patent

Apple loses bid to nix patent troll's 'screen rotation' suit

You might think it's obvious that when an iPhone or similar device is placed on its side, what's displayed on the screen should rotate as well.

But CNET has learned that a federal judge in Delaware yesterday rejected Apple's attempt to throw out a lawsuit over screen rotation brought by a holding company, MobileMedia Ideas, which has been dubbed "a classic patent troll."

U.S. District Judge Sue Robinson said the suit could proceed, ruling that the question of whether iOS devices infringed on the patent, No. 6,441,828, was "suitable for determination … Read more

The man with the election's winning numbers

Besides President Obama, the big winner on Election Day was big data.

Big data's patron saint -- FiveThirtyEight blogger Nate Silver -- won the battle to predict the outcome of the contest between Obama and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Where breathless pundits brandishing equivocating polls shouted from the rooftops over the last few weeks that the race for the White House was a "toss-up," or "too close to call," Silver and other poll aggregators sat back and calmly told anyone who would listen that the math told another story: Obama's re-election was never … Read more

In your FaceTime: Apple gets sued by VirnetX -- again

VirnetX, which has already won $368.2 million in damages, isn't quite done with Apple.

The patent holding and security software company, which earlier this week won an earlier suit against Apple in a Texas court, has now slapped the electronics giant with a new lawsuit. As in the prior complaint, VirnetX is accusing Apple of infringing four of its networking patents through the use of FaceTime.

Those patents, Nos. 6,502,135, 7,418,504, 7,921,211 and 7,490,151, cover advancements for secure communication over the Internet. That includes technology for creating a virtual private … Read more

Judge to review whether foreman in Apple v. Samsung hid info

Federal District Judge Lucy Koh will "consider the questions" of whether the jury foreman in Apple v. Samsung "concealed information" during the jury selection process and whether there was misconduct.

Koh said she will look into the matter during a December 6 hearing. As part of her inquiry, Koh said she will require Apple to disclose what information the company's lawyers knew about the jury foreman.

Samsung is trying to get the $1 billion patent judgment that a San Jose, Calif. jury awarded Apple in August thrown out. Apple filed suit against Samsung last year … Read more

Olympus gives in, settles with Intellectual Ventures

Intellectual Ventures, the giant patent-holding company that's become synonymous with the term "patent troll," says it has settled a contentious infringement suit with camera-maker Olympus.

The suit, filed in Sept. 2011 against Olympus and fellow camera-maker Canon, claimed the companies infringed on nine image sensor patents, the first of which was filed in 1995 and granted three years later. Intellectual Ventures, founded by ex-Microsoft executive Nathan Myhrvold, is still pursuing the case against Canon, as well as a similar suit, filed a month later, against Nikon.

Financial terms of the settlement were not disclosed. But the deal highlights … Read more

Apple patent could transform headphones into loudspeakers

Apple has cooked up a design for headphones that can also serve as external loudspeakers.

A patent filed today with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office describes a "dual-mode headphone" that could deliver sound whether you wear them around your ears or place them on a surface, according to Patently Apple.

The headphones would include circuitry to detect their position. They'd sense when they're around or near your ears so that you're not blown away by the sound.

A built-in amplifier would pipe up the audio to deliver higher output when the headphones are … Read more

Apple walloped with $368M in damages in VirnetX patent suit

A Texas court ordered Apple to pay $368.2 million in damages to the patent holding and security software company VirnetX today. According to Bloomberg, which broadcast the news on Twitter, Apple is being fined over infringement of VirnetX's network patents.

In the suit, VirnetX claimed that Apple integrated these network patents into its products like FaceTime, according to 9to5Mac. Originally VirnetX was asking for $900 million, but apparently the jury decided $368 million was enough.

VirnetX is well known for going after major tech companies for patent infringement. In its early days, the company aggressively patented technology that … Read more

Imagination, supplier of Apple chip tech, to buy MIPS

Imagination, a key supplier of Apple chip technology, will buy MIPS, one of the oldest names in the silicon business.

U.K.-based Imagination Technologies, a major supplier of graphics chips, will buy the operating business of MIPS Technologies, a vendor of power-efficient chips used in routers, set-top boxes, and game machines.

With the deal, valued at $60 million, Imagination will get 82 "key" patents that are "directly relevant to the MIPS architecture" and comprehensive license rights to all of the remaining 498 MIPS' patents, for a total of 580 patents.

Imagination, known primarily as a … Read more

Apple granted 29 patents, including for first iPad design

Apple has been granted 29 patents, including one crediting the late Steve Jobs and other Apple employees for the original iPad design and another related to crack-resistant glass.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office officially published notice of the newly granted patents today, according to Patently Apple, with most related to components and techniques.

Notably, Apple received a patent related to the design of the original iPad, which was released in 2010. The patent, No. D670,286, covers the "ornamental design for a portable display device." It credits Jobs; Jony Ive, Apple's senior vice president of … Read more