litigation

Patent trolling nearly doubled in five years, study finds

It's no secret patent lawsuits are on the rise, and it turns out the same can be said for the ones filed by what have affectionately been called "patent trolls."

According to a new study published today by University of California Hastings College of the Law, lawsuits filed by patent trolls -- or as they are re-categorized "patent monetizers" -- saw a dramatic increase between 2007 to 2011.

As part of a research project put on by the Government Accounting Office, the law school teamed up with legal tracking and analytics tool Lex Machina to … Read more

Tech giants to talk patent reform at the U.N.

Apple, Google, Microsoft and other tech giants are meeting in Switzerland today to discuss patent litigation reform, seeking to find ways to protect their intellectual property without hurting innovation.

The roundtable, hosted by the U.N.'s International Telecommunication Union in its Geneva headquarters, will cover topics such as "potential improvements to existing policy frameworks, entitlement to injunctive reliefs, and definitions of what constitutes a royalty base."

The group hopes to find out how standard essential patents can be enforced without hindering competition and how to make sure licenses can be offered at reasonable terms.

"We are … Read more

Google, book publishers settle long-running copyright case

Google and a trade group representing U.S. book publishers today announced they have settled a copyright dispute that has dragged on for seven years.

The Association of American Publishers (AAP) and Google said in a joint statement that as a result of the settlement, the Google Library Project will receive access to publishers' copyrighted books.

Both parties also said that U.S. publishers can "choose to make available or choose to remove their books and journals digitized by Google for its Library Project."

In the statement, AAP and Google said: "Apart from the settlement, U.S. … Read more

Apple v. Samsung: Judge Koh loses cool over legal wrangling

U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh has had her fill of courtroom "theatrics" and questionable legal maneuvering from both sides in the Apple v. Samsung patent trial.

"I want papers," Koh told the court on Tuesday after Apple objected to one of Samsung's witnesses. "I don't trust what any lawyer tells me in this courtroom. I want to see actual papers."

Koh was obviously frustrated when Apple and Intel tried to block Tim Williams, Ph.D., one of Samsung's expert witnesses from testifying. Apple said Williams had not properly disclosed that … Read more

Patent trolls curb innovation and cost the U.S. $29B in 2011

Patent lawsuits seem to be getting more common -- continually there are daily headlines of this company suing that company over intellectual property rights.

A new study released today confirms that lawsuits are increasing and says the overall cost of these cases in the U.S. was $29 billion in 2011.

The study, which was put out by Boston University, specifically looks at "non-practicing entities" (NPE), or "patent trolls." How these trolls operate is by buying and licensing patents without making the products of their own. Many major tech companies, like Apple, Google, and Samsung, have been criticized … Read more

Imports of HTC smartphones slowly resume

After a patent dispute with Apple held up imports of some of its smartphones, HTC says its phones are beginning to trickle through U.S. Customs.

It's unknown whether the One X or Evo 4G LTE -- the first two phones put in limbo by Customs officials last week over unresolved patent infringement issues with Apple -- are among those being released. Each model must be inspected by Customs and will be released once the agency completes its inspection and approves its release, HTC said today in a statement.

"Some models have gone through inspection and been released … Read more

Apple, Samsung CEOs to meet in SF tomorrow

The chief executives of Apple and Samsung are expected to meet tomorrow in a San Francisco federal court to try to work out their patent dispute, according to a Reuters report.

Apple's Tim Cook and Samsung's Choi Gee-sung, as well as their general counsels, were ordered in April to attend the magistrate judge settlement conference by Judge Lucy Koh of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. After the referral was ordered, the companies said in a joint court filing that "as directed by the court, Apple and Samsung are both willing to … Read more

Apple given the OK to intervene in in-app purchase lawsuit

Nearly a year after filing a request to intervene in a controversial case involving app developers being sued for using in-app purchase features, Apple has been given the go-ahead by a district court judge to step into the fray.

Intellectual property tracking blog Foss Patents reports that Texas judge James Rodney Gilstrap today granted Apple's original request, saying it could become a part of the proceedings as long as the company's role was "limited to the issues of license and patent exhaustion."

The case Apple's getting into is one kicked off by Lodsys, a Texas-based … Read more

Apple barred from pursuing patent claims against Kodak

A judge told Apple today that it could not restart patent-infringement litigation against Eastman Kodak over a patent that may be sold during the troubled photography company's bankruptcy proceedings.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Allan Gropper, who is overseeing Kodak's Chapter 11 bankruptcy case, denied Apple's request to file a complaint with the International Trade Commission and attempt to unfreeze a patent lawsuit pending between the companies. Gropper said it would be inappropriate to allow Apple to continue pursuing claims against Kodak while the company is reorganizing.

The patent, which covers technology that allows consumers to preview digital … Read more