Google’s Motorola bid set for approval, but it won’t be the end of patent wars

Google’s $12.5 billion purchase of Motorola Mobility will likely be approved by the U.S. Department of Justice next week, sources tell Bloomberg, but don’t expect Google to backtrack on Motorola’s contentious patent litigation tactics.

Purchasing Motorola will grant Google over 17,000 mobile patents in addition to the phone maker’s handset assets. Many had expected Google, which has historically argued against the trend of patent litigation from the likes of Apple and Microsoft, to use its … Continue Reading

Role reversal: Apple accused of iPad patent infringement in China

Apple is being accused of patent infringement in China.

Yep, you read that correctly. China Daily reports that Proview Shenzhen Technology, a Chinese company based in the city of Shenzhen, has pointed the finger at Apple over the name “iPad.”

“We ask the court to stop selling and marketing for Apple’s iPad in China. We also demand an apology,” Proview Technology attorney Xie Xianghui told China Daily.

Both companies claim iPad as a trademark, but … Continue Reading

Apple temporarily removes iPhones, iPad from German online store after Motorola patent fight (updated)

Update: Apple now says that it has been granted a temporary suspension of Motorola’s ruling, so all iPads and iPhones should be available in its German online store soon. It’s unclear how long the suspension will last. Original post below.

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You would be hard pressed to find a smartphone manufacturer that is not suing, or being sued by, Apple over patent infringement. Today news broke that Apple will temporarily remove a number of … Continue Reading

Apple loses to Samsung in Germany, Galaxy Tab sales will continue

Poor Apple. Those guys just can’t win. Especially in a certain German court, where they tried to sue Samsung over the design of the Galaxy Tab 10.1N tablet and Galaxy Nexus phone.

Last August, the iPad maker was granted a preliminary injunction to halt sales of the Galaxy Tab 10.1, a decision that one analyst called “an unmitigated disaster.”

However, today’s decision (in the case LG Muenchen 21 O 26022/11) applies to a revised version … Continue Reading

Motorola sues Apple over iPhone 4S and iCloud alleged patent violations

The world’s leaders in mobile technology are really just one big, happy, patent-lawsuit-embroiled family, aren’t they?

Today, Motorola filed a new lawsuit against Apple, alleging patent infringement for software and hardware, and it included the iPhone 4S and Apple’s iCloud storage system in the complaint.

According to Reuters, the patents in question related to wireless antennae, messaging, data filtering, and other software technologies.

The case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern … Continue Reading

Apple’s “thermonuclear war” against Android is an expensive dud

This morning, Reuters reported Apple lost an appeal to ban Android tablets in the Netherlands. It’s another failure for an expensive legal strategy that has done nothing to stem the growth of Android’s marketshare in the smartphone and tablet space.

As Dan Lyons reported Monday, Apple is said to have spent as much as $100 million bringing claims against HTC, a Taiwanese manufacturer of numerous Android devices. Of the 84 claims brought to the International … Continue Reading

Apple attacks Samsung’s Android devices in Germany. Again.

Apple has once again gone after Samsung in Germany, filing suits to ban sales of the Galaxy S Plus and the S II.

The latest in a string of patent suits takes aim at 10 smartphone models. The suit was filed in the Dusseldorf Regional Court, Reuters reports.

This is separate from a former lawsuit against five Samsung tablets.

The continuing Apple-Samsung saga has Apple claiming that Samsung’s Android tablets and smartphones are too close … Continue Reading

LG signs Android patent licensing deal with Microsoft to cover phones, tablets

Korean electronics manufacturer LG has signed a patent licensing agreement with Microsoft so it can be protected from lawsuits concerning Android and Chrome OS, the two companies announced Thursday.

Microsoft has made similar agreements with 10 other companies, including Samsung, HTC, Acer, Quanta and Wistron. The big M earns a small cut from every Android phone or tablet manufactured by the licensees.

The agreement covers LG’s phones, tablets and any device that features Android and … Continue Reading

Nielsen and comScore reach settlement over online measurement patents

Nielsen and comScore, two of the largest research/ratings firms, have settled a dispute over measurement patents, the companies announced today in a joint statement.

Nielsen is best known for its television program ratings, which measure the size and demographic of an audience for specific shows. More recently, the company has branched off to include online measurement of content, display advertising, social interaction and more. It faces competition from online research firm comScore. In March, Nielsen … Continue Reading

HTC testing new phones to work around Apple patent violation

After taking a major hit in court this week from an Apple patent lawsuit, HTC is already in the process of testing new devices and software that workaround the patent violations.

Two days ago, the U.S. International Trade Commission ruled that HTC violated two claims of an Apple patent, which will lead to a ban on infringing HTC devices in April 2012. The ruling only effects HTC-made Android phones at this point.

