DTV Petition has FCC Thinking Reform

The Federal Communications Commission has invited the public to comment on a petition asking for reform of the DTV receiver patent license sharing system.  The petition was made by the Coalition United to Terminate Financial Abuses of the Television Transition (CUT FATT), and it alleges the current practice of unmonitored patent licensing of gouging American digital television makers, thereby increasing DTV retail prices.

As reported by Ars Technica, the petition filed on January 2nd says “Licensors in the United State operate freely in an unregulated ‘Wild West’ without supervision or accountability.  As a result, American consumers pay $20 to $30 per television for intellectual property rights that cost about $1 elsewhere in the world.”  The group predicts that the digital transition in the United States will overcharge consumers by a billion dollars.

The group also points to Japan and Europe, where patent pool systems make licenses available and cheap for manufacturers.  “There is no uncertainty, no cause for endless litigation, and most important, there is no price gauging,” the petition stated.

The group hopes to get new policies from the FCC, that would make royalty demands for essential patents violate reasonable and non-discriminatory standards.  Therefore, a company would be fined if their royalty demands exceeded international or industry comparables by more than 50%.  The group also wants the burden of proof of proving reasonableness to fall on the patent holders.

If you would like comment on the CUT FATT petition, you have until April 27.  To file comments you need the docket number (09-23), and the available form.

Intellectual Ventures, Telcordia Team Up

According to TMCnet.com, Intellectual Ventures and Telcordia Technologies have agreed to a partnership that will allow Intellectual Ventures to license and access over 500 telecommunications patents.  These patents will include Wavelength-Division Multiplexing, Synchonous Digital Hierarchy, Point to Multipoint via Optics, Synchronous optical NETworking, and Building Intelligence for traditional PSTN services.

Started in 2000, Intellectual Ventures’ goal has been to invest in patents.  Currently, they are involved in at least 30 different types of technologies, and they have filed for at least 1200 patents.  Intellectual Ventures’ core team consists of patent lawyers, technologists, physicists, geologists, and mathematicians.  Microsoft, Google, Apple, and Sony all allegedly contribute to its funding.

Although financial terms were not disclosed, the agreement adds significant and relevant patent numbers to Intellectual Ventures’ telecommunications field.  At the same time, Telcordia receives capital to fund its R&D lab.  Regarding the agreement, Nathan Myhrvold, the CEO of Intellectual Ventures, said the following:

We need new inventions to stimulate the economy and create new opportunities for growth.  Telcordia is taking  a leadership role here by extending the use and reach of its impressive patent portfolio, and Intellectual Ventures is positioned to supply the long-term capital to allow for this future growth and job creation.

Did the Snuggie Imitate the Slanket?

With four million sold since October, the Snuggie, a blanket with sleeves, has become one of the hottest products in the country.  Many are familiar with the infomercial, as well as hundreds of parodies on YouTube.  In fact, Jay Leno recently mocked the snuggie by saying “Why don’t you just put your robe on backwards?”  Similarly, Ellen DeGeneres quipped “They should throw in a pointed hat so you can look like a wizard.”  Yet, regardless of your feelings toward the Snuggie, it turns out that the Snuggie is actually an imitator of “The Slanket.”

As reported by the New York Times, the Slanket predates the Snuggie by more than two years.  Gary Clegg claims that he invented the idea in 1998 at the University of Maine.  While living in a chilly dorm room, he cut a hole in his sleeping bag because his TV remote wouldn’t work through the fabric, and asked his mother to sew on sleeves.  After several adjustments, he started giving the blankets to friends and family, and finally started selling them in 2006.

Yet, in October, a two-minute infomercial started to appear that promoted the Snuggie.  It showed Snuggie wearers reading, knitting, eating popcorn, and even cheering in the stands at a football game.  The success of this product showed that it is not necessarily the first one to market that wins, but rather the one with the most aggressive marketing plan.

Although Clegg says that the Snuggie “undermines the integrity of the Slanket”, he said he would not pursue legal action against the Snuggie.  Supposedly, when Clegg approached patent lawyers while developing the Slanket, he was told a design patent for the Slanket would not be feasible.  The reason?  Since the shapeless garments with sleeves are not made from innovative materials, nor do they have complicated moving parts, there is little that is proprietary about them from a design standpoint.

At the same time, however, Clegg claims that the popularity of the Snuggie has also helped the sales of the Slanket.  He projected that the Slanket’s revenue of $4.2 million in 2008 will increase to roughly $9 million in 2009.  As Mr. Clegg said, “Their infomercial is raising general awareness about the product.”

Yet, one must wonder why it took so long for a human to develop a blanket with sleeves.

LG Freezes Whirlpool in Refrigerator Case

A judge from the U.S. International Trade Commission has denied the final claim by Whirlpool Corporation regarding refrigerator products from LG Electronics.  The ruling, which was issued earlier today, states that LG refrigerators are not covered under one of Whirlpool’s patents.  Whirlpool had claimed that LG’s refrigerators had infringed on five of its patents, but Whirlpool withdrew four of the patents prior to trial.

“This decision proves that LG Electronics is truly a leader in providing innovative appliances for American consumers while promoting fair competition,” the president of LG Electronics Home Appliance Company, Y.H. Lee, said in a press release.

LG filed its own patent infringement case shortly after they were named in Whirlpool’s suit.  That case is scheduled for trial in March 2010, and LG is seeking damages as well as an injunction against certain Whirlpool products.

India Trying to Stop Patents on Traditional Medicine

Earlier this week, we reported on how India was trying to curb Yoga patents in America as well as the rest of Western Culture.  However, that’s only part of an effort that is trying to reduce a disturbing trend. 

