Those of you longing for more news regarding the ongoing court battle between Apple and Kodak over image patents will be happy to hear that we've just received an update on the case.
It appears that the judge, today, has denied the struggling camera company's request to fast-track the trial, meaning that Kodak could go broke before a decision is reached in court...
Earlier today, Google CEO Larry Page took to company blog to break the big news: having obtained necessary approvals from watchdogs on both side of the Atlantic, the search giant has finally closed its $12.5 billion acquisition of the ailing handset maker Motorola Mobility in a move meant to “supercharge the Android ecosystem”.
The transaction will close by May 23 and is rumored to see Google laying off up to one-third of Motorola staff.
Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha is stepping down (not unexpected) and will be replaced by Dennis Woodside whom Apple tried to poach last year. The new CEO already promised "fewer, bigger bets", meaning Motorola should streamline its portfolio to focus on a select few hero devices.
So, Googlerola is alive and the search giant is now officially a handset maker - one sitting on an enormous pile of patents. In fact, the search Goliath is now in a position to directly fight Apple's allegations against Android makers.
Taking it all in, we analyze what repercussions - if any - this development potentially poses for Apple and its ongoing legal spat against major Android backers such as HTC, Samsung and, yes, Motorola...
Well it appears that Apple could be getting closer to resolving its 14 month-long patent dispute with Samsung. The two companies are slated to begin their court-ordered mediation session later today.
Reuters is reporting that it has learned that Apple's Tim Cook, and Samsung vice chairman Choi Gee-sung will be meeting in a San Francisco federal courthouse this afternoon to discuss a legal truce...
If you ever wondered whether Apple's patent infringement claims against HTC were worth the pain, here's your answer.
Responding to a recent exclusion order by the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) concerning HTC One X and Evo 4G LTE shipments, the Taiwanese handset maker, once the dominant force in the Android camp, is now pre-loading its U.S. phones with an altered build of Android software.
Designed to bypass Apple patents, it changes the expected behavior of these devices. As a result, flagship HTC phones waiting to be imported into the United States now feature notably different functionality compared to HTC devices shipping elsewhere in the world.
The change is also impacting the uniformity of the Android experience, suggesting Apple was right to sue in the first place...
So this is pretty big news: The Verge is reporting that it has learned that shipments of HTC's One X and Evo 4G LTE handsets have been indefinitely delayed at US Customs due to an import ban order handed down by the ITC last year.
The International Trade Commission ruled last December that HTC was infringing upon an Apple patent regarding the auto-hyperlinking of phone numbers and other data in text, resulting in a country-wide ban of HTC's products...
As previously hinted, top dogs at Apple and Samsung will meet next month to discuss a possible settlement to the ongoing patent war which has seen minor casualties on both sides, but has otherwise failed to produce an outright winner. A new report claims the upcoming mediation will take place on May 21 and May 22, starting on each day at 9:30am.
The court-moderated settlement talk is to seek an alternative dispute resolution to the more than fifty lawsuits the two technology giants have filed against each other in little more than a year in courts the world over...
Thomas Pender, of the International Trade Commission, passed down a ruling yesterday that could have some serious ramifications for Apple if the cards fall just right. Bloomberg reports that the ITC judge found the iPad-makers to be in violation of one of Motorola's patents.
Motorola was actually suing Apple over four patents, so the fact that Apple was only found to be in violation of one is a victory in itself. But the patent it is being charged with infringing upon, an invention involving Wi-Fi, is a pretty crucial component for iOS devices...
Along with making announcements regarding its quarterly performance, Apple also uses its financial earnings calls to offer analysts a chance to ask questions. After all, these are the folks that have to essentially guess how Apple will fair over the next few months.
On today's call, there was one particular question that was both interesting and relevant: "In terms of flexibility in cash and providing more color, how should we think about opportunities regarding patent disputes? Any thoughts about settling vs ongoing litigation?
And here's how Tim Cook responded...
Earlier this year, a German court slapped Apple with an injunction, forcing the company to disable iCloud's push email service in the country. The move was the direct result of a Motorola lawsuit, who claimed Apple was using its patented technology in the feature.
Well things got worse today for the iPad-makers. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that a German regional court has upheld the previous decision of the ban on Apple's iCloud service, essentially granting Motorola a victory in the ongoing patent war...
Apple is today finding itself on the wrong end of another lawsuit, with iTunes this time feeling the full force of America's somewhat broken patent system. As is the done thing these days, someone claiming to own a patent that may be infringed upon by a large company is seeking damages for said infringement.
According to a report in Computer World, a man named Benjamin Grobler believes that iTunes, along with Sony's PlayStation Network, infringes upon a patent he owns which covers a "data vending system."
This system allows the central hosting of apps, movies or music, with information on what a customer has already purchased already also being part of the system. Sound familiar? Yup, that's iTunes in the Cloud, then...
Even though the patent war between Apple and Samsung has seemingly fallen from the media spotlight for the time being (which we're totally OK with), the battles are still very much going on.
As you may know, the two companies have been in and out of courtrooms all around the world over the past year entangled in patent litigation. And there doesn't seem to be any end in sight. But what you may not know is, Apple actually approached Samsung multiple times two years ago to try and avoid this entire mess...
In January, 131 year old camera company Kodak filed a lawsuit against Apple for violating four patents. Fast forward a month later, Apple went after the already bankrupt Kodak in court, counter suing the company. Apple claimed that Kodak actually stole the patents in question from Apple.
Today, the WSJ reports a New York judge has ordered Apple to stop filing lawsuits against Kodak. Kodak is failing as a company and is currently bankrupt...