patents

Apple, Microsoft sued for patent infringement

Apple and Microsoft are being sued for patent infringement, according to a report on AppleInsider on Thursday.

The patent in question, entitled "Apparatus, method and a computer readable medium for generating media packets," was awarded to Emblaze, who filed for the patent in 2002.

The patent describes "a method for generating media packets, the method comprising the steps of: providing at a storage unit packet boundary information representative of locations of potential packet boundaries within media objects; said packet boundary information facilitating generation of packets of varying sizes; wherein said packet boundary information comprises intra access unit … Read more

Google seeks to patent new Web app tech

Google has filed at least four patent applications for technology it's building into its Chrome browser to try to make the Web a more powerful foundation for applications.

Three patent applications concern Google's Native Client, a technology for letting downloaded software modules run directly on a processor rather than more slowly through on-the-fly decoding as with the commonly used JavaScript. And one patent application involves O3D, a technology to let browser applications take advantage of 3D acceleration of graphics hardware.

Patents can serve a variety of purposes. They can be used to keep competitors away from new technology until the patent expires. They can be licensed to others for their use or used as bargaining chips when negotiating patent cross-license agreements that let companies use each other's patents. They can be hoarded for defensive purposes, ready for deployment in a patent infringement countersuit if one company is sued by another. They can be used to gain more favorable terms in the creation of industry standards that relate to the patents. And of course they can bolster corporate chest-thumping when it comes time to boast about levels of innovation.

Thus far, Google hasn't proven to be a litigious company, but its presence is looming ever larger over the computing industry. The new patents are in a particularly fast-moving area, the development of Web browsers and associated technology for making cloud computing a more powerful foundation for applications. … Read more

Web video gets H.264 royalty reprieve

In a decision that deprives open-source foes of some rhetorical fodder, the group that licenses patents for the widely used H.264 video-encoding technology chose to renew a streaming-media freebie through 2015.

MPEG LA licenses more than 1,000 H.264-related patents on behalf of 26 companies that hold the patents. The group's existing policy, which runs through the end of 2010, has been not to charge royalties to Internet sites that streamed video using the technology--as long as the video was free for viewers.

Many have been waiting to hear what MPEG LA would announce for the licensing … Read more

Could open source abandon the Google train?

As arguably the world's largest open-source company, Google has a big stake in maintaining its place at the heart of the open-source ecosystem. Recent events, however, suggest that Google can't rest on its laurels if it wants to secure the hearts and minds of open-source developers.

Make no mistake: Google needs those developers. Android, Chrome (and Chrome OS), and other Google initiatives depend upon fostering vibrant open-source communities that can help it to surpass Microsoft and Apple.

Such communities may be ready to cut the Google umbilical cord, however, which should be worrying to Google.

There have been … Read more

Motorola seeks BlackBerry ban in U.S.

Motorola has joined Eastman Kodak in asking U.S. authorities to ban imports of BlackBerry devices, in a dispute over patents.

On Friday, Motorola said it had filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission, alleging that BlackBerry maker Research In Motion is infringing on five Motorola patents with its products. According to Motorola, RIM used to have a license for the technology in question, but that licensing deal expired in 2007.

The news comes a week after Kodak filed its own complaint with the ITC, claiming that RIM is violating its patent for color image previewing and … Read more

Microsoft sues TiVo...but not over Linux. Surprise!

Hard as it may be to believe, sometimes Microsoft's patent lawsuits have nothing to do with Linux. Increasingly, however, they all seem to end with the same punchline: "Get a license to our patent portfolio and everything will work out."

When

Microsoft intervened in AT&T's patent infringement suit against Linux-based TiVo; it said it was doing so to uphold its IP interests. While the open-source community fretted that the intervention might signal evil intent against Linux, closer inspection by Groklaw revealed the lawsuit "has absolutely nothing to do with Linux."

Phew!

At … Read more

Microsoft and Funai sign patent deal

Microsoft announced on Tuesday that it has set up a new deal to swap patents with LCD TV maker Funai.

Funai, which makes TVs sold in the U.S. under the brands Philips, Magnavox, Sylvania, and Emerson, will gain access to Microsoft's exFAT file system, an enhanced version of the company's older FAT (file allocation table) used to store and organize data on a disk.

The exFAT (extended FAT) system supports much higher-capacity drives and devices than can FAT and will quickly save files onto SD cards, USB drives, and other portable gadgets. Microsoft sees it as the … Read more

Nokia patent shows shape-shifting phone

A patent filed by Nokia with the US Patent and Trademark Office describes a bendable device with a flexible screen. It's not simply that, of course, as we know phones with flexible panels aren't new. Remember the ill-fated Readius from Polymer Vision?

According to parts of the patent, the differentiating factor is that such a device will respond according to the shape a user puts it in. For example, bending it to resemble a can will cause it to do a search for a bar or pub in the neighborhood, while making it into the shape of a … Read more

Apple seeks ban on U.S. Nokia imports

The ongoing patent battle between Apple and Nokia escalated Friday, when Apple moved to block imports of Nokia cell phones to the U.S.

Apple made its request in a complaint filed with the International Trade Commission, an independent federal agency that examines issues including unfair trade practices involving patent, trademark, and copyright infringement.

In December, Nokia filed its own complaint with the USITC in Washington. In it, the Finnish company alleged that Apple infringes seven Nokia patents "in virtually all of its mobile phones, portable music players, and computers" and sought to ban imports of Apple's iPhone, iPod, and MacBook products.

Responding to Apple's latest move, Nokia spokesman Mark Durrant told Bloomberg that "Nokia will study the complaint when it is received and continue to defend itself vigorously. However this does not alter the fact that Apple has failed to agree to appropriate terms for using Nokia technology and has been seeking a free ride on Nokia's innovation since it shipped the first iPhone in 2007."

Apple has not yet responded to a request for comment on the filing.

Back in October, before the patent debate between the two companies moved to the trade commission, Nokia filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Delaware regarding 10 patents related to wireless handsets, which Nokia says Apple has refused to license. Every iPhone model since the original, introduced in 2007, infringes on those patents, Nokia has charged.

The 10 patents it accuses Apple of violating are related to making phones able to run on GSM, 3G, and Wi-Fi networks. They include patents on wireless data, speech coding, security, and encryption, according to Nokia.

Apple then filed a countersuit accusing Nokia of copying technology inside the iPhone. Apple said Nokia is violating a range of patents, from real-time signal processing methods to list scrolling and document translation, scaling, and rotation on a touch-screen display. … Read more