intellectual property

Intellectual Ventures is coming back for seconds in another lawsuit against Google-owned Motorola Mobility.

The controversial Bellevue, Wash.-based company that's made headlines for accumulating a massive trove of software and design patents, sued Motorola Mobility in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida on Wednesday.

The complaint targets several Motorola phones including the Atrix HD, Electrify M, and Photon Q 4G LTE, accusing those devices of infringing key parts of seven different patents. IV says the lawsuit comes after the company was "unable to reach an agreement with Motorola."

Motorola, not mincing … Read more

Sure, Samsung won a victory over Apple when a judge imposed a limited sales ban on older iPhones and iPads. But Apple would survive such a ban virtually unscathed, according to Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster.

Tuesday's ruling by the U.S. International Trade Commission found Apple guilty of infringing on certain Samsung cellular technology patents. Assuming the ruling stands, a ban on the infringing devices would halt sales of the AT&T models of the iPhone 4 and 3GS and the 3G versions of the first and second iPad.

A ban on most of those devices would … Read more

China and the U.S. have agreed to hold regular, high-level talks on cyberespionage, according to a report.

The talks will focus on the theft of U.S. intellectual property and will kick off in July as part of the yearly "Strategic and Economic Dialogue" between China and the U.S., which covers a varied slate of issues, The New York Times reported late Saturday. A new working group will also meet more often, the Times reported -- referring, perhaps, to the working group mentioned by Secretary of State John Kerry in April.

The Times quotes "a … Read more

Your future iPhone or iPad could offer an interactive touch screen that reacts to the pressure exerted by your touch.

Published Thursday by the U.S. Patent and Trademark office, an Apple patent application called "Embedded force measurement" takes the concept of tapping on your touch screen at least one step further. Instead of just lightly tapping on your screen, you would actually press down on it to activate a command. The phone would measure the force of your tap and respond accordingly.

As one example, an on-screen icon could let you control the volume of your device. … Read more

Apple may be aiming to challenge Samsung over eye-tracking technology.,

An Apple patent application, dubbed "Electronic Devices With Gaze Detection Capabilities," was published Thursday by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The application describes a feature in which your mobile device reacts to the movement of your head or eyes.

Turn your head or eyes away from the device, and the screen dims. Look back at the device, and the screen returns to life. Looking away could also put the entire device in standby mode, meaning certain functions are powered down to preserve battery power. In yet … Read more

Salesforce.com and patent aggregator Intellectual Ventures inked a new licensing deal on Friday that gives Salesforce access to some 40,000 of IV's patents.

The deal is the latest by Intellectual Ventures, a Bellevue, Wash.-based company that's made headlines for accumulating a massive trove of software and design patents, along with other intellectual property.

A major part of IV's business includes licensing patents out to other companies, which can use them for legal protection, though it's also made waves for litigating other companies.

Pricing and length of the deal were not disclosed, and a … Read more

The U.S. International Trade Commission on Thursday said it won't review a final ruling that found Microsoft to be in the clear of infringing on patents held by Motorola Mobility, which Google acquired last year.

The ruling (PDF) follows an initial determination in favor of Microsoft on March 22 of this year, as well as a final initial determination from last month from an ITC administrative law judge.

At stake were potential future sales of the console in the U.S., which could have been halted if Motorola had won.

"This is a win for Xbox customers … Read more

Twitter has won a new patent that it hopes to use as an example to stem the tide of patent lawsuits.

Granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office today, the patent named "User interface mechanics" refers to a way of refreshing the screen by pulling it down, a feature found in Twitter's mobile app as well as a host of other apps for smartphones and tablets.

In this case, though, the patent itself may be less important than the way it which Twitter plans to use it.

Under a new assignment known as the Innovator's Patent Agreement, … Read more

The legal spat between discount retailer Monoprice and audio system maker Klipsch ended almost as soon as it started.

In March, Klipsch accused Monoprice of patent infringement for selling a Monoprice-branded home theater speaker system that was virtually identical to top-rated system made by Klipsch subsidary Audio Products International, under its Energy brand. Friday morning, Klipsch lawyer, Dean E. McConnell, told CNET via email that the dispute had been resolved on Thursday.

"The litigation between Klipsch Group, Audio Products, and Monoprice has been amicably resolved," McConnell wrote. "The terms and conditions of the settlement are confidential and … Read more