Discovery Sues Amazon over Kindle

Although Amazon introduced the Kindle e-book reader in November 2007, it appears as if a similar patent was granted that same month to Discovery Communications.  That company, better known for its ownership of the Discovery Channel, filed a patent in 1999, with  most of the major features now incorporated in the Kindle.  As reported by Ars Technica, Discovery has now filed a suit against Amazon for patent infringement.

Discovery’s patent is called “Electronic book security and copyright protection system,” and the majority of the claims involve encrypting and delivering e-book contents.  But the patent contains over 170 clauses, most of them citing variations in which the encryption takes place at different points in the distribution.  The patent also explains that a patented book could be distributed over the Internet and on “a wireless telephone network.”  If that weren’t troubling enough for Amazon, the patent also covers most of Kindle’s content management system.

Discovery is not seeking an injunction with their lawsuit, but they are seeking “adequate [damages] to compensate Discovery for Amazon’s infringement.”  The suit also asks the court to impose a royalty agreement.

It is now for the court to decide if Amazon really did infringe on Discovery’s patents, or if these similarities are not guilty of infringement.  But Discovery has nine patents covering e-books in their portfolio, and it may be tough for Amazon to evade all of them.

Microsoft Receives Patent for PDA Button Pushing

A Microsoft patent that was filed in 2002 has just been granted by the patent office.  As reported by Smartphone Mobile, the patent concerns the concept of having a handheld device perform different functions when a button is pressed multiple times or held down for a certain period of time.

As the abstract of the patent states:

A method and system are provided for extending the functionality of application buttons on a limited resource computing device. Alternative application functions are launched based on the length of time an application button is pressed. A default function for an application is launched if the button is pressed for a short, i.e., normal, period of time. An alternative function of the application is launched if the button is pressed for a long, (e.g., at least one second), period of time. Still another function can be launched if the application button is pressed multiple times within a short period of time, e.g., double click.

With the addition of this patent, Microsoft may be able to collect licensing fees from companies that now, or have in the past, used this technique.  However, if there is proof that this technique arose before 2002, Microsoft’s patent will not hold up in court.

Thomson Reuters Publishes 2009 Patent Report

Even though we’re not even a quarter of the way through 2009, Thomson Reuters has published its 2009 Patent Focus Report.  Released yesterday, the report is authored by Joff Wild, editor of Intellectual Asset Management magazine.  According to a press release, the report explores recent activities at each of the world’s major patenting authorities (USA, Europe, Japan, China, and India).

Some findings of the report include:

• Huawei Technologies, a Chinese company, topped the list of Patent Co-operation Treaty applications.
• Patent approval rates at the USPTO continue to fall below 50% of applications examined.
• The Japan Patent office reported the lowest level of approved patent applications since the mid-1990s.
• Although the amount of applications received by the European Patent Office has increased, the number of patents granted has fallen.

“The 2009 Patent Focus Report combines expert insight with the stories behind the statistics,” said Tim Hamer, SVP Global Marketing Services at Thomson Reuters. “This highly anticipated report discusses the issues facing the world’s major issuing authorities and dissects significant patent disputes and their outcomes.”

For those who wish to read the entire report, it is available at  http://go.thomsonreuters.com/pfr2009 .

GE Wins Patent Suit Against Agere

Yesterday, General Electric Co. won $7.6 million in damages from a federal court jury, after it was decided that LSI Corp.’s Agere Systems unit infringed on a GE patent.  According to Bloomberg.com, the jury decided that Agere’s infringement was intentional, but also decided that three other GE patents weren’t valid.

GE sued Agere in 2007, alleging that the semiconductor maker infringed on four patents.  GE originally sought more than $32 million in damages before that amount was knocked down by the jury.  However,  David Sipiora, who represented Agere, told the jury that GE’s “business in life is to extract money from people.”

Agere’s parent, LSI, made $2.87 billion last year, while GE made $180.9 billion.  The patents in question were awarded to GE between 1991 and 2001 to Codex Corp. and Motorola, and were bought by GE in 2004.

Apple Faces New Lawsuit Regarding iPhone

With Apple recently receiving their massive multi-touch patent, many suspect that Apple will play the role as litigator in any upcoming patent lawsuit.  However, Scottish mobile technology firm, Picsel, recently filed a suit that has cast Apple as the role of defendant.  According to MocoNews, Picsel is claiming that the iPhone and iPod touch use a key element of Picsel’s “rapid redraw” mobile screen navigation technology.

The suit alleges Apple of making, selling, and distributing phones that infringe on Picsel’s patent.  Picsel claims that the devices use the rendering technology which prevents long delays while zooming and panning through web pages and documents.  Picsel claims to have invested millions in the technology, which includes implementing it in more than 250 million devices.

Although Apple has not commented, they did issue this filing last November after admitting they were involved in 20 legal cases:

Because of technological changes in the computer, digital music player and mobile communications industries, current extensive patent coverage, and the rapid rate of issuance of new patents, it is possible certain components of the Company’s products and business methods may unknowingly infringe existing patents or intellectual property rights of others.

By issuing such a statement, does Apple seem a bit hypocritical if they litigate against other companies?  Also, doesn’t such a statement indirectly support those against software patents?

Group Reopening Linens N’ Things after Obtaining IP Rights

Hilco Consumer Capital and Gordon Brothers Brands LLC have announced that they will reopen Linens N’ Things, after the two firms acquired the chain’s intellectual property rights.  The collapse of the home-goods chain started when it filed for bankruptcy last May.

