Amazon has won a patent to create a virtual marketplace where users could resell digital content like apps, songs and ebooks. But it’s unclear whether such a marketplace would be legal under current copyright law. Read more »
A patent holder who claims to own “signal abstraction” is going after companies that use basic anti-piracy techniques. The dispute has spawned dozens of lawsuits and raises questions yet again about the state of America’s patent system. Read more at GigaOM »
The implications of Apple’s recent billion-dollar victory over Samsung in a patent-infringement case go beyond the specifics of this particular battle — the reality is the war over software and design patents is bad not just for individual companies but arguably for society as a whole. Read more at GigaOM »
Samsung has suffered a massive defeat at the hands of Apple in the first major patent trial of the smartphone wars. The ruling appears to be a clear win for Apple which could help entrench the iPhone maker’s power in the marketplace. Read more at GigaOM »
Intellectual property is about assigning ownership of brands and ideas. Here are some highlights from a gathering of leading thinkers in the field — in an easy to skim format. Read more at GigaOM »
Apple’s legal tactics are as carefully designed as its products. Here’s a look at Apple’s distinct efforts to wrap its gadgets in a legal forcefield and drive away competitors. Read more at GigaOM »
The 650 patents that Facebook acquired from Microsoft are “web-related” said a source with knowledge of the deal and listed some specific examples. The source said the portfolio includes patents related to: instant-messaging, e-commerce, LTE, mobile, handsets, search and advertising. Read more »
Facebook announced today that it will pay $550 million for the right to 650 patents and patent applications from Microsoft.
Microsoft acquired those patents and hundreds of others in a deal with AOL earlier this month. Read more »
Despite having agreed to send their CEOs for an in-person talks for a possible settlement in their long-running, multi-country mobile patent dispute, Samsung and Apple aren’t quite done flinging patent-related accusations at each other. Late Wednesday, Samsung filed eight more claims of infringement against Apple. Read more »
A Texas shell company says Apple and others have infringed on technology for basic smartphone gestures like dragging and “double tap.” The patents were issued in 2007 to a Taiwanese maker of touchpad technology. Read more »
AOL CEO Tim Armstrong insists the $1 billion patent deal with Microsoft is about profiting while simplifying the company, not the start of the last sell off. Read more »
A Texas shell company is claiming that battery technology in devices like the Kindle Fire and the Samsung Galaxy Nexus infringes its patent. Read more »
Silicon Valley leads the world in technology but it’s losing a debate over how that technology should be used. A new surge in patent lawsuit… Read more »
A business that pays people to expose bogus patents announced it will offer a cash reward to the person who can show that putting an adverti… Read more »
A shell company capped off a week of patent controversy by suing two popular phone makers for including a button that lets users put a smile… Read more »
When Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO) filed a patent suit against Facebook this week, it became as popular as Rush Limbaugh at a Planned Parenthood gather… Read more »
Yes, Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO) went there today — claiming in a lawsuit that it, not Facebook, is the real king of social networks. The company po… Read more »
Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO) has made good on its threat of last month and filed a patent infringement suit against Facebook. The lawsuit adds to the… Read more »
A new patent troll last week fired a shot at Facebook, Zynga and others with a lawsuit that claims rights to in-game payments — the process… Read more »
In a sign the country’s intellectual property laws may be getting out of hand, copyright lawyers are suing patent lawyers for using scientif… Read more »
A new patent troll announced its arrival this week by suing companies like Facebook, Zynga and Playfish. Its weapon is a patent that it clai… Read more »
Google (NSDQ: GOOG) and Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) are in a worldwide squabble over smartphone patents, but they will have to cooperate long enough… Read more »
The legal tennis match over smartphone patents is still dragging on, and it was Apple Read more »
Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN), already facing a number of patent lawsuits over its Kindle e-readers, was hit with a new one this week. Read more »
A controversial investment fund run by a former Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) executive just added more fuel to the tech industry’s runaway patent… Read more »
The US government and the European Commission today gave the green light to Google’s $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola (NYSE: MMI) Mobil… Read more »
Government officials in the city of Shijiazhuang raided an unnamed Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) reseller (not an official brand store) over the weeken… Read more »
Where will this all end? Both Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) and Google (NSDQ: GOOG) are sitting on billions in cash and seem intent on blowing a good p… Read more »
Apple’s global campaign to stop its Korean rival from selling smartphones and tablets has faltered in recent months, but the iPhone-maker ap… Read more »
Google’s bid for Motorola (NYSE: MMI) is likely to get a thumbs up from the U.S. Department of Justice, but still could face opposition from… Read more »
All is indeed fair in love and war, but not everything is fair in patent licensing. Google (NSDQ: GOOG) and Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) are working o… Read more »
A Texas shell company, Smart Audio Technologies, has filed a suit claiming Apple’s iPod Nano and other devices violate its patent for random… Read more »
Scientific journals are threatening to sue inventors and law firms over the academic studies that are part of a typical patent application.… Read more »
For the most part, Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) has found the mobile industry willing to bow to its patent-licensing strategy. Barnes & Noble (NYS… Read more »
Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) in the last 24 hours has been dealt not one but two blows in court cases involving Motorola (NYSE: MMI) and patents in Ge… Read more »
Some fallout from the various asset offloads we have seen from Nokia (NYSE: NOK) in the last year: Synchronica, which bought Nokia’s messagi… Read more »
The ongoing, back-and-forth legal fight that is the Apple/Samsung patent dispute today took on a new dimension in one of its key battlegroun… Read more »
The smartphone patent wars may never end. Motorola (NYSE: MMI) fired a round Wednesday with a new lawsuit against Apple (NSDQ: AAPL), declar… Read more »
After suing media site TechCrunch in 2008 over a controversial GPS patent, Chicago-based Earthcomber is at it again. This time it’s accusing… Read more »
Chalk one up for Motorola (NYSE: MMI) and Android: the International Trade Commission has determined that it doesn’t violate any of the pate… Read more »
