InterDigital has been shopping its patent portfolio around for while, and on Monday it revealed it had a taker. Intel has scooped up 1700 of its patents for $375 million, bulking up the chipmaker’s intellectual property holdings in the increasingly critical mobile networking sector. Read more »
A US judge yesterday threw aside a much-anticipated trial between Apple and Google-owned Motorola Mobility over smartphone patents. The decision and a blog comment by the same judge could prove to be a watershed moment for a US patent system that has spiralled out of control. Read more »
Steve Jobs’ incendiary comments about Android in his biography have been ruled fair game for Motorola’s lawyers in its upcoming trial versus Apple. The judge also laid out some other ground rules this week, including forbidding Apple lawyers from playing up Jobs’ or Apple’s popularity. Read more »
Google has filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission against Microsoft and Nokia and is also tattling on the companies with U.S. regulators, accusing them patent-troll-like behavior. The good thing about filing a complaint with the EC is Google doesn’t have to do the legwork. Read more »
The on again, off again launch of Sprint’s HTC EVO 4G LTE smartphone is on again: Customers will find the $199 Android 4.0 device in most Sprint stores on June 2. Unfortunately, I suspect we’ll see more mobile devices held up due to patent infringements. Read more »
Microsoft has won the latest salvo in its ongoing war with Motorola, but it’s not yet clear whether Moto will buy a license for the infringed patent or try a workaround. Read more »
Here’s our daily pick of stories about Apple from around the web you shouldn’t miss. Today’s installment: What Apple et al are up to with Nortel’s patent trove, why iPhone subsidies won’t be lowered any time soon, a contract-free iPhone 3GS and Tim Cook’s compensation. Read more »
Nokia filed claims against HTC, Research In Motion and Viewsonic in both the U.S. and Germany, saying that 45 Nokia patents were infringed. Why are the mobile patent wars raging? Major innovation is slowing down in this market; now the battles are in the courts. Read more »
Apple is reportedly preparing an MVNO that would provide wireless services to iPhones and iPads via multiple carrier partners. But the move would be a huge mistake for Cupertino, and it’s extremely unlikely Apple Mobile will ever come to ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Motorola has won an injunction in Germany on key Microsoft products involved in a patent dispute. But in a confusing and complex judgment, the chances of Motorola actually trying to get Microsoft’s key products removed from shelves are slim. Read more »
For developers, consumers and even carriers, Android seems irreparably broken. But Google’s not likely to “fix” Android anytime soon, because despite the fragmentation problem, the company is getting what it wants: massive amounts of user data. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
The 650 patents that Facebook acquired from Microsoft are “web-related” said a source with knowledge of the deal and listed some specific examples. The source said the portfolio includes patents related to: instant-messaging, e-commerce, LTE, mobile, handsets, search and advertising. Read more at paidContent »
Facebook announced today that it will pay $550 million for the right to 650 patents and patent applications from Microsoft.
Microsoft acquired those patents and hundreds of others in a deal with AOL earlier this month. Read more at paidContent »
Media issues like advertising and discovery along with commerce dominated the activity in social and real-time Web technologies during the first quarter. Google raised some hackles, Facebook responded to demands from traditional advertisers, and Yahoo got a new chief executive. Read more in the full report. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Despite having agreed to send their CEOs for an in-person talks for a possible settlement in their long-running, multi-country mobile patent dispute, Samsung and Apple aren’t quite done flinging patent-related accusations at each other. Late Wednesday, Samsung filed eight more claims of infringement against Apple. Read more »
Google, Apple and Samsung get all of the attention in the mobile patent wars, but only one of them is a true powerhouse in terms of mobile intellectual property. Samsung, along with Nokia, lead the overall mobile patent portfolio rankings, according to a new study. Read more »
This quarter the EV market struggled to find its footing. Meanwhile, the smart-grid sector solidified and low-power technology proved itself important in the data center. Read more to learn what these news pieces and others mean for the larger space over the next few months. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
This is a victory for Motorola: Not only did the judge agree that an earlier injunction granted against Apple’s cloud e-mail services should be upheld, Apple was also ordered to pay Motorola unspecified damages, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. Read more »
A Texas shell company says Apple and others have infringed on technology for basic smartphone gestures like dragging and “double tap.” The patents were issued in 2007 to a Taiwanese maker of touchpad technology. Read more at paidContent »
AOL CEO Tim Armstrong insists the $1 billion patent deal with Microsoft is about profiting while simplifying the company, not the start of the last sell off. Read more at paidContent »
A Texas shell company is claiming that battery technology in devices like the Kindle Fire and the Samsung Galaxy Nexus infringes its patent. Read more at paidContent »
Silicon Valley leads the world in technology but it’s losing a debate over how that technology should be used. A new surge in patent lawsuit… Read more at paidContent »
A business that pays people to expose bogus patents announced it will offer a cash reward to the person who can show that putting an adverti… Read more at paidContent »
A shell company capped off a week of patent controversy by suing two popular phone makers for including a button that lets users put a smile… Read more at paidContent »
When Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO) filed a patent suit against Facebook this week, it became as popular as Rush Limbaugh at a Planned Parenthood gather… Read more at paidContent »
Yes, Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO) went there today — claiming in a lawsuit that it, not Facebook, is the real king of social networks. The company po… Read more at paidContent »
Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO) has made good on its threat of last month and filed a patent infringement suit against Facebook. The lawsuit adds to the… Read more at paidContent »
A new patent troll last week fired a shot at Facebook, Zynga and others with a lawsuit that claims rights to in-game payments — the process… Read more at paidContent »
In a sign the country’s intellectual property laws may be getting out of hand, copyright lawyers are suing patent lawyers for using scientif… Read more at paidContent »
A new patent troll announced its arrival this week by suing companies like Facebook, Zynga and Playfish. Its weapon is a patent that it clai… Read more at paidContent »
Google (NSDQ: GOOG) and Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) are in a worldwide squabble over smartphone patents, but they will have to cooperate long enough… Read more at paidContent »
The legal tennis match over smartphone patents is still dragging on, and it was Apple Read more at paidContent »
Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN), already facing a number of patent lawsuits over its Kindle e-readers, was hit with a new one this week. Read more at paidContent »
A controversial investment fund run by a former Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) executive just added more fuel to the tech industry’s runaway patent… Read more at paidContent »
Cleantech largely has so far avoided the nasty patent wars that plague a space like mobile, but the Honeywell-Nest lawsuit changes that. A large company using its patent libraries to fight a new product could have chilling effects for startups in the space. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
The smart thermostat is grabbing the attention of the tech community because of the Honeywell-Nest lawsuit filed last week. We asked GigaOM readers for their views on what will likely be a nasty legal tussle between the two companies. Here are the results. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
The US government and the European Commission today gave the green light to Google’s $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola (NYSE: MMI) Mobil… Read more at paidContent »
Government officials in the city of Shijiazhuang raided an unnamed Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) reseller (not an official brand store) over the weeken… Read more at paidContent »
Where will this all end? Both Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) and Google (NSDQ: GOOG) are sitting on billions in cash and seem intent on blowing a good p… Read more at paidContent »
Apple’s global campaign to stop its Korean rival from selling smartphones and tablets has faltered in recent months, but the iPhone-maker ap… Read more at paidContent »
