DOCX or DOCM files (XML files) containing custom XML," according to CNET. This likely won't stop Microsoft Office from shipping, as CNET's Ina Fried writes, but the bigger question may be whether the lawsuit will reach beyond Redmond to also threaten the Open Document Format (ODF).The lawsuit doesn't affect all of Microsoft Office, … Read more

I4i says not out to destroy Microsoft Word

The chairman of the company that has won a landmark injunction against Microsoft says his goal is not to see Microsoft Word pulled from store shelves.

In fact, I4i Chairman Loudon Owen said he is one of the hundreds of millions of people who uses Word and the other Microsoft Office tools every day.

"We're not seeking to stop Microsoft's business and we're not seeking to interfere with all the users of Word out there," Owen said in a telephone interview on Wednesday. He added that this week's ruling orders an injunction only against … Read more

Microsoft unlikely to let Word injunction stand

The news that a judge has slapped an injunction that could bar Microsoft from selling its flagship Word software is a big deal. But don't expect to see Redmond allow one of its key money makers to be pulled from the market--even for a day.

As part of a patent infringement case that also resulted in a huge monetary judgment back in May, a federal judge in Texas this week ordered Microsoft to stop selling any versions of Word that use a custom XML tagging technology. The ruling is set to go into effect in 60 days.

That gives … Read more