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Tag: patents

  • Samsung not willing to agree with Apple over patents

    The patent war between Apple and Samsung is not over yet and as it seems, it is not expected to end anytime soon. Although Apple has reached an agreement with HTC, Samsung is not willing to do so.

    It was only a few days ago when we were informed that Apple and HTC have agreed to end their patent war, at least for the next 10 years. This agreement created further speculations, whether it was the beginning of a new era, where patent wars would not exist. And although the collaboration between Apple and HTC might have been a step towards that era, the big deal would be a possible agreement on patent cases between Apple and Samsung, the two big rivals on the smartphone market.

    However, Shin Jong-kyun, the head of Samsung's mobile and IT division in South Korea made sure with his words that there won't be any further questions regarding a possible settlement:

    “We have no such intention. … HTC may have agreed to pay 300 billion won (US$276 million) to Apple, but we don’t intend to [negotiate] at all.”

    And just like that, we are informed that the battle cases between Apple and Samsung will keep going in the future. We don't know whether Samsung is extremely confident over their current and future products, but they surely have paid the price quite expensive on the patent war. Just a few months ago the US court have ordered them to pay 1 billion dollars for copying parts of the iPhone and iPad. And even though they have every right to be confident with their current share in the smartphone market, are they certain about the future? Will they manage to survive the following years or should we still expect a possible settlement between the two companies?

  • Google, Sued by the British Telecom Operator BT

    British telecom operator BT sued Google in the United States for infringement of patents in areas such as mobile access to maps, Reuters.

    BT has launched the action in a court in Delaware. The complaint refers to six patents that would have been violated by https://smartphone.biz-news.com/news/tags/en_US/Google, according to BT, by services such as https://smartphone.biz-news.com/news/tags/en_US/Android, https://smartphone.biz-news.com/news/tags/en_US/Google Maps, https://smartphone.biz-news.com/news/tags/en_US/Google Music, Advertising, https://smartphone.biz-news.com/news/tags/en_US/Gmail and other products.

    "It’s about protecting BT’s investment in intellectual property and innovation. We think we have a solid case," said in a statement the British group.

    In the telecommunications industry are currently taking place numerous conflicts on patents, while the number of operators, mobile phone manufacturers and content providers try to offer attractive services such as accessing the maps or entertainment.

    Google Group is already involved in several disputes with companies such as https://smartphone.biz-news.com/news/tags/en_US/Apple, https://smartphone.biz-news.com/news/tags/en_US/Microsoft and https://smartphone.biz-news.com/news/tags/en_US/Oracle. A Google spokesman said the allegations are without foundation.

    BT announced that it has a total portfolio of approximately 5,600 patents and applications in the past financial year and demanded protection by patents of 62 inventions.

    The British group is the fifth largest company that sued Google for patent infringement.

    In August, Google announced that an agreement was reached regarding the takeover of https://smartphone.biz-news.com/news/tags/en_US/Motorola Mobility for $ 12.5 billion, the largest acquisition in its history, partly to protect themselves from aggressive legal attacks. Motorola is one of the largest portfolios of patents in the mobile phone industry.

  • Microsoft and Samsung Have a Deal on Windows Phone and Sharing Patents

    Microsoft and Samsung have signed an agreement targeting three important goals: developing Windows Phone solutions, distribution of Android devices and exchange of patents. The formalization of this agreement, of a great importance for its content and its strategic value, will undoubtedly lead to significant changes in mobile devices.

    The Pro-Windows Phone Agreement
    The two parties have decided to get involved in developing new environmental solutions for Windows Phone, just a few days after the announcement of the first Samsung devices equipped with Windows Phone Mango, which widely opens new horizons for both groups. Microsoft needs manufacturers that ensure the quality, while Samsung is looking for an alternative in avoiding an imbalance generated by favoring the Android operating system.

    The Anti-Android Agreement
    Another very interesting move made by the two companies is what concerns the Android devices: Microsoft will receive from Samsung a share of the profits obtained from the sale of each Android smartphone distributed.

    It's quite difficult to assess the amount in order to determine whether this sum is close to the $ 5 for each device – amount agreed into the contract signed by Microsoft with HTC.

    Another interesting fact is that Samsung has also signed, in this context, on the mention: “Android violates the Microsoft’s intellectual property so that Samsung accepts the payment of a small “fine” in order to continue distribution without problems”.

    An excellent move on the chessboard of the biggest players on the market, given that the group in Redmond will receive the more so as its Android rival will be successful, which will definitely lead to a confrontation with the colossus in Mountain View.

