The first big hurdle has been taken by Google and Motorola Mobility. The European Union has given the green light for Google to proceed with its acquisition of Motorola Mobility. The EU will, however, monitor the deal and its outcome for potential patent abuse. Update: And there we go, the US DoJ has approved the deal as well. Update II: The just-linked DoJ report also approves the Nortel patent sale to Apple, Microsoft, and RIM. I'm hoping for lots of fireworks here so the patent system blows up in Google's, Microsoft's and Apple's faces, so we can point and laugh about all the money they wasted.
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Member since:2009-08-22
It looks to like both Samsung and Motorola are abusing FRAND and the Motorola case definitely involves Qualcomm and Apple. This is from The Verge.
According to a report by Reuters, Apple filed a new case in California federal court today, claiming Motorola's patent infringement cases against Apple in Germany breach Motorola's licensing agreement with San Diego-based Qualcomm. This matches up with Apple's defenses against Samsung — companies can't double dip on licensing fees under the legal principle of patent exhaustion.
Wireless baseband chips now used in iPhones are purchased from Qualcomm, and Apple argues that Qualcomm already pays Motorola (and Samsung) patent licensing fees for those components. Under the legal doctrine of patent exhaustion, Motorola can only demand one payment per use of the patented technology. Apple already paid Qualcomm for the right to use Motorola's patented technology when it paid for the Qualcomm chips, so Motorola's enforceable patent rights relative to those components are now all used up. This new suit in California simply brings the issue to a head by alleging that Motorola breached its agreement with Qualcomm by attempting to collect those licensing fees again.
While Apple's FRAND defenses have received a lot of news coverage lately, this patent exhaustion defense may be equally important. Patent exhaustion is an established principle under US patent law, and it has a certain common-sense appeal for both judges and juries. To the extent the Qualcomm baseband chips are fully covered under an existing license, it'll be difficult for Motorola to argue it deserves another bite at the Apple, so to speak.
Original is here:
http://www.theverge.com/2012/2/10/2790476/apple-stop-motorola-germa...
Member since:2009-08-22
Sorry - I meant to add this from the Guardian.
Apple last week filed a potentially explosive lawsuit in the US, claiming that MMI is abusing its ownership of essential patents used for mobile phones, after it wrote to Apple and chipmaker Qualcomm in January. In the letter, MMI revoked Apple's ability to use two patents embedded in Qualcomm chips used in the iPhone. Such specific revocations are not normally allowed under the terms on which "essential" patents are licensed: if Motorola is found to have breached the "FRAND" (fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory) rules around the licensing of its patents then it could face sanctions from standards bodies, and damages from Apple.
Member since:2005-06-29
You do realise this is just an accusation, right, and not a statement of fact? I know Apple's own words are facts to you, but not to most of the rest of the world.
Just point it out.
"Ilja van Sprundel, a security researcher with IOActive, has discovered a large number of issues in the way various X client libraries handle the responses they receive from servers, and has worked with X.Org's security team to analyze, confirm, and fix these issues."
"Google is facing a new antitrust probe by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission into whether the company is using its leadership in the online display-advertising market to illegally curb competition, people familiar with the matter said." Sucks to be Google today, apparently.
"In the midst of the major press blitz surrounding its annual I/O Conference, Google dropped some unfortunate news about its instant messaging plans. In several places around the web, the company is replacing the existing 'Talk' platform with a new one called 'Hangouts' that sharply diminishes support for the open messaging protocol known as XMPP (or sometimes informally Jabber), and also removes the option to disable the archiving of all chat communications. These changes represent a switch from open protocols to proprietary ones, and a clear step backward for many users." That's why I always say: only suckers trust companies.
"The wave of departures is a sign of internal struggle, but amidst all the bad news, there is a glimmer of hope. According to an anonymous HTC executive cited by WSJ, the crucial HTC One is selling 'pretty good so far'. The executive revealed that HTC sold about five million One units since launch, a performance that is deemed encouraging. However, sales have been limited by the persisting supply issues that still plague the production of the HTC One." Finally some good news for HTC. Five million units amidst supply constraints is very impressive.
