HTC is considering scuppering its $300m S3 Graphics acquisition after the company’s patent portfolio failed to beat Apple in a recent IP trial, it has been confirmed. HTC “will reevaluate its planned purchase” the company said in a statement today, Bloomberg reports, after the US International Trade Commission overturned a preliminary ruling in HTC’s favor against Apple.
Apple has been cleared of infringing video patents acquired by HTC from its purchase of S3 Graphics, with the USITC overturning a preliminary ruling in HTC's favor. Despite an early decision that OS X overlapped patented technologies back in July, Apple has in fact been guilty of "no violation" the US International Trade Commission decided, sending HTC's share price into a mild downward spin as investors reacted negatively.
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Apple's iCloud and MobileMe services are under fire in German courts, with each looking likely to fall foul of a Motorola Mobility patent. The European patent, "multiple pager status synchronization system and method," is said to be infringed by Apple's cloud services, FOSSPatents reports, with Motorola securing a February 2012 hearing with a court that apparently seems indisposed to hearing Apple's arguments that its rival hasn't been specific enough in claims.
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When the front and back of your popular smartphone is made from glass, you can bet that there will be a bunch of those devices that get shattered in a short drop. Even using Gorilla Glass wasn't enough to prevent buyers of the iPhone 4 from crying foul when the front and back of the smartphone could shatter.
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An Apple patent application has surfaced, revealing one of the ideas the company has in mind for creating crack-resistant glass screens for its iPhones and other portable devices. The invention involves the use of a tunable shock mount which acts like an airbag between the glass screen and the body of the device.
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Samsung has admitted it had an "informal policy of not suing Apple for patent infringement" so as to protect its supplier role for iPhone and iPad components, alleging that it overlooked Apple knowingly using 3G telecoms tech without first licensing it until the point that the Cupertino company fired off a lawsuit of its own. The Korean company's legal team claims patent licensing negotiations were underway up until April this year, SMH reports, and that Apple knowingly went ahead and infringed when talks floundered. The Australian court presiding over the 3G patent case has scheduled a full hearing for March 2012, despite Apple's demands for a later date.
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Huawei looks likely to be the next Android OEM to agree to Microsoft patent licensing, following Samsung, HTC and others in paying the Windows creator. Huawei's CMO described the negotiations as "in progress" the BBC reports, as the company chases "very aggressive targets" for the next five years. "Over the next three years we are aiming to be in the top five smartphone makers" Victor Xu said, "and in the top three in the next five years."
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Google's patent counsel has accused Microsoft of aggressively using patent licensing as a stand-in for product innovation, suggesting that Android OEMs have been pressured into cutting deals with Microsoft because the company is afraid its own products have been "marginalized." Lawyer Tim Porter told SFGate that he did not feel Android development had been impacted by the multiple lawsuits going on around intellectual property in mobile, but was concerned that "the more people get distracted with litigation, the less they'll be inventing."
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I like it when patents surface from places like Apple, Nintendo and others that show off what we will probably see in the future from the country. The latest patent to surface is from Nintendo and it shows an accessory that appears to show a way to turn the Wii Remote into a touchpad. The patent app line art shows a device that slips onto the Remote.
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The European Commission has called for an investigation into Samsung with allegations that Samsung has used FRAND (fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory) licensing of patents against Apple. If Samsung loses the case, this could potentially force the completely withdrawal of all complaints it has against Apple. According to FOSS Patents, the FRAND patent holder can ask for reasonable compensation but the patent holder isn't allowed to overcharge or try to kill products as long as the user is willing to sign an agreement.
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A recent SEC filing from Motorola has unveiled that it has raked in $228 million from a company resulting from a patent licensing deal between the two firms. For some reason Motorola won’t spill the beans on what company has paid it so much loot in licensing fees. This has caused speculation to run rampant on what the unnamed company is. The rumors floating around right now are claiming that RIM was the company that paid out so well.
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Amazon has been granted a patent on a new tech for gift cards that will help the giver limit exactly what the person they gift the card to can purchase. Amazon applied for the patent titled "customizing gift instrument experiences for recipients" back in 2008 and the patent was granted recently. In a nutshell, the patent boils down to parental controls for the products the gift card can be used to purchase.
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