The U.S. Supreme Court handed a big victory to Quanta Computer on Monday when it held that the doctrine of patent exhaustion barred LG Electronics' claims against it.
In doing so, the Supreme Court reversed the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit's previous decision that patent exhaustion did not apply to method claims and extended that doctrine to licenses for products that "substantially embod[y] a patent." This case is likely to substantially change the playing field for patentees seeking to monetize their patents in a vertical industry value chain. ... Read more
The Supreme Court said Tuesday that it will consider a patent case between LG Electronics and a group of Taiwanese companies, including Quanta Computer, according to Reuters.
The case could have far-reaching implications on the computer industry because it would determine whether patent holders can receive royalties from various companies as the product moves its way through the manufacturing chain.
LG claimed that the companies infringed on its patents on microprocessor chips in its computers. But Quanta and the other Taiwanese companies said LG licensed its technology to Intel, which made microprocessor chips that it sold to the companies.
The U.S. District Court for Northern California had ruled in favor of the Taiwanese companies, but that ruling was overturned in July 2006 by a federal appeals court. The Taiwanese companies are asking the Supreme Court to overturn that decision.
Quanta's customers include Hewlett-Packard, Dell, IBM and Sony. It also makes the iPhone for Apple.
Just for a moment, forget about waiting for the first iteration of Apple's iPhone: speculation is well under way about the next version.
As speculation about the first launch of the iPhone reaches fever pitch, it's time for new speculation about the second version.
(Credit: CNET Networks)According to reports in two Taiwanese newspapers Tuesday, the Commercial Times and the Economic Daily News, manufacturing powerhouse Quanta Computer has landed the contract to build a second-generation iPhone for Apple starting in September. The first version isn't out yet, as anyone with a pulse is probably aware, but the next version requires a "different outer design," according to numerous translations of the reports.
But IDG News Service reported that Quanta has not actually secured the contract. Earlier reports had indicated that Foxconn, one of Apple's primary iPod suppliers, was making the first generation iPhones. And CNET Taiwan received a tip from its own source who said the Quanta contract actually involves a widescreen iPod with a wireless chip.
So, back to waiting for the first iPhone. CNBC reported last week that it's due to arrive on June 20th, in line with Apple's statements that it will appear in late June. That would seem to indicate that CEO Steve Jobs won't be able to release the iPhone at the upcoming Worldwide Developer's Conference starting June 11, but rather that the company will hold a separate iPhone event.
Then on Tuesday, Crunchgear reported that June 11th actually looks like it will be the date, based on an account from a Fry's Electronics staffer that the company is gearing up to sell AT&T Wireless products with a special promotional deal around the iPhone. This is consistent with what a Cingular (now AT&T) employee told my colleague Declan McCullagh earlier this year. But can a date that falls before the midpoint of the month be considered "late" June?
Since we're bored with all this date speculation, let's start betting on the exact time of day that Apple will release the iPhone. Midnight launch with long lines? Stampede from the WWDC keynote over to the San Francisco Apple Store on June 11th? Happy hour at the Fifth Avenue store? Submit your thoughts, maybe we can get Bodog.com to take our action.
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