According to Techdirt, developing nations such as India and Brazil have been hurt by big multinational conglomerates patenting traditional medicines.  After patenting these medicines, the companies then sell it back to the country and claim any traditional use as infringing on their patent.

The Indian government has been trying to combat these practices by assembling a database of traditional Indian medicine and actively sharing it around the world.  This database can then serve as a place to search for prior art.  Hopefully, this effort will stop companies from patenting traditional medicines, and force them to be much more innovative.

Nintendo Asks Trade Office To Fight Piracy

In its annual report to the U.S. Trade Office, Nintendo has asked for help in dealing with overseas piracy.  The list contains most of the usual countries, with Spain being the new offender.  In addition, Hong Kong was taken completely off the list.  Will this list accomplish much in stopping piracy overseas?  That answer is up for debate, but in the meantime, here is a summary of the countries that were named as reported by Kotaku:

China – Nintendo claims that online shopping sites that sell infringing Nintendo products are increasing.  These products are not only sold to customers in China, but also to those in the United States.

Korea – While internet piracy in Korea continues, 10 customs raids at the beginning of this year resulted in the seizure of more than 75,000 game copiers.

Brazil – Nintendo claims that efforts to prosecute for piracy are very weak, as not a single shipment of Nintendo video game products were seized in 2008.  In addition to internet piracy, high tariffs and taxes make barriers for official Nintendo products.

Mexico – According to Nintendo, anti-piracy actions taken by the Mexican government in 2008 are inadequate.  While Mexico is participating in negotiating the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, there must be more enforcement.

Spain – There is an incredible amount of game-copying devices and illegal Nintendo software available.  Nintendo is asking the Spanish government to protect the copyright industry and enact laws against internet piracy.

Paraguay – Nintendo’s anti-piracy actions showed that illegal goods are both being imported and produced in this country.  Nintendo cites corruption as the reason that anti-piracy efforts in Paraguay have not been effective.

Microsoft Sues TomTom

Earlier today, Microsoft filed a lawsuit against TomTom, a GPS navigation company.  Microsoft filed complaints with a U.S. District Court as well as the ITC, and claimed that TomTom infringed on eight patents – five related to car navigation systems, and three related to file management technologies.  The federal lawsuit is seeking damages, while Microsoft hopes the ITC case will block future imports of infringing products.

As reported on Cnet News, Microsoft deputy general counsel Horacio Gutierrez said that they had been trying to initiate licensing talks with TomTom for over a year.  Microsoft has already negotiated licensing deals with GPS makers Pioneer, Alpine, and Kenwood.  “All of these patents have been licensed before by many other companies.  We are asking TomTom to do what other companies have done and take a license,” Gutierrez said.

While Microsoft is often named as a defendant in infringement lawsuits, this case marks only the third patent case that Microsoft has taken to court.  In 2006, Microsoft had a dispute with Belkin which was eventually settled.  Last year, Microsoft sued Primax but the two ended up settling as well.

USPTO Roundtable Video Now Available

On February 12th, 2009, the USPTO held a roundtable discussion on a “deferred examination” or “request for examination” procedure.  The purpose of the roundtable was to obtain public input from diverse sources and different points of view.  The video of the discussion has been made available for the public to view, just click here.

The roundtable was moderated by John Whealan, Associate Dean for Intellectual Property Law Studies, The George Washing University Law School.  Written comments on the proposal are being solicited by the USPTO and are due by February 26, 2009.  Comments may be sent by e-mail to AC6comments@uspto.gov.

Kaspersky Patents New IT Security

Kapersky Lab has recently been granted a patent on a new IT security technology.  Kapersky currently has 30 patents pending in the U.S. and Russia, and this recent patent was granted on December 30, 2008.  It outlines a method of detecting and removing malicious programs, including those that were previously unknown, from computers.

According to Kapersky, malware uses Trojans to penetrate users’ machines, and once installed, they download other malicious programs from the internet.  Some of these new programs may contain signatures that have yet to be added to antivirus databases and can evade detection.  However, this new technology is based on the logging of system events which indicate the possibility of a virus infection.  It then determines the extent of a virus incident based on the records.

When a virus or malicious process is detected, a module analyzes preceding events and allows the source and time of an infection to be determined.  The system then analyzes all events related to the source, making it possible to detect all malicious programs involved.

Patent Licensing Deal Will Lower Cost of Blu-ray

In a joint press release, Panasonic, Philips and Sony announced that they are working with other patent holders to create a license for Blu-ray products.  The license will cover essential patents for Blu-ray discs, DVDs and CDs.  Furthermore, it is expected that this deal will lower royalty rates by at least 40%, reducing the cost of movies, music or games to consumers.

The licensing program will be offered by a new licensing company that is based in the United States.  The head of the license company is Gerald Rosenthal, a former head of IP at IBM and CEO of Open Invention Network.  In addition to lowering the cost of royalties, this licensing program will create a “one-stop-shop” for product licenses, reducing the burden on licensed companies.  As Mr. Rosenthal said:

By establishing a new licensing entity that offers a single license for Blu-ray Disc products at attractive rates, I am confident that it will foster the growth of the Blu-ray Disc market and serve the interest of all companies participating in this market, be it as licensee or licensor.

The companies are stating that this license will be introduced in the middle of 2009.  This program also offers measures to identify unlicensed products in the market, as well as a system to address those who have not properly obtained a license.

Hopefully this license will fulfill the promise of reducing the prices of Blu-ray discs, making it easier for the consumer.

Next Page »