Dec 06
Or at least, what you can read of it, because vast swathes have been redacted. Still, there are bits you can actually read, so let’s take a look. More »
Dec 04
Last month HTC and Apple decided to play nice when they reached a settlement over a patent license. While Apple was forced to tell Samsung how much that deal was worth, it thought the rest of the case was secret—but it turns out that might not quite be the case. More »
Nov 27
Google settles patent lawsuit from Immersion over Motorola use of haptic feedback
Posted in: Today's Chili 
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
Source: Motorola
Nov 20
The FTC might not have been impressed with Google bypassing Safari cookie settings in the name of +1 functionality, but it’ll at least be satisfied with the outcome. A Northern District of California federal court has approved the FTC’s proposed settlement, which sees Google pay a $22.5 million penalty in addition to altering its cookie behavior to respect privacy in Apple’s browser. The fiscal punishment is a drop in the bucket for a company that might well make up that loss by the time you’re done reading this; all the same, we’ll take it if other web companies are more mindful of their behavior in the future.
Filed under: Internet, Apple, Google
Source: FTC
Nov 20
Earlier this month it was announced that Apple and HTC reached a patent settlement which would see the Taiwanese phone manufacturer enter into a 10-year licensing agreement. Now, HTC has firmly rumored figures which suggested they’d pony up $8 to Cook and co for every Android handset it sold. More »
Nov 10
HTC and Apple have just confirmed that they’ve settled all of their ongoing patent disputes, ending all of their lawsuits and opting into a 10-year licensing agreement. To refresh your memory, this particular saga begin back on March 2nd, 2010, when Apple filed lawsuits with the International Trade Commission and US District Court. That initial filing covered 20 patents related to iOS, which it accused HTC of infringing upon, and since then it has only been an ever-expanding battle. Essentially all the juicy details of the settlement between the companies are completely under wraps, but both HTC’s CEO, Peter Chou and Apple’s man-in-charge, Tim Cook have issued brief words for the official joint statement (the whole of which can be seen after the break):
“HTC is pleased to have resolved its dispute with Apple, so HTC can focus on innovation instead of litigation,“ said Peter Chou, CEO of HTC.
“We are glad to have reached a settlement with HTC,“ said Tim Cook, CEO of Apple. “We will continue to stay laser focused on product innovation.
Notably, this settlement applies to all past and future patents for the companies, meaning we shouldn’t be witnessing the two fight it out in court for years to come — at least on the patent front. Hopefully we’ll soon begin to see more of the same with other ongoing patent wars — Apple vs. Samsung, anyone?
Continue reading HTC and Apple settle all patent issues, enter 10-year licensing deal
Filed under: Mobile, Apple, HTC
HTC and Apple settle all patent issues, enter 10-year licensing deal originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 10 Nov 2012 21:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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HTC, Apple | Email this | Comments
Nov 02
Korean Audi and BMW drivers can relax, LG v. Osram LED patent dispute settled
Posted in: Today's Chili 
Though it seems like some patent disputes never go away, at least an ongoing tiff between LED makers LG and Osram has been settled amicably. Details were kept under wraps, other than a statement that “the parties have reached a license agreement for their respective patents” and that all the disputes worldwide were dismissed. That means that a threatened Korean ban of Audi and BMW vehicles using the LED tech won’t happen — but we doubt teutonic car-lovers there were terribly worried about that unlikely-seeming proposition.
Filed under: Transportation, LG
Korean Audi and BMW drivers can relax, LG v. Osram LED patent dispute settled originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Nov 2012 09:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | LG | Email this | Comments
Oct 21
Dish Network customers have been without AMC and its family of channels since July 1st, but thanks to a settlement between the satellite company and Cablevision’s former Voom HD unit, AMC will be back on the air starting tonight. The possibility of a settlement leaked out late last week via a court filing, and it looks like Dish CEO Charlie Ergen will avoid taking the stand Monday after all. According to the terms, Dish will hand over $700 million in cash plus its 20 percent stake in Voom, and receive 500MHz of video and data spectrum licenses in 45 areas. In a separate deal, Dish and Cablevision spinoff AMC Networks have a new multiyear deal that should bring back AMC (on channel 131) in time for The Walking Dead to air tonight, and all of its other channels (IFC, WE tv, Sundance and for the first time, Fuse) starting November 1st. While Dish had previously claimed the channel deal was being held up by AMC’s distribution of its shows via iTunes, Netflix and Amazon, now that lawsuit is over those concerns seem to have faded away.
Continue reading Dish Network settles Voom HD lawsuit, AMC comes back on the air tonight
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
Dish Network settles Voom HD lawsuit, AMC comes back on the air tonight originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 21 Oct 2012 16:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | AMC, Dish Network | Email this | Comments
Oct 18
Dish vs. Cablevision court filing hints at a settlement, could lead to AMC’s return
Posted in: Today's Chili 
If you’re waiting for a sign that shows like The Walking Dead are coming back to Dish Network, a court document filed Thursday might be it. According to Reuters, the document was originally filed with the title “poss. settlement” (later changed to “adj. for briefing”) and set a date for October 22nd. Additionally, the New York Post reports that on Wednesday the Judge adjourned proceedings for the week. As you’ll recall, Cablevision sued the satellite company over its Voom HD channels being dropped back in 2008, and is asking for $2.4 billion in damages. If the two have found a resolution, the next question would be whether this affects Dish’s negotiations with Cablevision spinoff AMC Networks, which the latter claims were derailed because of its connection to Voom. If the case proceeds, Bloomberg reports Dish CEO Charlie Ergen is set to take the stand Monday — we’ll see if this can get wrapped up before Mad Men and Breaking Bad return in 2013.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
Dish vs. Cablevision court filing hints at a settlement, could lead to AMC’s return originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Oct 2012 00:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Reuters, Bloomberg, NY Post | Email this | Comments
Oct 11
The road to become the best it can be will surely be a long one, but Netflix is certainly doing all it can to be covered on all grounds. Most recently, the streaming giant announced that it has reached a settlement with the National Association for the Deaf which ensures that the company will offer captioning services on its entire video library by 2014. Currently Netflix has caption options on nearly 85 percent of its hefty entertainment repertoire, with the outfit expected to make it 90 percent by next year and, shortly thereafter, have its full set CC-ready. Needless to say, this is a win-win for all parties involved.
Continue reading Netflix to bring closed captioning to all video content by 2014
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, HD
Netflix to bring closed captioning to all video content by 2014 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Oct 2012 11:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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MobileBurn | Ars Technica, Boston.com, NAD | Email this | Comments
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