patents. litigation

Apple barred from pursuing patent claims against Kodak

A judge told Apple today that it could not restart patent-infringement litigation against Eastman Kodak over a patent that may be sold during the troubled photography company's bankruptcy proceedings.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Allan Gropper, who is overseeing Kodak's Chapter 11 bankruptcy case, denied Apple's request to file a complaint with the International Trade Commission and attempt to unfreeze a patent lawsuit pending between the companies. Gropper said it would be inappropriate to allow Apple to continue pursuing claims against Kodak while the company is reorganizing.

The patent, which covers technology that allows consumers to preview digital … Read more

Google: Five things to look for in 2012

It may be a measure of Google's dominance that some of the most important events for the company next year will likely take place in courtrooms and government offices.

The Web giant is under investigation both domestically and abroad for allegedly abusing its powerful position as the leader in Internet search. And rivals are suing Google and its partners as the company expands into markets where they're already competing.

So even as Google works to improve its search engine and bolster emerging businesses such as its Google+ social network, it will be worth keeping tabs on the regulators, … Read more

Attacks on Google suggest it is winning

You can look at Google's growing market share in Android, its dominance in search, and elsewhere as signs that it's winning in its markets. But for me, the best indicator that Google is winning is the increasingly vitriolic attacks piled on it.

You can always spot a winner by the bull's-eye painted on it. No one bothers to diss a loser.

Or sue them. Red Bend Software has launched what appears to be a specious patent claim against Google, alleging that Google's Chrome browser violates its patent (6,546,552) by including the Courgette algorithm, which … Read more

EchoStar says appeals court stays ruling on DVR workaround

Less than 24 hours after a federal judge found EchoStar in contempt in its long-running patent dispute with TiVo, another judge issued a temporary stay Wednesday, according to EchoStar.

"We are pleased that the Federal Appeals Court in Washington temporarily stayed the district court's order in the TiVo litigation. Dish Network customers can continue using their DVRs. We believe that we have strong grounds for appeal," the company said in a statement.

The temporary stay drags out even further a legal contest that is now five years old. It seemed like it had come close to reaching … Read more

$30.4 billion, not $11.4 billion, in software patent damage to the economy

End Software Patents earlier claimed that the US economy suffers an $11 billion hit each year due to needless software patents. It turns out that End Software Patents was wrong.

The number is actually $30.4 billion.

What's $20 billion between friends? The group revised upward its earlier, more conservative estimates based on the following [PDF]:

The U.S. Courts reported 2,830 patent lawsuits (of all kinds) filed in FY2006. Bessen and Meurer estimate that as of 2002, 25% of patent infringement suits are over software; all signs indicate that the current number is much higher, but we … Read more