10
Jan
1

[Update: It's Back] 'GameStick' Is Now The Subject Of An Intellectual Property Dispute And Has Been Suspended From Kickstarter

Posted by in News

Remember GameStick? Well, it was just removed from Kickstarter as a result of an intellectual property dispute. That in itself means Kickstarter is legally obligated to "remove the project from public view until the process is complete or the dispute is resolved," which has been done. That doesn't necessarily mean that the project has been cancelled just yet – GameStick has 30 days to resolve the issue. If it hasn't been sorted out by that time, Kickstarter will then have to cancel it, making GameStick nothing but a memory.

Update: Turns out this is less of an issue that we originally thought.

22
Feb
Sprint

Comcast Sues Sprint For Patent Infringement On SMS/MMS, Mobile Broadband, And Network Technologies

Posted by in Legal, News, Sprint

It seems Sprint just can't catch a break lately. After the LightSquared LTE fiasco (it seems eminently likely Sprint will be forking over $65 million and have to cancel the deal), this just seems a bit like kicking the company when it's already down. Comcast has filed suit in Pennsylvania against the nation's number-three carrier, and it's for patent infringement.

Namely, Comcast alleges that Sprint is violating patents it owns covering technologies like SMS/MMS, mobile broadband cards and hotspots, as well as certain traffic routing technologies (IP/MPLS). Here are some excerpts from the complaint regarding the patents:

  • No. 7,684,391: Communications System for Delivering Multimedia Internet Protocol Packets Across Network Boundaries.

17
Feb
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In-Depth Analysis: Android's Notification Bar Patent (And How Apple May Or May Not Infringe It)

Posted by in Android OS, Editorials, Legal, News

There has been a lot of interest of late in a patent filed (by Google) back in 2009 for what is obviously a rendition of Android's notification bar system. There are a number of pretty (well, as pretty as black and white gets) figures in the patent showing the notification bar we all know and love, and lots of language about notification systems and the like.

As many of the Android-faithful know, Apple recently implemented as part of iOS 5 the "Notification Center," and it looks an awful lot like Android's in some respects. This immediately drew criticism from the Android community, with many claiming that Apple had essentially "ripped off" Google's implementation, and has been a sore subject ever since.

25
Jan
android-vs-apple

Editorial: Android May Be Winning (Or Not Losing) Battles Against Apple In Court, But Don't Expect An End To The Lawsuits Any Time Soon

Posted by in Android OS, Editorials, Legal, News
Last Updated: January 27th, 2012

A recent Newsweek article has been making the rounds claiming, through an unnamed Apple "insider," that Apple has spent north of $100 million litigating its various grievances against HTC since late 2010. Verifying the accuracy of this number is pretty much impossible. But that doesn't really matter. It may just as well be $80 million, $150 million, or $300 million - the conclusion drawn would remain the same: Apple is spending quite a chunk of income on its growing lawsuit habit.

Apple currently has open suits against Motorola Mobility, Samsung Electronics, and HTC in the ITC (International Trade Commission), a number of US District Courts, and various other buildings in which judges are known to sit in ornate leather chairs for long periods of time around the world.

20
Dec
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Oracle Claims Android Is Stealing Java's "Traditionally Strong" Phone, TV, And Tablet Market Share - Really, Guys?

Posted by in Android OS, Legal, News

In a court filing last night demanding an early trial date for the ongoing Google v. Oracle patent litigation, Oracle claims that Android is now irreparably harming Java's market share in the mobile, TV, and tablet space. Oracle says that these are areas where Java "has traditionally been strong." News to us.

Last time I checked, cheap multimedia flip phones running Opera Mobile weren't exactly high on Google's target product list for Android, but maybe I missed the memo on that one. Also, please direct me to these Java-powered TVs and tablets, Oracle - the Amazon Kindle is not a tablet, it's an eReader.

19
Dec
htc-logo

ITC Rules For Apple, Bans Import Of "Some" HTC Phones Into US: Why You Shouldn't Care

Posted by in HTC, Legal, News

The blogosphere is currently aflutter with talk of the ITC (International Trade Commission) patent infringement decision in favor of Apple, and the resulting court order banning the import of infringing HTC devices starting April 19, 2012 (4 months from now). The ITC ruled that HTC infringed on two, relatively narrow claims in a patent related to "data tapping" that occurs at the system level in Android.

You know how your phone can automatically "see" an address or phone number on a web page or e-mail and send you to the appropriate app? That's what the ITC claims HTC, and by relation Android, is infringing on.

29
Nov
htc-logo

HTC Might Ignore IPCom And Keep Selling Smartphones In Germany, Despite Injunction

Posted by in HTC, Legal, News

If you haven't heard, Germany has pretty much become the hotspot for smartphone and tablet patent litigation. Most recently, HTC has been hitting headlines in its ongoing battle against IPCom, an intellectual property firm. IPCom claims that HTC's smartphones violate a number of its patents in the realm of 3G GSM technology. HTC says that the last time it made a phone which might have violated those patents was in 2009, and that it has since developed a workaround which does not infringe on IPCom's patents.

A court in Karlsruhe issued an injunction against HTC because of these patents last week.

02
Nov
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Patent Trolls: What Is Lodsys Actually Asking App Developers To Pay? You Might Be Surprised

Posted by in Android OS, Editorials, Legal

OK, before I even get into this post, let me be clear: this is based on old news. However, it was news that no one seemed to pick up at the time, and when we discovered it, we thought it was quite interesting.

If you're unfamiliar with Lodsys, let's start with a history lesson. They're better known as the shell corporation offspring of a company called Intellectual Ventures LLC, a patent clearinghouse owned by a group of, shall we say, enterprising individuals. Their purpose? Buy as many viable tech patents as possible, and force major corporations into licensing (paying royalties) deals when infringement on any of these patents, which is actively searched for, is discovered.

14
Sep
motorola-red-logo

Editorial: Was Google's Purchase Of Motorola More About Damage Control Than Patent Woes?

Posted by in Android OS, Editorials, Motorola

If you head over to FOSSPatents this morning, you'll find a rather lengthy article about Google's acquisition of Motorola that ends with the following conclusion:

Google bought MMI to prevent the worst for Google's strategy, not to make things better for everyone else.

In a way, the $12.5 billion price represents protection money. But not in the way most people seem to think.

FOSSPatents

This statement is obviously contrary to the heaps of coverage the Motorola-Google deal received from  major news outlets, blogs, and Android enthusiasts. Us included. This deal was to protect Android from the evils of Apple and Microsoft, with patents.

16
Aug
HTC-Logo

HTC Sues Apple For, You Guessed It, Patent Infringement

Posted by in Android OS, News

After Apple decided to sue HTC last month in Delaware for patent infringement, it seems the handset maker is preparing to put on a little bit of high-profile litigation of its own.

This morning, HTC filed a claim in the U.S. District Court in Delaware alleging three counts of patent infringement against Apple, seeking all the typical damages bells and whistles that makes it sound like the world as we know it is at stake. The lawsuit is a typical response in high-tech IP infringement cases, where both parties "posture" and square off to see who has the more robust patent portfolio.

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