According to recently released data from IAM/ktMine, Samsung is now the largest recipient of active U.S. patents in the world.1 IBM, Canon, Microsoft, and Intel round out the top 5. Recently granted Samsung patents range from OLED display technology to stacked semiconductor memory to improved RF communication techniques to biometric security on devices. (They also…
Tag Archive for Samsung
New Trial On Design Patent Damages, But A Flawed Test
by Josh Landau •
In the long-running Apple v. Samsung dispute, which has now gone from the trial court to the Federal Circuit to an en banc opinion to the Supreme Court and then back to the Federal Circuit and finally back to the trial court, Judge Koh has granted a new trial on the issue of damages for…
Apple v. Qualcomm – Double Dipping and Breaking Promises
by Josh Landau •
Back in January, Patent Progress wrote about lawsuits filed against Qualcomm by the FTC and by Apple. Today, Apple filed an amended complaint against Qualcomm, based in part on new law resulting from the Supreme Court’s Lexmark decision on patent exhaustion. A High Water Lexmark In Patent Exhaustion The Lexmark case, while important, is actually…
Samsung v. Apple: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Court
by Matt Levy •
(Cross-posted at Huffington Post) A funny thing happened on the way to the Supreme Court in yesterday’s Samsung v. Apple design patent dispute. The high court was expected to review the lower court’s award of the entire profits made for 11 different smartphone models — just under $400 million. Coming into the argument, it looked…
The Supreme Court Agrees to Review Design Patent Damages Rule
by Matt Levy •
Today, the Court granted certiorari in the Apple v. Samsung case on the question of design patent damages. We filed an amicus brief in support of Samsung’s petition. The Federal Circuit interpreted design patent damages law in a disastrous way. Based on the shape of the outer case of Samsung’s phones, it said that Apple…
Apple and Samsung Begin to Wind Down the Smartphone Wars
by Matt Levy •
As we’ve written a number of times (e.g., here, here, and here), nothing good has come out of the war between Apple and Samsung. Both companies have spent millions and neither has much to show for it. The big losers, of course, have been consumers, who could be enjoying better products: products that could have been built using…
Apple Wants to Compete on Patent Portfolio, Not Products
by Matt Levy •
(Cross-posted on DisCo) Apple has been an odd player in the patent debate. On the one hand, it’s the company that gets sued by patent trolls more than any other. As a result, it supports most of the patent reform bill, and Apple uses the Covered Business Method (CBM) program far more than any other…
Another Potential Smartphone Patent War Headache for Customs
by Matt Levy •
This is a quick follow up on Monday’s post about the Customs and Border Protection Service and its role in enforcing patent infringement decisions from the International Trade Commission. Depending on what the ITC does in an upcoming case, the CBP might find itself with yet another patent headache from the Smartphone Patent Wars. You…
SmartPhone Patent Wars: A Lesson for Privateers
by Matt Levy •
Today, we’ll take a short break from talking about patent trolls, and revisit another ongoing story in the patent world: the SmartPhone Patent Wars. Here’s a short video introduction (looks best in full screen):
Smartphone War: What Is It Good For?
by Matt Levy •
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has noticed something about the ongoing patent war in the smartphone industry: it’s not accomplishing much of anything. Philip Elmer-DeWitt took the WSJ to task for missing the important distinction between Standards Essential Patents (SEPs) and other patents. But I think there’s still another point that the WSJ and Mr.…