acacia

Amazon's Kindle Fire tablet hit by patent lawsuit

Though it won't reach store shelves until next month, Amazon's new Kindle Fire is already the target of a patent lawsuit.

A company called Smartphone Technologies filed the suit last Friday in Texas Eastern District Court accusing the Fire tablet of violating four of its patents.

Smartphone Technologies is owned by Acacia Research, a firm that buys and licenses patents and is seen by many as a patent troll. Acacia has kept the courts busy launching suits against the likes of Apple and Research In Motion.

The patents named in the suit against Amazon seem to include several … Read more

Microsoft agrees to license mobile patents

Microsoft took a break today from suing the mobile industry to examine life on the other side of the coin as a patent licensee.

The company has agreed to license patents belonging to what many have derisively considered the ultimate patent troll, Acacia, according to The Wall Street Journal. Microsoft did not disclose how much it paid for the licenses, but they cover 74 patents held by Acacia and Access, which acquired Palmsource back in the day and agreed to let Acacia pursue licensing deals on its behalf.

Acacia has a long history of assembling patents and suing whomever it … Read more

Patent troll Acacia takes one in the kisser

While much of the industry lives in fear of a patent troll rearing its ugly head, Cognex has decided to take on trolls like Lemelson and Acacia, and has been spanking them on a regular basis.

As PJ at Groklaw notes, it's far too early to throw up our hands in despair at the dreaded patent trolls:

Imagine if [Cognex] had, instead, thrown up his hands, assumed there was no hope, said the patent system was a joke, the system totally corrupt, etc. and just paid for a license he knew, and as he later proved, he didn't … Read more

Patent troll Acacia gets its first day in court...and loses

I failed to see this last week, but Acacia Research, the patent troll that recently went after Red Hat and Novell, got its first day in court with a Texas jury and lost. Big time. It was seeking $900 million in damages, as paidContent notes, and instead got 35 percent of its stock price chopped.

I weep for Acacia. OK. Maybe not. Looking at this stock chart, I will admit that a smile has played across my face:… Read more