    The Agreement on Patents
    Even the thorny issue targeting the patents has found the solution in the agreement signed by both parties: Microsoft and Samsung have granted a mutual license for the exchange of strategic patents, so that both groups will be able to develop their projects without the risk of further legal battles.

    The content of the agreement puts Google against the wall in the most serious way, but brings to the forefront the possibility of adopting a compromising solution on the issue of patents battle.

    Advancing the idea of licensing as a viable solution, through which the intellectual property is being recognized, it is clearly approaching this issue, in the spirit of supporting the innovation and the development in the technology sector.

    You may also want to read:
    Samsung Launches Omnia W with Windows Phone Mango
    Google Supplies HTC with Ammunition for the Battle Against Apple
    iPhone Did Not Conquer Yet the Hearts of the Rich

  • HTC Sues Apple

      HTC, the second largest Asian producer of mobile phones, filed a complaint against Apple, claiming the U.S. giant has infringed three patents.

    The movement made by HTC aims at blocking the imports of gadgets such as iPhone and Mac computers. The Taiwanese company accuses Apple that has infringed three patents related to wireless technology. The General Counsel of HTC, Grace Lei, said that Apple needs to stop violating HTC invention rights. She says HTC started this action against the U.S. company in order to protect their intellectual property, their partners and, most importantly, their customers.

    Apple immediately came with a response to accusations, a spokesman for Apple saying that their competitors have to create their own original technology, not to steal theirs.

    In July this year, HTC made several acquisitions, a trend Google has followed by buying Motorola Mobility in order to maintain their market position in IT & C. The Asian company has bought S3 Graphics Co. This was a successful move for HTC, which won the lawsuit against Apple after a judge found that the U.S. company's operating system, Mac OS X, violated two patents of S3 Graphics Co.

    Another judge  discovered last month that HTC had violated two rights of invention from Apple. If this accusation is confirmed, it could lead to blocking the imports of certain mobile phones of the Taiwanese company.

    Apple filed a separate complaint this month that targets the phones and Flayer tablet from HTC. Motorola, Nokia, HTC, Apple, Google and Samsung are currently involved in one or more trials related to the violation of certain patented technologies.

    Related news:

  • Microsoft Files Patent Infringement Action Against Motorola

    Microsoft today filed a patent infringement action against Motorola for infringement of nine Microsoft patents by Motorola’s Android-based smartphones.

    The patents at issue relate to a range of functionality embodied in Motorola’s Android smartphone devices that are “essentiall” to the smartphone user experience, including synchronizing email, calendars and contacts, scheduling meetings, and notifying applications of changes in signal strength and battery power.

    ”We have a responsibility to our customers, partners, and shareholders to safeguard the billions of dollars we invest each year in bringing innovative software products and services to market. Motorola needs to stop its infringement of our patented inventions in its Android smartphones," said Horacio Gutierrez, Motorola’s corporate vice president and deputy general counsel of Intellectual Property and Licensing.

  • HTC Disagrees With Apple’s Actions

    HTC yesterday outlined its disagreement with Apple’s legal actions. Earlier this month Apple sued HTC for infringing 20 iPhone patents.

    “HTC disagrees with Apple’s actions and will fully defend itself. HTC strongly advocates intellectual property protection and will continue to respect other innovators and their technologies as we have always done, but we will continue to embrace competition through our own innovation as a healthy way for consumers to get the best mobile experience possible,” said Peter Chou, chief executive officer, HTC.

    He added that from day one, HTC has focused on creating “cutting-edge innovations that deliver unique value for people looking for a smartphone.”

    “In 1999 we started designing the XDA and T-Mobile Pocket PC Phone Edition, our first touch-screen smartphones, and they both shipped in 2002 with more than 50 additional HTC smartphone models shipping since then,” he said.

    In 2009, HTC launched its branded user experience, HTC Sense. “HTC Sense is focused on putting people at the center by making phones work in a more simple and natural way,” says the company. According to them, this experience was fundamentally based on listening and observing how people live and communicate.

    “HTC has always taken a partnership-oriented, collaborative approach to business. This has led to long-standing strategic partnerships with the top software, Internet and wireless technology companies in the industry as well as the top U.S., European and Asian mobile operators,” said Jason Mackenzie, vice president of HTC America.

    “It is through these relationships that we have been able to deliver the world’s most diverse series of smartphones to an even more diverse group of people around the world, recognizing that customers have very different needs.”

