Tag: licensing
PTO Patent Licensing Marketplace Shows Potential, But Will Licensors Embrace It?
This month, the PTO announced that it would be opening up an online licensing market, “Patents 4 Partnerships.” The market, which will initially focus on COVID-related patents, is intended t...
Qualcomm’s Petard: Apple Acquires Modem Business From Intel
Yesterday, Apple officially announced its acquisition of Intel’s smartphone modem unit. Apple will receive a variety of assets from Intel, including patents, as well as a significant portion o...
EU Competition Authorities Fine Qualcomm While DoJ Says “No Problem”
Yesterday, EU Commissioner for Competition Margarete Vestager announced the Commission’s decision to fine Qualcomm for using pricing and contract terms to force a rival out of the market. This...
Qualcomm Has Been Violating Its Obligation To License Competitors For Years
Today, Judge Koh issued an important ruling in the FTC v. Qualcomm litigation centered on Qualcomm’s anti-competitive trade practices. Ruling on a motion for partial summary judgment, Judge Koh de...
CCIA, ACT File Amicus Brief In FTC v. Qualcomm
Yesterday, CCIA and ACT filed an amicus brief in the FTC’s case against Qualcomm in the Northern District of California. As explained in the brief, the FRAND obligation which patent owners volunta...
‘Freedom To Operate’ Isn’t Even Close To Free
There’s been an increasing usage of the term “efficient infringement” in the debate over patent reform. The basic idea is that large companies make an active choice to ignore patents and just ...
If A Free Patent Portfolio License Sounds Too Good To Be True—It Is
Non-practicing entities (NPEs) are generally companies with only one asset—their patents. So why would an NPE give away licenses to the only things it can generate value from? If it seems too go...
Why Pay For Delay When You Can Pay For Immunity
What do Seymour Cray’s high-performance computing research company SRC Labs and drug manufacturer Allergan have in common? Both SRC Labs and Allergan sold patents to the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe, ...
Saying Doesn’t Make It So—Why You Still Shouldn’t Listen To Qualcomm
Last week, CCIA filed a statement on the public interest in Qualcomm v. Apple at the International Trade Commission (ITC), Qualcomm’s newest attempt to use patent law to reinforce their monopoly pow...