"Sony gave the PS4 50% more raw shader performance, plain and simple (768 SPs @ 800MHz vs. 1152 SPs & 800MHz). Unlike last generation, you don't need to be some sort of Jedi to extract the PS4's potential here. The Xbox One and PS4 architectures are quite similar, Sony just has more hardware under the hood. Weâll have to wait and see how this hardware delta gets exposed in games over time, but the gap is definitely there. The funny thing about game consoles is that itâs usually the lowest common denominator that determines the bulk of the experience across all platforms. On the plus side, the Xbox One should enjoy better power/thermal characteristics compared to the PlayStation 4. Even compared to the Xbox 360 we should see improvement in many use cases thanks to modern power management techniques." AnandTech does its usual in-depth thing."The Verge has learned that HTC's Chief Product Officer, Kouji Kodera, left the company last week. Kodera was responsible for HTC's overall product strategy, which makes the departure especially notable on the heels of the global launch of the make-or-break One. It's not just Kodera. In the past three-odd months, HTC has lost a number of employees in rapid succession." I really hope HTC pulls it together.
"It is with huge pleasure that the Debian GNU/Hurd team announces the release of Debian GNU/Hurd 2013. This is a snapshot of Debian 'sid' at the time of the Debian 'wheezy' release (May 2013), so it is mostly based on the same sources. It is not an official Debian release, but it is an official Debian GNU/Hurd port release." Important note: 75% of Debian packages are supported bu Debian GNU/Hurd. Impressive.
"The first killer app was VisiCalc. This early spreadsheet turned the Apple II from a hobbyist toy to a business computer. VisiCalc came with room for improvement, though. In addition, a new architecture and operating system, the Intel-based IBM PC and MS-DOS, also needed a spreadsheet to be taken seriously. That spreadsheet, released in early 1983, would be Lotus 1-2-3, and it would change the world. It became the PC's killer app, and the world would never be the same. On May 14, IBM quietly announced the end of the road for 1-2-3, along with Lotus Organizer and the Lotus SmartSuite office suite. Lotus 1-2-3's day is done." Impressive 30 year run."There's a disconnect between how Apple CEO Tim Cook sees his company's tax strategies and how some members of the US Senate view it. That became clearer than ever today after Cook and two other Apple executives testified before Congress, explaining why they're holding most of their international income in Irish subsidiaries like Apple Operations International, which declare no tax residency anywhere in the world. AOI hasn't filed a tax return anywhere in the world for the last five years, yet it earned $30 billion in income from 2009 to 2012, according to a Senate report released yesterday." Just because something is legal, doesn't mean it's just. Apple, Google, Microsoft, and many more - these companies might not be breaking any laws, but it's obvious to anyone that what they are doing is scummy.
The new WebKit Opera for Android has been released. "Opera 14 for Android is built on top of Chromium 26, with a total overhaul of the UI in native code, making it fit well with the latest Android design guidelines. Go get the build from Google Play or point your browser to m.opera.com, and give it a spin!"
Member since:
2009-01-22
You are wrong: the iPhone 4S use a Qualcomm chipset.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/13/us-apple-teardown-idUSTRE...
http://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/2012/02/a-riveting-read...
"Motorola alleges that Apple infringes the '336 patent based on Apple's use of a MDM 6610 baseband chip in the iPhone 4S, which is provided to Apple's contract manufacturers by Qualcomm Inc. ("Qualcomm"). "
"In its papers before the Higher Regional Court, Motorola has made arguments in breach of its agreement with Qualcomm that would require the German court construe the Motorola/Qualcomm agreements. For example, Motorola has argued against Apple's claim that it is a third-party beneficiary under the Motorola/Qualcomm agreement and Motorola has argued that its termination of the Qualcomm agreement with respect to Apple sales was effective under the Motorola/Qualcomm agreement."
Edited 2012-02-14 16:18 UTC