According to Blogging Stocks, Hilco and Gordon now have the rights to Linens N’ Things store-exclusive brands, internet domains, the bridal and gift registry, as well as the company’s brand name.  The two firms plan will be to build on Linens N’ Things existing customer base by expanding into direct-to-retail licensing, wholesale licensing, e-commerce, and retail shop-in-shop.

“We are enthusiastic about the broad demographic appeal of Linens ‘N Things and its highly trafficked website, www.lnt.com.  We believe the licensing program will bring global growth to this premiere home market brand,” said Stephen Miller of Gordon Brothers.

Linens N’ Things is not the first retailer to be rescued by the two, as Hilco and Gordon have also teamed up to buy the rights for Sharper Image and Bombay Co.  If the current recession continues, some have speculated that the shopping list of these two firms may only continue to grow.

Microsoft and Brother Agree to Deal

Microsoft has announced that it has agreed to a patent-sharing deal with Brother.  According to Vnunet.com, the printer firm will be given access to patents used in designing multi-function office devices and embedded software.  The patent will cover Microsoft Office integration and embedded Linux systems.

David Kaefer, Microsoft’s general manager of intellectual property and licensing, said the following:

Our partners and customers continue to demand greater collaboration as they run increasingly diverse IT environments using technology and solutions that rely on both proprietary and open source code.  This “mixed source” world calls for sensible business arrangements between IT leaders to enable the use of software resulting from various development and business models.

Financial terms of the deal were not released, but Microsoft said that it would be receiving compensation from Brother.  This deal mirrors other diverse patent licensing agreements that Microsoft has recently secured.  Other famous and similar Microsoft deals include those with Kyocera, Nikon and Novell.

Cytori Patent Allows Inclusion of Stem Cells

The United States Patent and Trademark Office has granted Cytori Therapeutics a Notice of Allowance, which expands the company’s protection of their Celution System.  In a press release, the company states that the patents contain over 40 claims, the most notable being the following: alternative Celution system configurations beyond those already covered in patents; expanded protection for cosmetic and reconstructive surgery applications; and technology within the device that optimizes intravascular delivery of adipose-derived stem and regenerative cells.

Cytori has already achieved significant breakthroughs in the field of regenerative medicine.  Their Celution 800 system is currently being introduced to Europe for reconstructive surgery, while the Celution 900 system is being commercialized globally for cryopreserving a patient’s own stem and regenerative cells.  Yet, the claims in the new patent also expand the array of Celution output compositions, so that combinations of cells, matrices, and other specific needs would also be protected.  Furthermore, the claims related to intravascular delivery could potentially broaden the Celution System output, to help those with cardiovascular disease, liver disease, and renal failure.

Cytori’s intellectual property portfolio contains nine U.S. and international patents, and over 120 applications pending worldwide.  These patents are related to the devices, methods, and uses of adipose-derived stem and regenerative cells.

Linux Defenders Aims to Fight Patent Trolls

Although it was unveiled in early December, the Linux Defenders program was finally launched on Monday, exciting many within the IP community.  The program aims to use the developer’s community to help find prior art that relates to patents.  If prior art is discovered that describes a patent before it was granted, then that patent would be invalidated.  The sponsors of the program are Open Invention Network, the Software Freedom Law Center, and the Linux Foundation.

As reported on ZDNet, Linux Defenders has three sections: Peer to Patent; Post-Issue Peer to Patent; and Defensive Publications.  The first, Peer to Patent, deals with patents under review.  Recently, the USPTO opened up its patent-examination process to the Linux community, enabling the community to participate in the USPTO’s established process.

Post-Issue Peer to Patent calls for community peer review for patents that have already been issued.  As the Linux Defenders website states:

In recent years, the USPTO has at times been overwhelmed by the number of patent applications being filed in areas of new technology, such as software and business methods. Lacking access to comprehensive prior art in these subject matter areas, the USPTO had little choice but to grant patents that would otherwise have failed the test of patentability had relevant prior art been before the examiner.

Lastly, Linux Defenders will also gather submissions of inventions that have not yet been given a patent.  These documents will form a body of defensive publications of prior art, which could prevent poor patents from being granted in the future.

In addition, the program is running a Linux Defenders 911 website, where companies can report attempted patent-enforcement action against Linux developers.

Avistar Issued Patent for Text and Video IM

Avistar Communications Corporation has announced that they have received a new patent, relating to instant message systems supporting both text IM and video IM over the internet.  The patent, issued this past Tuesday, involves logging in from an arbitrary communication device and providing popular IM buddy list features, Avistar stated in a press release.

Since September 2008, the company has received 14 patents, which have added patent coverage to technologies involving text IM, VoIP and desktop video conferencing.  Although Avistar currently holds 97 patents, these recent patents add to important aspects of real-time communications including wireless, mobile devices, buddy list directories, VoIP, video, and communications servers.

Simon Moss, the CEO of Avistar, stated, “Avistar’s commitment to research and development means that our customers continue to get the latest technology, allowing us to set the pace for the industry.  We believe our patent portfolio represents the world’s most comprehensive and deepest IP holdings in this rapidly growing commercial area.”

Avistar provides business-class technology, and currently serves companies such as IBM, Sony, LifeSize Communications and Polycom Inc.

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