Samsung Patent | "Samsung scores win in patent case"


 By: Reuters | Times Of India
Category : Samsung Patent



 
Samsung Patent News
SYDNEY: Samsung Electronics is set to resume selling its Galaxy tablet computer in Australia as early as Friday, after the South Korean technology firm won a rare legal victory in a long-running global patent war with Apple.

An Australian federal court unanimously decided to lift a preliminary injunction, imposed by a lower court, on sales of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 -- but granted Apple a stay on lifting the sales ban until Friday afternoon.

"It's hard to expect the ruling to have a major positive impact on Samsung's tablet business or legal cases in other countries as Apple could appeal ... and sales won't be restored anytime soon," said Song Myungsub , an analyst at HI Investment &Securities in Seoul.

"Apple will continue to dominate the tablet market as Amazon appears to be the only viable threat at the moment and other vendors, including Samsung, continue to struggle."

Lawyers for Apple declined to comment after the ruling, but getting a delay in lifting the temporary sales ban could give time for an appeal to be launched.

The ruling is, however, a timely boost for Samsung ahead of the busy pre-Christmas shopping season. While the Australian market is not large, it is a key launch market for Apple products outside the United States.

"Samsung's Christmas elves will be rushing to prepare Galaxy Tab orders," said Tim Renowden , analyst at research firm Ovum. "The well-regarded Galaxy Tab series provides some of the leading alternatives to Apple's iPad."

Apple was granted an injunction against Samsung in October, temporarily barring Australian sales of the Galaxy 10.1 tab, which had been seen as the hottest competitor to Apple's iPad until Amazon.com launched its Kindle Fire.

Amazon said this week it saw a surge in sales of its tablet devices on the crucial "Black Friday" shopping day after Thanksgiving .

Apple and Samsung have been locked in an acrimonious battle in 10 countries involving smartphones and tablets since April, with the Australian dispute centring on touch-screen technology used in Samsung's new tablet. REUTERS


Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/international-business/Samsung-scores-win-in-patent-case/articleshow/10939646.cms

Patent News | "Lipitor's patent loss is consumers' gain"

By: By Duke Helfand, Los Angeles Times
Category : Patent News





Lipitor Patent News
For millions of Americans, prescription drugs are about to get a lot cheaper.

Patents on some of the most popular medications will expire over the next few years, giving consumers access to less expensive generic versions — and costing the pharmaceutical industry an estimated $100 billion in lost sales through 2015.

Lipitor, a cholesterol-fighting medication that is the top-selling prescription drug of all time, lost its patent protection Wednesday. The drug's manufacturer, Pfizer Inc., already has slashed its price to as little as $4 a month for privately insured patients, the majority of Lipitor users. That's down from typical co-pays of $25 to $45.

In the months to come, patents will expire on other popular drugs including Lexapro, used to treat depression, and Plavix, which is widely prescribed for blood thinning. Asthma sufferers will be able to get generic versions of Singulair next summer.

Experts say the timing is largely coincidental but will pay big benefits: Prices typically fall as much as 90% when generics come on the market.

"It's great news for patients because they are going to experience savings that I call the patent dividend," said Michael Kleinrock, director of research development at the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics, which tracks the pharmaceutical industry.

Wisconsin retiree Gloria Schmid, 68, said the lower price would help her afford her Lipitor prescription on a tight budget. She has been paying $63 a month for the medicine even with insurance.

"That would be marvelous," Schmid said of the savings. "As you get older, your resources get to be less and less. That's what worries me."

But the patent expiration pose a challenge for the drug companies, which have come to expect large payoffs for their patented medicines.

IMS estimates drug companies will lose $100 billion in revenue over the next four years, and that will diminish the money available to develop the next generation of popular drugs. Generics make up 79% of all prescription medications dispensed in the U.S.

In addition, much of the pioneering pharmaceutical work underway is for treating diseases that afflict fewer people, such as certain cancers, and probably won't lead to drugs with huge sales figures.

"The era of blockbuster drugs is gone," said Alexander Kandybin, a partner and health specialist at Booz & Co., a management consulting firm in New York. "The pipeline will not replace that revenue. It's inherently unpredictable how the industry is going to evolve over the next five years."

Drug makers also are encountering tougher regulatory scrutiny, growing competition from manufacturers in the U.S. and overseas and resistance from cost-conscious health insurers.

To counter these forces, drug companies are fighting to protect the markets they already have.

Pfizer has rung up an estimated $80 billion in sales of Lipitor and has launched an aggressive campaign against generic competition.

The New York drug maker is offering sharp discounts on Lipitor through pharmacy benefit companies, as well as producing an "authorized" generic version and charging just $4 monthly co-pays for privately insured customers who get discount cards to purchase the brand-name pills.

Right now there are just two other players. For the next six months, Ranbaxy Laboratories of India and Watson Pharmaceuticals of New Jersey get to market generic versions of the drug. Lipitor prices for those without insurance are not expected to drop sharply until next June, when other drug makers can bring their versions to market.

