patent

Major details of the legal settlement between Apple and HTC could be made public following a ruling from a California judge.

In an ruling tonight, U.S. District Court Judge Lucy Koh said that while details of pricing and royalty rates for patents from both companies should be kept under wraps from public view, the same does not hold true for the rest of the agreement.

"This Court has repeatedly explained that only the pricing and royalty terms of license agreements may be sealed," Koh wrote in a ruling. "There are compelling reasons to seal pricing and … Read more

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Justin wanted to like the modern take on The Rockettes at Friday's showing, didn't.

- Father of SMS reflects on 20th anniversary of first text.

- News Corp shuts down The Daily.

- These companies hate your guts.

- StickNFind Bluetooth stickers are the best idea you didn't think of.

- Apple trying to patent wireless charging.… Read more

Microsoft has won an important ruling in its patent battle with Motorola.

U.S. District Court Judge James Robart last week ruled that Motorola could not ban the sale of Microsoft products that the mobile maker alleges violate its H.264 patents. The ruling means that the Xbox and Windows, along with other Microsoft products, won't be banned from sale in the U.S. The ruling also blocks Motorola from banning Microsoft product sales in Germany.

Computerworld previously reported on the ruling.

Microsoft and Motorola are embroiled in a legal spat around the world over the software giant's … Read more

Samsung is trying to raise doubts about a $1 billion jury verdict that found the company violated Apple's patents, but some of Samsung's new claims are in dispute.

Samsung alleges that the jury decision in August, which found Samsung had infringed Apple's patents involving the iPhone and iPad, was tainted partly because Velvin Hogan, the foreman, withheld information about a lawsuit he was involved in with Seagate, one of Samsung's partners.

Samsung, which also suggested Apple knew about Hogan's conflict with Seagate and withheld the information, demanded that Apple disclose what it knew. On Friday, … Read more

As if its slumping market share figures aren't enough, Research In Motion has found itself in some legal trouble with Nokia.

A Swedish arbitrator has ruled that RIM is "in breach of contract and is not entitled to manufacture or sell WLAN products without first agreeing [on] royalties with Nokia." If such a royalty agreement is not made, Nokia could have the legal grounds it needs to ban the sale of any BlackBerry devices that violate its patents related to WLAN (wireless local access network) technology.

Reuters was first to report the news.

The trouble between RIM and Nokia … Read more

An apparent shell company has filed a $3 million patent infringement lawsuit against Apple for including headphones with its iPhones.

A company called Intelligent Smart Phones Concepts sued Apple last week in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, alleging that Apple infringed on U.S. Patent No. 7,373,182. The abstract for "Wireless Mobile Phone Including a Headset" describes an interface that allows a removable headset "to receive at least telephony audio signals from the phone, and to provide audio signals to the phone."

Art included with the patent application and … Read more

The haptic feedback that improves touch typing on Android smartphones is going to cost Google -- and it may soon cost other Android manufacturers, too.

Google confirmed today that it has settled a patent-infringement lawsuit with Immersion, a touch-feedback technology company, for an undisclosed sum. Immersion filed the suit in February in an effort to block Motorola Mobility phones from being imported into the United States. The suit was filed before Google closed its purchase of Motorola for $12.5 billion.

"The successful resolution of this case is a critical step in our overall strategy of enforcing and monetizing … Read more

A California jury must once again decide whether Apple is infringing another company's patents.

Apple, along with fellow defendant LG Electronics, begin a trial today with Multimedia Patent Trust in a San Diego, Calif., court.

Multimedia Patent Trust, a subsidiary of Alcatel-Lucent, sued the two companies in December 2010 for alleged infringement on three of its patents covering video technology.

The lawsuit targets both Apple's portable iOS devices like the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch, along with computers such as MacBooks and iMacs -- effectively, anything that includes Apple's QuickTime video technology. For LG, it's nine … Read more

Ericsson has filed a suit against Samsung for patent infringement.

The Swedish telecommunications equipment maker said today that it launched the lawsuit after the two companies were unable to reach an agreement about renewing patent licensing deals.

Samsung previously licensed Ericsson's patents in 2001 and renewed terms in 2007, but licenses have now expired. According to Ericsson, Samsung refused to renew the licensing agreements for its patents on FRAND terms. FRAND (fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory) terms are used by industry groups to set standards for technology and products, and are aimed at encouraging competitiveness without allowing rights holders to … Read more