Wow… I was just starting to think what a quiet week for the patentfun (which was good, as I’ve had a crazy busy week at work), but at the 11th hour we get some real gems that … I don’t even know hot to reply to. Incensed would be a good word I guess, but we’ll get to that in a bit.
#patentfun = weekly round-up of the litigation surrounding the Android OS.
Apple seeking injunction in the US against Samsung Galaxy Nexus
Can’t say that we didn’t see this one coming, but what really incenses me here is:
a) they’re attacking straight at Google. Previously it’s always been against the manufacturer who has some UI skin that they’ve applied. This is a ‘pure Google’ device… and they know it, yet they’re hiding by attacking Samsung.
b) have you seen what they’re complaining about? Here’s a list.
- U.S. Patent No. 5,946,647: a patent for data being used as a hyperlink
- U.S. Patent No. 8,086,604: a unified search patent
- U.S. Patent No. 8,046,721: a slide-to-unlock patent
- U.S. Patent No. 8,074,172: a word completion patent
I’ve said it before the recognition of ‘hyperlink’able text has been around long before the iPhone, and it’s a ‘logical evolution’ for any ‘smart’phone. I think my Palm had ‘universal search’ before as well. Slide to unlock… we’ve already fought this battle. Word completion; why aren’t they going after Nuance, or DragonSpeak etc… who also work on text prediction.
I cannot believe this suit has any merit (despite Apple already winning a battle over the 1st patent in the issue against HTC… but there apparently is some work-arounds). Please… please… somebody tell Apple to sit down, and take your chill pill. You make BAZILLIONS already, I’m sure you can handle some competition… or is that what you’re afraid of? You can’t really tell us that you’re afraid of ONLY GOOGLE using weakly applied patents…
Motorola could receive licensing of up to 2.25% from Microsoft
Now this isn’t directly Android as the patents relate more to a video product, but it’s nice to see M$ on the other end of a licensing deal for once. And, as Motorola could be Google as soon as next week, it’s potentially a deal with the Android folk.
And it looks that they’ll be seeking 2.25% against Apple for their FRAND patent suit.
Google’ Letter “We Will Comply With FRAND Patent Licensing Rules, Won’t Abuse Patents to Seek Injunctions”
FRAND = Fair, Reasonable and Non-Disclosure. Essentially an understanding that we’ll play nice with our competitors. In this case I believe Google is setting themselves a PR campaign to show how ‘unlike’ Apple they are and won’t go after competitors with flimsy patents.
Now, is this an empty letter? Probably, probably not. As it is, Google has not gone after anybody with their patents … yet. The Gootorola deal may change that. This doesn’t say that if they see a flagrant use of a strong patent they won’t protect their own. Which is what I really hope Google’s setting themselves up for… stockpiling the ammunition, and when they’ve heard enough of the Cupertino lawyers… unleash a googol hells!
Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1N is A-OK
I told you the N stood for ‘non-patent-infringing’.
Yeah, that’s about it for what I saw. There was some Oracle news (but that’s getting strangely convoluted, so I’m staying clear of that until there’s some decisive news) and a rumour that the ITC is probably gonna side with the Nook… but I wanted hard facts in this article.
How’ve you viewed the #patentfun scenario this past week. Our new team member Robert is a lawyer-to-be, so I bet he could weigh in on some of this discussion with more authority and know-how than I.