Hasta La Gadget!

CopyTele, or more specifically, its Secure Web Conference Corp. division has sued Microsoft’s Skype due to patent infringement. Copytele says that Skype infringed on 2 of its patents, one regarding a “method and apparatus for securing e-mail attachments”, and the other for a “portable telecommunication security device.” However, CopyTele didn’t sue Skype because it was trying to protect its patent portfolio. It sued Skype because it saw an opportunity to generate more money off its patents. Yes, unfortunately, CopyTele is known as a patent troll.

Robert Berman, President and CEO of CopyTele, stated that for 30 years, the company focused on making products based on its technology, but now the company is geared towards making money off its patents. He calls this new business model “patent monetization”. Berman says that there are 100 other web-conference companies like Skype that also infringes on CopyTele’s patents, but the company decided to go after Skype because of its size.

CopyTele has used this patent monetization model in the past when it sued AU Optronics and E Ink Holdings back in January. It sued the two companies back in January because they were allegedly infringing on its electrophoretic display patents. It also plans on targeting more companies soon. CopyTele recently acquired two new patent portfolios related to loyalty programs, so in the future, we may see lawsuits against companies who have programs like frequent flyer miles, or an accumulative bonus points program for loyal customers.

Once CopyTele’s case with Skype is over, it may go after the other 100 web-conferencing companies that are allegedly infringing on its patents as well. According to TechCrunch, Berman says that the web-conference industry is a “$4 billion industry” and that this battle with Skype is just the “initiation of what will be a broader patent enforcement campaign.” He also states that the company will continue to acquire more patent portfolios so that it can go after more companies that provide “significant revenue opportunities”.

[via Forbes]

CopyTele sues Skype in its “patent monetization” scheme is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Apple vs. Samsung will reconvene in November to recalculate jury damages, it’s been confirmed, with Judge Lucy Koh warning both parties to expect “Groundhog’s Day” in the courtroom. Apple had been granted $1.05bn in damages from Samsung last year, after a jury found the Korean company guilty of patent infringement with fourteen of its Android products; that figure was subsequently slashed, but questions around how the original jury considered each of the relevant patents forced a new damages trial that will kick off on November 12 2013.

There, Koh will preside over questions around the damages adjustments on those fourteen products, which she initially cut $450.5m from back in March, The Recorder reports. The hearing will, if Koh has her way, be the final step before Samsung can appeal the decision fully. “Once this is resolved,” she told the firms, “you can take all of it up to the Federal Circuit.”

In the period before then, Apple will have to submit a new expert report on damages – after having found a new damages expert – following which Samsung will have the opportunity to file a rebuttal expert report of its own. Expert discovery is expected to be completed by August 23, with a hearing and a pretrial conference scheduled for October.

“This is going to be Groundhog’s Day,” Judge Koh warned Apple and Samsung, suggesting that “you’re going to be reliving July of 2012.” The judge also refused to accept calls for a full retrial, insisting that the November case would be targeted specifically at damages based on the old information.

Although Samsung will be aiming to further trim its damages bill, it also faces the potential risk of an even higher cost. Just as the amount can be adjusted down, so could the jury decide to grant Apple even more than the $1.05bn originally imposed.

[via AppleInsider; via FOSSPatents]

Apple vs Samsung back in court November to re-calculate damages is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Apple has decided that it will be challenging a ruling made last November that found it guilty of infringing on several of VirnetX’s patents. The ruling required Apple to pay VirnetX $368.2 million in damages. However, in Apple’s recent quarterly report, the company filed Form 10-Q with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) stating that it intends on challenging the verdict and has not “recorded a loss accrual at this time.”

Last November, VirnetX stated that Apple infringed on 4 of its patents involving the establishment of virtual private networks (VPN) in order to allow secure communications to take place. The technology was used by Apple for its FaceTime video calling feature. The court ruled in favor of VirnetX, requiring Apple to pay a $368.2 million fine. In addition, Apple also stated that with iOS 6.1 and later, it would change its VPN On Demand feature, removing the “Always” option and replacing it with the “Establish if needed” option. The new option led to less-than-stellar results for users.

However, a report discovered yesterday shows that Apple has decided to undo its changes to the VPS On Demand feature and it will be restoring the “Always” option. In the report, it states that it has issued an update to a previous article due some “potential changes to the behavior of VPN On Demand due to a lawsuit by VirnetX.” It seems that Apple is certain that it will be successful in combating the infringement ruling.

VirnetX has sued many other companies in the past over patent infringement, including Microsoft, Cisco, Siemens, and many more. It has another lawsuit against Apple, accusing its iPhone 5 and iPad Mini of infringing on the same patents its other devices infringed on. It also has another complaint against Apple that is currently under investigation by the U.S. International Trade Commission.

It sued Microsoft back in 2007 and 2010, and won a $200 million settlement from the Windows OS company. It also recently filed another complaint against Microsoft over its Skype software, accusing it of infringing on 6 of its patents. We will keep you posted on any updates regarding Apple’s case against VirnetX, as well as any updates regarding VirnetX’s case against Microsoft.

[via CNET]

Apple to challenge the VirnetX Facetime patent infringment ruling is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

It is without a doubt that Google Glass is a piece of hardware which is highly desirable, although there does seem to be pretty restrictive rules concerning the device, especially those that prevent it from being sold at the risk of getting it bricked by the folks over at Google. While there is possibly no chance for the masses to get hold of their own Google Glass sometime this year, this does not mean the folks over at Google are not future forward, which is why they already have filed a patent application for “Near-to-eye display with diffraction grating that bends and focuses light”.

If one were to put that in plain English, Google is basically toying around with the idea of transparent displays, which would definitely signal a next generation application for Project Glass. It seems that this patent application talked about a specially designed “diffraction grating” that is placed on an “optical substrate” (which is actually the real glasses glass). The “diffraction grating” will sport several elements, where some of it will allow undisturbed ambient light for you to have a view of all that is around you, while other elements work to reflect and focus computer generated images that is coming in from your Glass frame. Sure sounds like a dream to own, no? Let us hope that the next generation Google Glass too, will have a decent battery life to go along with it.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Leap Motion 3D Gesture Controller Launched Delayed To July 22, Google Glass Reportedly Has An Extremely Limited Battery Life,

One thing for sure in the past few days would be this – HTC and Nokia cannot be the best of friends. It simply is not possible, as Nokia has brought HTC to task for using a microphone part which was originally meant for exclusive use in Nokia smartphones only, no thanks to an oversight by the folks over at STM Microelectronics who surprisingly enough in this day and age, has interpreted the contract that they signed with the Finnish smartphone manufacturer totally off the charts. Well, HTC has to source for a new microphone from someone else to include in their future HTC Ones that roll off the production line, but thankfully, this latest Nokia vs HTC patent claim case in Germany has been thrown out of the court, which gives HTC some breathing space in the meantime.

Basically, the District Court of Mannheim, Germany, dismissed a patent claim which focuses on the way an Android smartphone accesses the Internet through the Google Play Store. It so happens to be disguised as a straight shot at HTC, where in essence, it is targeting Google’s Android platform. This so happens to be a significant win for Google as well as other manufacturers who rely on similar architecture with their Android devices.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Nokia Unveiling New Lumia On May 14, Hear Alexander Graham Bell’s Voice From An 1885 Recording,