This op-ed was originally published at The Hill. The U.S. Supreme Court famously has the words “equal justice under the law” emblazoned above its front door. While the application of this phrase is subject to debate in the courtrooms, committee rooms, and kitchen tables of America, one point of agreement is that the law is supposed…
Tag Archive for Abusive Patent Litigation
Yet Another Private Equity NPE at the ITC
by Josh Landau •
Stephen Breyer is retiring, Jeopardy has new hosts, and the Cincinnati Bengals have made the Super Bowl—the world changes constantly. Some things don’t change, though—patent trolls are still going to the ITC to try to extract huge payments from innovators under the threat of having their products barred from the U.S. market. This week’s contestant? …
When Does “Without Ads” Mean “With Ads”? When You Want To Abuse A Patent
by Josh Landau •
Funimation is a successful anime streaming company. It has a monthly subscription tier, which is ad-free, and a free tier, which includes advertisement. This week, failed company Firtiva filed a lawsuit against Funimation. The lawsuit asserts that Funimation violates Firtiva’s patent, U.S. 10,116,999, titled “Method for advertisers to sponsor broadcasts without commercials.” “Without commercials” apparently…
STRONGER Patents—Bad Legislation
by Josh Landau •
Yesterday, the STRONGER Patents Act of 2019 was introduced by Senators Chris Coons and Tom Cotton, along with a House companion bill introduced by Reps. Steve Stivers and Bill Foster. The bill looks much like the last two times it was introduced [1][2], but there have been a few changes.
Huawei Moves Ahead With Aggressive Licensing Posture
by Josh Landau •
Reports emerged today that Huawei has demanded over $1 billion in patent license payments from Verizon for its cellular network patents. As I wrote in April, Huawei has the potential to abuse its strong position in cellular network patents. As required by international agreements, the U.S. patent system doesn’t discriminate between domestic and foreign patent…
Sunshine: Eclipse Promises Not To Sue Californians
by Josh Landau •
Remember Shipping and Transit? The notorious NPE went bankrupt last year after its campaign against everyone from transit app developers to city transit authorities hit a few potholes. Following a decade-long licensing and litigation campaign leveraging the high cost of patent litigation, including one year in which it filed more patent suits than anyone else,…
Don’t Buy Into Qualcomm’s Attempts To Distract From Its Anti-Competitive Behavior
by Josh Landau •
There’s been a lot of discussion about Qualcomm’s recent Chinese injunction against Apple. But that’s a distraction—the real story is, and remains, the trio of lawsuits against Qualcomm for anti-competitive practices that will be conducted over the first half of 2019. First, in January, the Federal Trade Commission’s lawsuit. Next, in April, Apple’s lawsuit. And…
Founders On Patents: Madison On The Dangers Of Patents
by Josh Landau •
James Madison is credited with introducing the Patent and Copyright Clause to the Constitution, and defended that clause in Federalist 43, stating “[t]he utility of this power will scarcely be questioned.” But he was well aware that there were dangers to the power, writing in his own papers that the patent monopoly could produce more…
CCIA Files Additional Comments In Qualcomm ITC Case
by Josh Landau •
Last June, CCIA filed comments on the public interest issues implicated by Qualcomm’s ITC complaint against Apple. (The ITC is required to take into account whether the public interest would be harmed by exclusion.) Last month, the ITC Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) agreed with our comments, determining that an exclusion order was not in…
Qualcomm Has Been Violating Its Obligation To License Competitors For Years
by Josh Landau •
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 determined that Qualcomm is obligated to license its standard-essential patents to anyone who asks for a license. Qualcomm admits that it refuses to license other modem…