HTC CEO Peter … Continue Reading

British Telecom targets more than Android in patent suit against Google

Yet another major company has jumped into patent squabbles with Google. British Telecommunications filed suit against the search giant on Thursday for infringing on six patents.

BT is aiming higher than most other companies targeting Google — which at this point include Apple, Oracle, and Microsoft — because it’s not just targeting Android; it’s targeting almost every Google service, including Gmail, Google+ and Google Docs, reports Florian Mueller at FOSS Patents.

“BT seeks damages — … Continue Reading

Apple partners with patent troll Digitude Innovations — and wow, what a deal

Apple has partnered with a patent troll company called Digitude Innovations, VentureBeat has confirmed, allowing that company to attack the world’s largest phone manufacturers of smartphones.

In a clever deal that effectively gives Apple immunity from attack by the troll, Apple agreed to some cross-licensing deals that gave Digitude the ammunition for a heavy attack against Apple’s rivals. Digitude recently filed suit against RIM, HTC, LG, Motorola, Samsung, Sony, Amazon, and Nokia. It did so … Continue Reading

HTC reconsidering S3 purchase after it loses patent suit against Apple

This isn’t a good week for S3 Graphics. After S3 had its patent dispute against Apple dismissed by the U.S. International Trade Commission earlier this week, the company’s suitor HTC is now having second thoughts about its union.

HTC said that it will “reevaluate” the $300 million S3 purchase, Bloomberg reports — a move that makes clear what the Taiwanese phone maker’s main interest in the company was, and shows just how quickly fortunes can … Continue Reading

Apple says it could lose $2.7B if Motorola wins iCloud case

Motorola has inched closer to winning a German court battle against Apple centering on iCloud and MobileMe — and Apple says it could lose up to $2.7 billion in sales if Motorola wins, Bloomberg reports.

Unlike Apple’s many Android-related legal battles, this time around it’s the target. The news comes after a U.S. judge ruled in October that Apple needs to prove its design patents valid in a case against Samsung.

On April 1, 2011 … Continue Reading

Google to the rescue! The company will help Android manufacturers in legal trouble

Between patent licensing fees (payable to Microsoft) and patent lawsuits (brought by Apple), Android device manufacturers just can’t catch a break.

But there is a silver lining: Google chairman Eric Schmidt stated today that Google would help and support those original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) involved in legal battles.

In a visit to Taipei today, Schmidt stated, “We tell our partners, including the ones here in Taiwan, we will support them. For example we have been … Continue Reading

Whoa, Microsoft’s patent deals now cover half of all Android devices

Yah, you read that right. As of today, Microsoft’s patent licensing agreements with Android manufacturers now cover more than half of all Android devices,  thanks to the recent addition of Taiwan-based Compal.

Compal is the tenth company to form an Android licensing deal with Microsoft, and it’s joining more well-known Android manufacturers like Samsung, HTC, and Acer. Companies get protected under Microsoft’s patent portfolio for a fee, which protects them from further patent litigation from … Continue Reading

Google vs. Oracle trial delayed, but it’s no threat to Android, spokesperson says

The judge in the ongoing Google/Oracle lawsuit over Android and its use of Java has issued a stay. That means the trial will be delayed, and no new date has yet been set.

Sources close to the matter tell us the trial, which was previously scheduled to begin on October 31, had to be put off because of the judge’s full schedule, which includes a particularly thorny gang trial.

Also, the U.S. Patent and Trademark … Continue Reading

Samsung Galaxy Nexus was built to avoid more Apple patent disputes

If I were Samsung, I’d be tired of Apple’s patent complaints, too. Samsung mobile head JK Shin has admitted that with its new Galaxy Nexus Android phone, the company took great pains to avoid more legal attacks from Apple, Yonhap News reports.

“Now we will avoid everything we can and take patents very seriously,” he told reporters last night, seemingly hinting that Samsung was a bit carefree with intellectual property concerns previously. “We will see … Continue Reading

US judge: Samsung infringes on Apple patents, but Apple must prove patents valid

A U.S. judge has declared that Samsung infringes on Apple’s patents with its Galaxy smartphones and tablets, but also said that Apple has to prove the validity of its patents, Reuters reports.

The news is a half-win for Apple. If it can prove its patents valid it will be able block the sale of Samsung’s infringing products in the U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh made the statements during a court hearing on Thursday.

Apple filed … Continue Reading

Microsoft and Samsung sign huge cross-licensing patent deal to stop Android lawsuits

Microsoft has signed its largest Android patent deal to date that outlines huge cross-licensing with Samsung, maker of some of the most popular Android phones and tablets, the company announced today.

Under the agreement, Samsung will pay a royalty fee to Microsoft on every Android tablet and smartphone it produces, and the two won’t engage in any legal battles over patents related to Android. The agreement follows several deals Microsoft has made with Android manufacturers, … Continue Reading