patent

Spansion, Kodak file patent suits against Samsung

Spansion and Kodak slammed Samsung with two separate patent infringement lawsuits Monday.

Spansion, one of the world's largest suppliers of flash memory chips, on Monday announced it has filed two patent infringement complaints against Samsung with the International Trade Commission and in the U.S. District Court in Delaware.

Spansion is seeking the exclusion from the U.S. market of more than 100 million MP3 players, cell phones, digital cameras, and other consumer electronics devices containing Samsung's allegedly infringing flash memory components.

The complaint also seeks an injunction and treble damages for alleged patent violations relating to Samsung … Read more

Microsoft employee: 'Ignorance is bliss and strongly recommended' on patents

A Microsoft employee--Eric Brechner--has finally stated the obvious on patents: they're worthless in terms of providing "disclosure" for would-be infringers (or licensees). It would appear that they're also worthless in terms of helping licensors:

When using existing libraries, services, tools, and methods from outside Microsoft, we must be respectful of licenses, copyrights, and patents. Generally, you want to carefully research licenses and copyrights (your contact in Legal and Corporate Affairs can help), and never search, view, or speculate about patents. I was confused by this guidance till I wrote and reviewed one of my own patents. … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 844: Number one in space junk, USA!

First if you're a U.S. citizen, then go vote on Tuesday. Second, feel the pride of what we suspect to be our country's lead in space junk. We also cover the new Nehalem processor details, uncover a few more details about Windows 7, and of course, give you more details on the space junk that may hit your head tomorrow. I suspect it's the nefarious plot of one candidate or another to keep you from the polls. Listen now: Download today's podcast Episode 844

Intel Core i7 chip reviews arrive–yes, it’s fast http://news.cnet.com/8301-13924_3-10080831-64.html … Read more

Mformation sues RIM for patent infringement

Mformation, a maker of mobile device management software, said Friday that it has sued Research In Motion for patent infringement.

According to the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Northern California, RIM is infringing on two of Mformation's patents, U.S. Patent Nos. 6,970,917 and 7,343,408, by making, using, and selling RIM's BlackBerry devices and their management software.

"After refusing to license Mformation's disclosed systems and software, RIM modified its BlackBerry software to include Mformation's patented systems and methods of remote management," New Jersey-based Mformation said in a … Read more

Patent ruling good or bad for tech?

Now that the U.S. Court of Appeals has ruled that abstract processes, or business methods, cannot be patented, it's important to look at how this could affect the tech industry.

The case in question was rejected because the patent at issue was a process not tied to a "machine," which is one standard for patentability.

Overall, it seems like a ruling that should favor companies that make hardware and software because while it narrows the types of patents that can be filed, in return should protect them from the frivolous patent suits that have flooded the … Read more

Google's looming patent hammer in the cloud

According to SYS-CON, Google's cloud computing patent portfolio, and specifically its patent application for "Encoding and Adaptive, Scalable Accessing of Distributed Models", gives it a "multi-year lead in cloud computing." Could it also give it a club to pummel would-be competitors?

As SYS-CON's Stephen Arnold suggests:

Google can, with the deployment of software, deliver global services that other companies cannot match in terms of speed of deployment, operation, and enhancement...(T)his patent document is an indication that Google can put its foot on the gas pedal at any time and operate in a … Read more

Microsoft gets bleeping patent

Microsoft got another &#@*%-ing patent.

The software maker last week was granted U.S. patent No. 7437290 for, essentially, a technology that lets the company bleep out words in an audio stream that match a list of predefined bad words.

Ars Technica, which reported on the patent both when Microsoft applied for it in 2004 as well as now that it has been granted, notes that the technology could be used for more than just censoring profanity, suggesting that perhaps China or another government would want it employed for other phrases, such as Tibet or free speech.

Ars notes … Read more

The dying embers of Microsoft's IP claims against open source

Horacio Gutierrez, Microsoft's intellectual property counsel, indicated that Microsoft has finally seen the open-source light in a recent interview with CNET. Demonstrating that Microsoft has finally learned that it can't fight open-source gravity, Gutierrez suggests, "Today, but increasingly in the future, we are all going to be 'mixed source'," meaning Microsoft and everyone else will balance open source with some proprietary element to their business.

I actually think the war between proprietary and open source is a thing of the past.

In fact, we're already there. Even Microsoft. But it's nice to have Redmond admit it.

What was perhaps less pleasant, and completely unnecessary because Microsoft lacks both the will and the strategic interest in pursuing it, was Gutierrez's saber-rattling over Microsoft's patents:

While Microsoft is patient, Gutierrez indicated that Microsoft's patience is not unlimited. "If every effort to license proves not to be fruitful, ultimately we have a responsibility to customers that have licenses and to our shareholders to ensure our intellectual property is respected," he said.

Yes, you do, Microsoft. Fortunately, the more Microsoft uses open source within its products, the less it trots out this tired refrain from the past.

The fact is that Microsoft has yet to find a way to call out its intellectual property (IP) in things like Linux without stumbling over all of the IP that it, in turn, has "borrowed" from others, including the open-source world. Plus, Microsoft can't sue open-source communities without bumping up against companies like IBM with much broader patent portfolios than its own. If Microsoft sues, Microsoft loses.

Indeed, I'd argue that one primary reason for shacking up with Novell wasn't Microsoft's patent portfolio, but rather Novell's: Novell had key IP that goes to the heart of Microsoft's Office business. The Linux patent covenant was a way for Microsoft to clean up its own patent violations. Funny, that. When I was at Novell my team in the CTO's office never worried about a patent lawsuit from Microsoft.

But that's just the way the modern software world works: it's such a thicket of conflicting IP claims that the only rational (and workable) solution is to overlook competing claims.… Read more

Not making enough money from patents? Here's help

In case you're worried that you haven't been squeezing enough money from your patent portfolio lately, Law Seminars International has a deal for you:

Forget about trying to make money by selling actual products into a tight economy. Just sue your competitors! At worst, you can use scare tactics against the foolish:

Like land speculators, patent investors are investing billions of dollars to amass assets that they intend to monetize for a substantial return. This massive influx in available capital is providing patent owners with increasing opportunity to make money from their inventions, as well as allowing companies … Read more