  • Apple TV To Get a Wii-like Remote?


    Apple     has filed a set of patents for a Wii-style remote control for Apple TV.

    In the two patent applications Apple describes a "wand" for controlling the operations of a media system, suggesting the iPhone-maker may be considering games for Apple TV.

    That would involve distributing them to the device through the iTunes App Store, as is currently the case for the iPhone.

    In January, it was suggested that NVIDIA’s Ion platform is likely to be included in the next Apple TV.

    Among the uses proposed by Apple for the wand are zoom operations, a keyboard application, an image application, an illustration application and a media application.

    Other possiblities for the wand include it being used to call up a dock, and then to select an option from the menu by moving the wand across the screen.

    The controller could also scroll through a CoverFlow display and be used to manipulate photos by zooming in and out and rotating.

    It will be interesting to see how this develops – and how Nintendo reacts to the Apple application.

  • Funai Seeks To Ban US Imports Of TV Makers


    A US judge has ruled that the digital television products of 14 companies, including Vizio, infringe patents held by Funai.

    The Japanese company is seeking a limited exclusion order barring importation of the infringing products into the US as well as a cease and desist order to prevent sale or distribution of infringing products there.

    Included are certain models of the brand names of Vizio, Ölevia, Proview, AOC and Envision, among others.

    Funai, which produces Philips-branded LCD TVs, saw its operating income increase by 108.8 per cent in the last quarter, largely off the back of sales of Blu-ray players and DTV converters.

    Last October, Funai filed a complaint with the US International Trade Commission (ITC) against 14 respondents claiming infringement of Funai’s digital television patents.

    Three respondents settled and entered licenses with Funai during the course of the proceedings, and the ITC case continued as to the other 11 respondents.

    Two of the respondents defaulted during the course of the ITC case.

    Upon completion of the ITC proceeding, Funai expects to resume its suits that are pending in the US District Court against the same parties, seeking damages resulting from infringement of Funai’s digital television patents.

    An Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) of the ITC has now issued an Initial Determination (ID) as to Funai’s claims that Vizio, TPV, Amtran, Proview, Syntax-Brillian and other respondents violate Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930.

    The ALJ has determined that the respondents’ digital television products infringe asserted claims of Funai Electric’s US Patent No. 6,115,074. Based on such determination, the ALJ will issue a Recommended Determination on Remedy by December 1, 2008.

    The ALJ’s ID is subject to review by the full Commission and, if reviewed by the Commission, a final determination is expected by the end of March 2009.

    The following is a list of the current respondents:

    Vizio, Inc., formerly known as V. Inc. (US)
    Amtran Technology Co., Ltd (Taiwan)
    Proview International Holdings, Ltd. (Hong Kong)
    Proview Technology (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. (China)
    Proview Technology, Inc. (US)
    TPV Technology, Ltd. (Hong Kong)
    TPV International (USA), Inc. (US)
    Top Victory Electronics (Taiwan) Co., Ltd (Taiwan)
    Envision Peripherals, Inc.(US)
    Syntax-Brillian Corporation (US)
    Taiwan Kolin Co., Ltd (Taiwan)

  • Leading HDTV manufacturers take legal action against Vizio over patents


    Mitsubishi, Samsung, Sony, and Philips have filed a patent suit against low-cost HDTV maker Vizio claiming the company is violating 15 patents key to supporting MPEG-2 video in its products.
    The legal action is seeking an order to prevent Vizio from using the patents, as well as financial compensation.
    According to the complaint – other parties to which also include Columbia University of New York, Victor Co. of Japan, and Thompson – the individual companies have pursued Vizio about licensing the patents, but the company has refused to deal with them.
    It is claimed that Vizio has also declined to discuss the matter with the MPEG Licensing Authority trade group.
    In response to the suit, which was filed in federal court in Manhattan on June 2, Vizio said it doesn’t need licenses for the MPEG-2 patents.
    It claims its suppliers have licensed the patents and those licenses extend to Vizio’s products.
    The company said it will fight the suit and expects its partners will support and cooperate in the defence.
    Earlier this year, the MPEG LA trade group filed suit against Target over its Tru-tech brand of televisions (PDF) on similar patent infringement claims.
    Vizio has made a name for itself in the US by selling comparatively low-cost high-definition televisions through mass retailers like Wal-mart, Costco, and Circuit City, often substantially undercutting prices for similarly-featured models from competitors. During the first quarter of 2008, Vizio was ranked as the number three seller of LCD televisions by DisplaySearch and iSuppli.