Mar
4
Microsoft Entering the Dating Industry?
Posted by Keeley Vega at 10:49 am under Patent, Technology.
Last week, this Microsoft patent application published, titled “Image-Based Face Search.” The claims cover a computer-readable media involved in the following method: (1) a user providing an image of a face, (2) the user indicating a preference for one or more facial features, (3) comparing the image provided to a plurality of stored images, and (4) displaying the resultant […]
Mar
4
Patently resolved
Posted by Dirk Avery at 9:13 am under Litigation, Patent.
Nokia wins Qualcomm patent suit in the UK. Bloomberg’s James Lumley has this:
Nokia Oyj, the world’s biggest maker of mobile phones, won a U.K. patent lawsuit filed by Qualcomm Inc. over patents related to GSM technology.
One of Qualcomm’s patents is invalid and another is partially invalid, Justice Christopher Floyd said at a hearing […]
Mar
1
eBay and Merc hug and make-up
Posted by Dirk Avery at 2:45 pm under Litigation, Patent.
InternetNews’s Kenneth Corbin writes:
eBay reached a settlement with MercExchange today [Feb. 28], putting to rest a long-running legal squabble that dates back to September 2001.
eBay said that it would purchase the three patents from MercExchange which had been at the center of a high-profile infringement case that eventually made it to the U.S. Supreme Court. […]
Feb
28
Thanks for the help, PTO
Posted by Keeley Vega at 2:43 pm under Events, Patent.
As I mentioned yesterday, the PTO held a live online chat for independent inventors this afternoon. I decided to give it a try:
The questions were interesting, ranging from “can I file a petition to add inadvertently omitted material under 37 CFR 1.57(a) electronically?” to “what is a claim?” My favorite question from today’s one hour […]
Feb
28
iPhone willful infringement?
Posted by Dirk Avery at 9:10 am under Litigation, Patent.
You know when your cell phone rings, you see the name of the person calling, if it’s one of your contacts? That technology was patented by Romek Figa. Apple’s iPhone includes the functionality but the company never secured a license. Figa is now suing Apple. (5-page complaint is here.)
Many of the […]
Feb
28
Chat live with the Patent Office TODAY
Posted by Keeley Vega at 12:18 am under Events, Patent.
What a wonderful idea:
“Senior officials of the United States Patent and Trademark Office will be available live on-line this Thursday, February 28th, from 2 to 3 PM (EST). They will be answering questions and offering tips for independent inventors.”
Check out the FAQs from previous PTO chats.
Feb
27
$1.3 billion fine for Microsoft
Posted by Dirk Avery at 10:02 am under Patent, Technology.
About a week after Microsoft pledged to be open with the formats used by its dominant products (discussed previously here, here and here) the EU has slapped the Redmond company with a $1.3 billion fine. The fine represents about 20% of Microsoft’s cash on hand ($6.1 billion). Apparently the EU was concerned about […]
Feb
27
LG continues collaboration push
Posted by Dirk Avery at 9:44 am under Patent, Wikinomics.
LG Electronics is a leader in collaborating with other companies partnering last week with the sixth largest US corporation, GE. Both companies are able to use the refrigerator and cooking appliance patents of the other without paying a royalty. Wikinomics authors Dan Tapscott and Anthony Williams contend that sharing intellectual property is one of four […]
Feb
26
Patent reform undermining innovation?
Posted by Dirk Avery at 2:36 pm under Incentive, Patent.
Joe Kiani, CEO of Masimo, wrote an interesting op-ed in Forbes yesterday on the potential effects of the Patent Reform Act of 2007 (S. 1145). He refers to the bill as “one of the worst assaults on intellectual property protection in the 218-year history of our patent system.” Points I found interesting:
[T]his bill […]
Feb
26
Patent troll tracker outed
Posted by Dirk Avery at 8:51 am under Patent.
Director of intellectual property at Cisco, Rick Frenkel, is the author behind the Patent Troll Tracker (PTT) blog, reports the Wall Street Journal. A $10,000 bounty had been placed on his head, er, his identity. He claimed to be tired of being anonymous anyway. The real question is whether the tone of […]