Hasta La Gadget!

In the middle of November, Apple and HTC formed a settlement that ended a two-year legal struggle over patents. Samsung followed up by filing a request in court for access to the settlement details, which it was granted a few days later. Now the general public gets to see a redacted version of the settlement, which reveals few precious details.

As you can see in the sample above, the agreement document has been heavily redacted, with very few details left visible. It was Samsung that made the redacted agreement available, submitting it to the public for reasons we can only speculate about. The few things it does reveal are scattered among 140 pages.

What we do know is this. Apple and HTC have settled on a non-exclusive, non-sublicensable, and non-transferable license for specific patents from both companies. There are provisions that exclude nine HTC patents and various Apple patents, as well as an arbitration process in place for any product Apple decides HTC has cloned. Specific devices and other such details are all hidden.

Perhaps most amusingly, the redacted document leaves visible the fact that both Apple and HTC agreed to remain silent on the issue. This, of course, follows on the heals of the seemingly never-ending patent wars various companies are engaged in, particularly Apple and Samsung, who have been at each other’s proverbial throats. The two companies are currently engaged in a lawsuit over patents scheduled for trial in 2014.

[via AllThingsD]

Apple and HTC settlement agreement surfaces, is heavily redacted is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Truly wireless charging, it’s a tech utopia we all long for. Sure, we’re getting there, but it still requires contact, which is only slightly better. If places like Starbucks starts putting pads in their tables, hooray, but it’s a far cry from a real charging zone. A recent Apple patent outlines just that, the wireless charging dream we’ve all been dreaming. More »

Heads up, PlayStation fans. Sony filed an interesting patent last year and it has just been made public today. The patent is for a hybrid DualShock/Move gaming controller, meaning that you could use it as a normal controller just like any of Sony’s other DualShock devices, or you could split it apart to make two Move controllers.

The controller is officially called the “Hybrid Separable Motion Controller”, and while it’s a bold idea, the execution is mostly what you’d expect. It’s simply just two Move orbs attached on top of a DualShock controller. Then, the controller is detachable in the middle, with each half stuffed with an accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer, vibration capability, and even a speaker.

Obviously, the hybrid controller can be operated either separately or locked together into one unit, and it’s designed in a way that games will be able to detect which configuration is in use. If you’re worried about the thing flying out of your hands, some of the drawings even show a wrist strap attach to each of the two sides.

We’re not sure if Sony intends to use this concept in the PlayStation 3 or maybe even future devices. It’s also possible that this could just be an idea that they may never end up using, so keep your fingers crossed and we’ll see what Sony comes up with in the future. It’s possible that we could see something new from them at E3 2013, but we’ll keep an open mind until then.

[via GameSpot]

Sony files patent for hybrid DualShock/Move controller is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The Apple-Samsung saga continues, folks. Today, a Dutch court has now banned several Samsung Galaxy devices from selling in the Netherlands. Apple has been rewarded the ban from the court because Samsung was accused of infringing on an Apple patent relating to the navigation interface in photo galleries.

Apple and Samsung have already been through this dance once before on the same exact patent issue last year. Samsung was accused of implementing the same “bounce back” feature as iOS when scrolling through images, so Samsung replaced it with a blue flash that would appear on the edges of images. However, Samsung has refused to “sign a declaration of abstinence committing to not infringing the patent,” but Samsung claims that the issue had been fixed in the Netherlands, and that its Galaxy products used Samsung’s own technology.

The ban only applies to Galaxy products that run Android 2.2.1 and higher, and that don’t use Samsung’s proprietary photo gallery software. The court ordered Samsung to inform Apple how much net profit it made from sales of its infringing Galaxy products since June 27, 2011. From there, a different court will determine how much of that profit Samsung must give to Apple. If Samsung continues to infringe on Apple’s patent, the company will be required to pay Apple 100,000 euros ($129,000) for every day it violates the ban.

A Samsung spokesperson said that the company was disappointed with the court’s ruling, and Apple did not respond to a request for comment. In another lawsuit between the two companies in the Netherlands, the court ruled that Samsung does not infringe on a multitouch patent from Apple, and this coming January, the court is set to place their verdict in another Apple-Samsung lawsuit dealing with tablet design rights.

[via Computerworld]

Apple gets Samsung Galaxy devices banned in the Netherlands is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Immersion is known for guarding its haptic feedback patents with enthusiasm — just ask Microsoft, among others. Motorola learned first-hand when Immersion sued over the use of basic haptic technology in May, but all that’s water under the bridge now that Motorola’s new parent Google is settling the matter out of court. While the exact sums aren’t public, Google will pay Immersion to address any relevant past shipments, license the patents for future Motorola shipments and take care of “certain issues” with Google-badged hardware using the disputed vibration techniques. Immersion’s end of the bargain is simply to end its legal action, including an ITC complaint, although the company makes clear that non-Motorola Android phones aren’t covered by the deal. We’re sure Google isn’t happy to shoulder additional costs on top of its $12.5 billion Motorola acquisition, although it may see the settlement as a matter of establishing focus. After all, there’s bigger fish to fry.

Continue reading Google settles patent lawsuit from Immersion over Motorola use of haptic feedback

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Google

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Source: Motorola