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‘patent’ Stories

Grumpy Ol’ WiFi patent troll slinks out from under bridge

Shane McGlaun, Oct 4th 2011 Discuss [2]

Patent trolls are always out to force money out of people and companies for vague patents that they can claim extend to common and widely used features in the tech world. The latest of these patent trolls has surfaced and is called Innovatio IP. This company is claiming that a patent it holds covers just about all forms of WiFi implementations. It is starting out by suing places that have WiFi hotspots inside. Read The Full Story

Apple refuses Samsung settlement in Australian tablet case

Chris Davies, Oct 4th 2011 Discuss [4]

Apple has rejected Samsung's mysterious settlement offer as the Korean company attempted to get its Galaxy Tab 10.1 on sale in Australia, with the two firms described as "a considerable distance apart." Samsung maintains that Apple has denied any settlement, the WSJ's liveblog from the Australian court reports, while Apple argues that the barrage of concerns it had apparently fired back "were requests for details, not a rejection of the offer." Read The Full Story

Apple hybrid HDD/SDD tech could save the clumsy

Chris Davies, Sep 29th 2011 Discuss [2]

Apple is apparently working on a hybrid hard-drive system, pairing a platter-based traditional drive with flash memory in a configuration that could prevent data loss if your MacBook is dropped or jolted. Detailed in a newly-published patent application, 20110238887, for "Hybrid-device storage based on environmental state" Apple's solution is positioned as a way to avoid errors caused by "changes in temperature, vibration and acceleration" but could also have an impact on the speed of data access. Read The Full Story

Samsung “knows it can’t rely on Google” says exec

Chris Davies, Sep 29th 2011 Discuss [23]

Samsung has lashed out at Google over Android patent issues, with an executive at the company claiming it signed the Microsoft licensing deal because “Samsung knows it can’t rely on Google.” The unnamed official dismissed suggestions that Google’s acquisition of Motorola Mobility would be beneficial to the ecosystem of Android device manufacturers at large, telling The Korea Times that “if Samsung truly believed that Google’s takeover of Motorola Mobility was going to be helpful … it would have waited until that deal was closed before concluding the license agreement with Microsoft.”

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Steve Jobs opened Samsung patent negotiations court told

Chris Davies, Sep 29th 2011 Discuss [12]

Apple ex-CEO Steve Jobs personally contacted Samsung management in 2010, in an attempt to hash out the ongoing patent concerns and give the Korean company "a chance to do the right thing" it has been revealed. The exec outreach news was shared as part of Apple's legal presentation in Austalian courts yesterday, the WSJ reports, though Jobs' involvement was apparently limited to just the initial olive-branch. "The discussions started with contact from [Jobs], and then he wasn't involved in meetings beyond that" senior Apple exec Richard Lutton confirmed during cross-examination. Read The Full Story

T-Mobile supports Samsung in Apple patent battle

Rue Liu, Sep 28th 2011 Discuss [13]

T-Mobile has filed with the federal courts to oppose Apple's request for a preliminary US injunction on Samsung's Galaxy products. The move is similar to what Verizon did last week, when it, too, sided with Samsung and filed with the courts to oppose the injunction request, citing possible negative effects to its 4G LTE network deployment. Read The Full Story

‘Crybaby’ Google accuses Microsoft of extortion

Rue Liu, Sep 28th 2011 Discuss [18]

Microsoft and Samsung announced today a new cross-licensing deal for greater collaboration on Windows Phone 7 devices, but the deal will also require Samsung to pay royalties to Microsoft for every Android device it sells. Following the announcement, Google chimed in with a statement sent to TechCrunch, accusing Microsoft's patent-wielding tactics against Android and its partners extortion. Read The Full Story

Samsung signs Microsoft patent licensing deal over Android

Chris Davies, Sep 28th 2011 Discuss [18]

Microsoft and Samsung have announced a cross-patenting deal that will see the Korean firm pay royalties for every Android smartphone and tablet it sells, as well as greater collaboration on Windows Phone devices. The license agreement – which Microsoft describes as evidence of “a clear path forward” for Google and others who have complained of the impact of patents on Android’s development – means that Microsoft collects cash from two of the largest Android device producers around, Samsung and HTC, leaving Motorola as the obvious missing link.

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Canon DSLRs may get aperture adjustment rings

Rue Liu, Sep 27th 2011 Discuss [3]

Canon may soon be offering aperture adjustment rings for its DSLR cameras. Adjusting apertures on modern day DSLRs has been relegated to electronic controls that make it difficult to get a smooth transition between aperture settings, which is especially important when it comes to recording videos. Thanks to a patent application from Canon, we now know that they've been working on addressing this issue. Read The Full Story

Samsung pushes iPhone 5 ban while antitrust specter looms

Chris Davies, Sep 26th 2011 Discuss [14]

Courts at The Hague will rule on the Samsung versus Apple injunction request on October 14, deciding whether or not the Korean company can push ahead with its pre-emptive attempt to have the iPhone 5 banned from sale in Europe. Earlier today, Apple's legal team argued that Samsung had sought to mislead the 3G development process by withholding the fact that it was promoting the inclusion of certain technologies it had already patented. The Korean firm then attempted to ambush Apple, the lawyers suggested, in an attempt to distract from its own patent infringements, and demanding sky-high royalties. Read The Full Story

Microsoft patent app shows slider smartphone with removable accessories

Shane McGlaun, Sep 23rd 2011 Discuss [3]

If I had to stand back and think hard, I wouldn't say that Microsoft has very rarely come up with something really cool. The Xbox 360 is as close as I can think of to an interesting invention by the software giant. A new patent app has surfaced that shows a very cool smartphone that has a slider design and under the main screen has a slot for different accessories. Read The Full Story

Obama signs patent reform bill into law

Rue Liu, Sep 16th 2011 Discuss [1]

Obama has just signed into law the controversial patent reform bill called the America Invents Act. The purpose of the bill is to streamline the patent filing process by placing priority on first-to-file rather than first-to-invent and introduces a fast-track system as well as a new ways to avoid patent validity litigation. Read The Full Story