Nokia ups the ante on Apple, adds 13 more patents to the 24 already asserted
We told you that this would likely go on forever . Nokia just announced that the company has filed claims in the UK, Germany, and The Netherlands alleging that Apple's iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad are infringing upon Nokia's patents. This adds 13 more patents to the 24 already asserted in the ITC and US federal claims .
Categories: Mobile Phone Tags: apple, compelling-user, enabling-access, entry, lawsuit, netherlands, Noise, on-device-app, patent, screen
Novatel sues ZTE and Franklin over MiFi-related patents
Smartphones aren't the only mobile devices caught up in patent warfare , it seems: Novatel's just sued ZTE and Franklin over five patents related to the "key architecture and functionality" of its MiFi series of mobile hotspots. What's interesting is that Verizon carries the MiFi and ZTE-built Fivespot , while Sprint's MiFi lives alongside the ZTE Peel and carrier-branded Franklin modems, so we're curious to see if any of the carriers step in to mediate the dispute.
Categories: Mobile Phone Tags: 3g mobile hotspot, 3gmobilehotspot, broad-enough, fri, legal, mifi, novatel, patent, verizon, wifi tethering, zte
RIM sues Kik in Canada for patent infringement
Things just got a little more heated in the RIM / Kik dispute: RIM's now filed a Canadian patent infringement case against the company, just days after it pulled Kik Messenger from BlackBerry App World due to " breached contractual obligations. " We don't have the complaint yet, so we're not sure exactly what RIM's patent covers, but it's a fair bet to say it's likely messaging-related -- and it's probably a safer bet to say that RIM doesn't screw around when it comes to dealing with potential threats to BBM. You mess with the bull, you get the horns.
Categories: BlackBerry, Mobile Phone Tags: black, kik messenger, kikmessenger, mess, patent, result, rim, video
Caltech sues Nokia, LG, others over camera patents
Sure, your N8 might take a great picture -- but is it about to become a hotbed of legal wrangling between Espoo and one of the more prolific research universities in the States?
Categories: Mobile Phone, Other Tags: because-rockets, camera, nokia, pantech, patent, patent infringement, property, propulsion, states, stmicroelectronics, the-university, universities, university
Motorola slaps Microsoft with a pair of patent infringement lawsuits, says it’s such a shame
Looks like Motorola's about to fight a legal battle on two fronts -- Apple on one hand , and Microsoft on the other. Microsoft fired the first shot last month with a nine-patent ITC complaint and a second salvo alleging that Motorola was charging unfair licensing fees for 802.11 WiFi and H.264 video last week, it's now Moto's turn to retaliate with a pair of legal complaints. The cellular company now claims that Redmond's infringing a total of sixteen patents with everything from Microsoft Exchange to Bing Maps to the Windows operating system itself -- as well as the aforementioned video codecs and wireless tech, of course.
Categories: Mobile Phone, Other Tags: after-the-break, battle-on-two, complaints, legal, microsoft, motorola, operating, patent, press-release, salt, technology
Nokia taking over Symbian development, Foundation responsible for licensing
So it seems the Symbian Foundation isn't necessarily going away, but it's transitioning its role in a big, big way. They're undertaking a "strategic change" that will involve the Foundation moving to a new role where it controls the product's patent portfolio and licenses the Symbian brand and its research and development activities, but the meat of the operation -- the actual platform development -- will move over to Nokia beginning the end of March next year.
Categories: Mobile Phone Tags: amsterdam, breakingnews, Change, engadget, entry, meeting, nokia, patent, portfolio, presence, press, releases, result, symbian
Apple v. Nokia: USITC comes out on Nokia’s side in pre-trial hearing
It'll be a good, long while before the various spats between Nokia and Apple over intellectual property ever get fully resolved -- but Espoo's got an early ally in the form of the US International Trade Commission.
Categories: Mobile Phone, Other Tags: ally, apple, down-the-law, entry, intellectual, international, news, patent, plaintiff
Apple sues Motorola right back over six patents
What, you didn't think Apple was just going to sit around and take it after Motorola first sued for patent infringement and then asked to court to declare some 20 of Cupertino's patents weren't applicable to its products, did you? Apple's fired back with two lawsuits claiming that Motorola's Android phones, including but not limited to the Droid, Droid 2, Droid X, Cliq, Cliq XT, BackFlip, Devour A555, Devour i1, and Charm, infringe a total of six multitouch and OS patents. That would be pretty much par for the course -- you sue me, I sue you -- but there are a couple interesting strategic wrinkles to note: We've only seen Apple litigate one of these patents before: #7,479,949, Touch Screen Device, Method, and Graphical User Interface for Determining Commands by Applying Heuristics.
Categories: Android, htc, Mobile Phone, Other Tags: breaking-news, covering-scroll, graphical, legal, litigate, motorola, multi touch, multitouch, patent, screen, sue, tactic
Nokia, Motorola establish cross-licensing pact for 4G tech
No shortage of lawsuits going around in the industry as we come up on the holidays -- you know, peace, happiness, the season of giving and all that -- but one place where you won't find much public animosity (for the moment, anyway) is between Schaumburg and Espoo. That's right: Motorola and Nokia have just agreed to a cross-licensing arrangement that will give both companies access to each others' 4G patent portfolios, with LTE , LTE Advanced , and WiMAX all specifically called out as being affected. It's literally impossible to develop 4G devices without navigating a nightmarish jungle of patents and royalties, so whenever an agreement like this goes down, we put on our optimism hats and hope that it'll mean faster times to market for devices and infrastructure
Categories: Mobile Phone, Other Tags: animosity, holidays, lawsuits, license, optimism, patent, peace
Apple awarded limited patent on pinch-to-zoom
Boom: Apple was just awarded a patent on pinch-to-zoom for multitouch displays. That's the first directly applicable patent we've seen on the gesture since we first started looking during the Apple / Palm war of words in January 2009, and it certainly gives Apple some potent ammunition against its competitors -- although there are some specific limitations on what Apple's been granted that will prove to be important
Categories: Mobile Phone, Other Tags: apple, awarded-limited, certainly-gives, entry, gesture, legal, palm, patent, patent-on-pinch, patents, result, words