Patent trolls are like the obnoxious cousins of domain squatters, their confrontational methods being inversely proportional to the passive coat tail riding of those who take advantage of popular URLs. The scheming of the patent troll is simple: buy up a patent portfolio or two, then start tossing around lawsuits in an effort to make
The International Trade Commission has become increasingly tired of all the patent mischief it’s forced to deal with, just as we’ve become tired of reporting on it. That’s why its latest defense against time-wasters could potentially be a very good idea. According to Reuters, the ITC will soon demand upfront proof that the complainant in a patent case has a “significant presence in the United States” and isn’t merely a fly-by-night outfit created for the purpose of pursuing litigation. The new rule has already been trialed in a pilot program, and Google, Intel, HP and others have voiced their support. It can’t fix everything, of course, since major companies will still be able to game the system to hamper their rivals, but with the FTC and the White House also taking steps to subject “patent-assertion entities” to greater scrutiny, it feels like the wheels of government may be starting to catch up with the trolls.
Filed under: Misc
Source: Reuters
Samsung is reportedly negotiating a settlement with the European Union over antitrust charges, after being investigated following Apple’s complaints over 3G patents being used offensively. Talks around a potential deal have been underway for several months, sources familiar with the negotiations told Reuters, though it’s unclear whether Samsung will manage to convince the EU to
Apple has bested Samsung in a Japanese courtroom, convincing the Tokyo District Court that its South Korean rival’s Galaxy devices infringe the so-called “bounce back” patent used in iPhone scrolling. The ruling, which comes even though in the US the patent has actually been invalidated, could leave Samsung open to more financial damages, Reuters reports,
Companies that prevail in patent lawsuits can’t relax until the inevitable appeal is over — just ask Motorola. Nintendo, however, can take a momentary break. A US Court of Appeals just upheld the company’s win over IA Labs, declaring that the Wii Balance Board doesn’t infringe on an IA Labs patent. While the ruling isn’t all that vital when the accessory is now a rarity at best, it puts IA Labs on the hook for Nintendo’s $236,000 attorney bill. It also sends a warning to other companies plotting similar legal assaults, although we’d still expect lawsuits when other patent holders are hitting paydirt.
Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals, Nintendo
Source: Nintendo
To use NVIDIA’s graphics technology, you’ve typically had to buy gadgets using NVIDIA chips — good for the company’s bottom line, but not for influencing the industry as a whole. The firm is expanding its ambition today with plans to license some of that technology on a broader scale. Beginning with the Kepler architecture, other firms can use NVIDIA’s GPU cores and graphics-related patents for their own processors and chipsets. The deal could affect a wide range of hardware, but it mostly pits NVIDIA against the likes of Imagination Technologies: a system-on-chip designer could integrate a Logan-based GPU instead of the PowerVR series, for example. While it will be some time before third-party silicon ships with NVIDIA inside, it’s already clear that the company’s in-house design is now just one part of a larger strategy.
Filed under: Cellphones, Peripherals, Tablets, NVIDIA
Source: NVIDIA
While we know the human body is capable of generating electricity, we never quite thought of it as a data transmission channel like this Microsoft patent application suggests. According to the document, the folks up in Redmond would like to be able to transfer information from one electronic device to another with a simple touch, as seen in the image above. It all sounds a little freaky, but the filing goes on to suggest a few practical uses. Instead of swiping a credit card or showing ID, you could use your own flesh to authenticate the purchase of goods or services. Another example is the ability to share contact information with someone just by shaking his or her hand, so long as he or she was also wearing a similar electronic device. While we hesitate to endorse such a technology, at least it’s less invasive than embedding circuitry in our wrists. If you feel like plumbing the depths of this patent further, click on the source for more on what the software giant has in mind for the future.
Source: USPTO
Google first implemented face-unlock in ICS, and since then, it’s been hard at work improving the feature and acquiring new IP related to it. Last fall, the search giant patented a way for multiple users to use face-unlock on a single device. This week it obtained a new patent for a method that requires users to make a series of facial expressions to gain access to a system. Essentially, the patent claims a method where a device captures two images of a user, then compares the differences in the images to identify a facial gesture and authenticate the user.
In other words, its a face-unlock method where a device looks at two pictures of your mug to tell if you’re raising an eyebrow, frowning or sticking your tongue out as instructed by a prompt from the device. And, it double checks to ensure that it is, in fact, the same face in both images. Oh, and the patent leaves room for a series of expressions to be used — so at some point in the future, you may have to give your Google-fied phone a wink and a smile before it grants you access. Guess that’s easier than remembering a PIN, right?
Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile
Via: BBC News
Source: USPTO
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