News
#Patentfun for October 23 – 28
Another week has gone by and we haven’t slowed down in the patent fights
- Compal signs licensing deal with Microsoft. So, some, like Apple are just looking to outright remove the competition, companies like MS are looking to slowly bleed them and profit. Compal, a Taiwanese company that makes tablets, phones and e-readers which all use Chrome and/or Android settled for an undisclosed amount per unit with MS. Apparently this makes it Microsoft’s 10th new ‘client’ to receive licensing with now. Despite all their litigation they still seem to churn out some nifty innovative stuff [looking forward to Win8 and some of the new mango phones], as opposed to that ‘other’ lawyer run company.
- Not patent, but near — Google agrees to be monitored by FTC.
- Apple wins “slide to unlock” patent. A real… HUNH? So even though there’ve been countless examples of previous art and uses [even a Windows CE device], it gets awarded to Apple. So, what’ll this mean for Android? Well, depends on how broadly they could interpret any of the unlocking gestures [if it’s just a slide to a spot, is that the same?]. There’s some suggestion that they would use it to go directly after only one manufacturer [I wonder who? hrmm], then it’s an improperly enforced patent, and this should really be the lynch-pin for going after a change in the patent system.
- Samsung getting a fast track for the appeal in Australia – In the no brainer that Samsung is appealing the case in Australia it appears that courts are trying to help by speeding up the case in it’s appeals process. Whereas Samsung wants an appropriate time to prepare their defense – stating that the decision to ban was based on “irrelevant considerations,” and that the judge made “errors of law in her approach” (Neil Young, Samsung lawyer). Regardless it looks like Sammy’ll be losing out on the holiday boom for sales.
Follow Ryan on G+Oh, and here’s my shameless plug for more space!