We're already aware of the result for the Apple versus Samsung US patent battle, which left Samsung with a $1 billion bill. It really couldn't have gone worse for the smartphone manufacturer who has interest in both Android and Windows Phone (the penalty phase returns on September 20th though). Google remained fairly quiet on the front, but has released a statement that details an...
The Nokia Phi as seen by the USPTO Adding to the earlier news about the new Nokia phone, codename ‘Phi’ coming to AT&T, the site Liveside have managed to uncover a new patent filing that appears to reveal the new device in submitted drawings. At first brush, the device looks a lot like the Lumia 800 and 900 but upon closer inspection, it matches nearly to the ‘t’ the previous images...
Say what you will about Microsoft and Apple but the two companies either appear to be the only adults in the room or alternatively, they have formed an alliance against Android. Or maybe both. Evidence has come forth in the Apple-Samsung trial that the former has licensed so-called ‘design patents’ to Microsoft, which indemnify them against lawsuits from Apple over their Windows Phone...
In the ongoing saga between Samsung and Apple, documents came out late last night from the court case that detailed a proposal by Apple to charge Samsung for royalties on their smartphones. It’s interesting for a few reasons. For one, Apple almost never enters into cross-platform patent royalty deals with other companies, specifically if it is tied to any of their “product...
Our audience is smart enough to know that no electronic system of communication is impervious to eavesdropping and there’s very little out there that’s near 100% secure. So it should come as no surprise that Skype is getting some publicity of its internal network restructuring that started occurring once Microsoft acquired the company last year. The charge: Microsoft is reconfiguring...
The human race enjoys shoving plastic and metal into (or around) the ear, but a new patent shows just what Microsoft had in mind to make this more enjoyable for those who listen to music while on the go. Think headphones, think Zune, now think of both of those connected as one, slapped on top of your skull. As one can see in the above image, the headphones enable the user to connect a...
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer considers buying Nokia. "Kinda want" Rumors are flying around today, notably from the Register who has it on good account, that Microsoft did seriously consider buying Nokia but decided against the deal once the Finnish firms' books were opened. If the story is accurate, it represents an interesting twist on the partnership and may still leave a cold feeling...
Just when we thought the patent wars were over, Google has announced yesterday that they've filed an antitrust complaint in Europe, pointing a finger at Nokia and Microsoft regarding patents. The search giant is arguing that both companies are using third-party agencies (which are internally branded "patent trolls") to increase the costs for mobile devices, which would in-turn provide a...
Motorola has been granted an injunction on Microsoft products being sold in Germany. The Xbox 360, Windows OS, Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player will all fall under the ban, should it be put into place. The injunction follows a ruling claiming the software giant had infringed two Motorola patents required to support H.264 video coding and playback. An official statement from...
The Finnish manufacturer has announced in a press release today that they have filed patent lawsuits and will be taking on HTC, RIM and Viewsonic. Nokia has filed the patent claims in the U.S. and Germany, alleging that products from the three manufacturers infringe a number of owned patents. Louise Pentland, chief legal officer at Nokia, had the following to comment on the situation...
This morning, Microsoft announced a new partnership with Barnes & Noble for their eReader business having settled the previous litigation on claimed patent infringement. The new subsidiary of Barnes & Noble called Newco (not the real name, just a placeholder to be determined later) will focus on the digital and college business of the company. Microsoft is investing $300 million...
Nokia was reacently granted a patent (D655,698) with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in early March for a new smartphone "ornamental" design . What makes the filing interesting though is that it seemingly matches what appears to be prototypes from a supposed Nokia promotional video leaked last August (see stills below). At the time, that video and phones shown within, were...
We reported on Chinese device maker Huawei way back in December 2010 as a possible OEM for Windows Phone and the untapped market in China. Fast forward to early 2012 and Microsoft is reportedly "weeks" from a launch there, this time with Nokia leading the way. Now we're getting word via Digitimes that Huawei has finally committed to Windows Phone and will be bringing devices to China...
Microsoft has been busy lately hammering out Android licensing deals with manufacturers. A few days after announcing an agreement with LG, word is that they are close to a similar one with Pantech, South Korea’s third largest handset manufacturer. A Pantech spokesman told Yonhap News, "We are in talks with Microsoft over the patent use, but specific details have not yet been decided...
Nokia has recently sold 450 patents to Sisvel, an italian Intellectual property manager. Of those, 350 patents spanning across 33 families encapsulate key wireless technologies like GSM, UMTS/WCDMA, and LTE. Although Nokia nor Sisvel are going into details of the deal, it's expected that Nokia will retain the rights to use these patents, and likely collect on some of the ongoing...
Microsoft has been granted a patent that would use location-based services to help keep pedestrians safe. The “pedestrian route production” technology will “construct a direction set that allows the user to take paths that take him to his home in a quickest amount of time while keeping the user relatively safe (e.g., taking the user through neighborhoods with violent crime statistics...
Amongst all the recent patent litigation, Microsoft filed a complaint with the International Trade Commission claiming that Motorola violated six of their smartphone patents. An Administrative Judge has ruled in favor of Microsoft in one of these complaints and dismissed the other five. Both sides have proclaimed victory. The patent in question deals with generating meeting requests and...
Compal, a Taiwanese manufacturer, has signed a patent deal with Microsoft that will see the company pay the software giant licensing fees on sold Android and Chrome products. Compal now joins Samsung, HTC, Acer and Viewsonic in Microsoft's patent portfolio licensing handbook. Microsoft continues to work with manufacturers directly with regards to IP licensing, which could further...
Apple is continuing the patent war with a new updated entry of the "In-App Purchasing" application they filed back in April of 2010. This update appears to cover most functionality of present app stores that allow the user to purchase additional content within an app. What's more is the patent also covers variations on the process, including the use of HTML 5 web apps. Let's not forget...
In an interesting ruling just handed down last week from the USPTO, Apple has been denied the usage of the term "Multi-Touch" as a trademark, at least in the United States (they're still arguing for it in other countries). In short, the reason for the denial is that the term has become to generic and is merely descriptive of a feature but does not meet the criteria of "acquired...