A Pfizer spokesman said consumers can expect to buy brand-name Lipitor for less than they pay for a generic version.

"Our strategy during the 180-day period is to help patients who want to stay on Lipitor have access to the brand after loss of exclusivity," spokesman MacKay Jimeson said. "Our programs, which are designed to offer Lipitor at or below generic cost during the 180-day period, will not increase costs for the significant number of payers participating in our programs."

Analysts have suggested that Pfizer could retain as much as 40% of its Lipitor volume in the coming months. But revenue will eventually plunge in the same way the price of other brand-name drugs fall when they lose their patents.

Other prescription drugs facing patent expirations next year are Actos, Seroquel, Diovan and Geodon.

"It's going from competing for dollars to competing for pennies," said Joel Hay, a professor of pharmaceutical economics and policy at USC. "That's got the brand-name industry in a quandary."

As generics come to market, patients' savings will vary based on several factors, including whether they have health insurance and how they obtain their medicine.

The uninsured will also benefit. Patients who take the coronary drug Plavix, for example, now pay an average of $172 a month at the pharmacy, according to the IMS healthcare institute. Generic versions could cut that bill to less than $20 if the past is any guide.

Source: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-drug-patents-20111201,0,3498646.story

Samsung Patent | "UPDATE 3-In Australia, Samsung scores rare patent win vs Apple"

By: Amy Pyett and Narayanan Somasundaram
Source: http://www.reuters.com
Category : Samsung Patent 




Samsung Patent
SYDNEY, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co is set to resume selling its Galaxy tablet computer in Australia as early as Friday, after the South Korean technology firm won a rare legal victory in a long-running global patent war with Apple Inc.

An Australian federal court unanimously decided to lift a preliminary injunction, imposed by a lower court, on sales of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 -- but granted Apple a stay on lifting the sales ban until Friday afternoon.

"It's hard to expect the ruling to have a major positive impact on Samsung's tablet business or legal cases in other countries as Apple could appeal ... and sales won't be restored anytime soon," said Song Myung-sub, an analyst at HI Investment & Securities in Seoul.

"Apple will continue to dominate the tablet market as Amazon appears to be the only viable threat at the moment and other vendors, including Samsung, continue to struggle."

Lawyers for Apple declined to comment after the ruling, but getting a delay in lifting the temporary sales ban could give time for an appeal to be launched.

The ruling is, however, a timely boost for Samsung ahead of the busy pre-Christmas shopping season. While the Australian market is not large, it is a key launch market for Apple products outside the United States.

"Samsung's Christmas elves will be rushing to prepare Galaxy Tab orders," said Tim Renowden, analyst at research firm Ovum. "The well-regarded Galaxy Tab series provides some of the leading alternatives to Apple's iPad."

Apple was granted an injunction against Samsung in October, temporarily barring Australian sales of the Galaxy 10.1 tab, which had been seen as the hottest competitor to Apple's iPad until Amazon.com Inc launched its Kindle Fire.

Amazon said this week it saw a surge in sales of its tablet devices on the crucial "Black Friday" shopping day after Thanksgiving.

Samsung is the world's top smartphone maker, but a distant second to Apple in tablets. The intensifying legal battle has undermined its efforts to close the gap.

Apple also filed a preliminary injunction request in Germany on Monday to ban sales of the Galaxy Tab 10.1N, a re-designed version of 10.1-inch Galaxy model, whose sales are already banned in that market.

"We believe the (Australian) ruling clearly affirms that Apple's legal claims lack merit," Samsung said in a statement, adding it would soon make an announcement on the market availability of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia.

Justice Lindsay Foster told the court he would grant a stay on orders until Friday 4 p.m. (0500 GMT), noting Apple would have to go to the High Court if it wanted this extended.

BATTLE IN 10 COUNTRIES

Apple and Samsung have been locked in an acrimonious battle in 10 countries involving smartphones and tablets since April, with the Australian dispute centring on touch-screen technology used in Samsung's new tablet.

Apple successfully moved to block Samsung from selling its tablets in Germany and a case in the Netherlands has forced Samsung to modify some smartphone models.

The quarrel had triggered expectations that some of the pair's $5 billion-plus relationship may be up for grabs. Samsung counts Apple as its biggest customer and makes parts central to Apple's mobile devices.

The legal battle in Australia doesn't stop at tablet computers. Samsung has sought to block sales of Apple's latest iPhone 4S, which went on sale early last month, by filing preliminary sales injunction requests in four countries, including Australia.

An Australian court has agreed to hear that case in March and April, with sales allowed to continue as normal ahead of the hearing on alleged patent infringements.

Shares in Samsung, valued at around $140 billion, were flat in a Seoul market down 0.5 percent.

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/30/apple-samsung-australia-idUSL4E7MU06H20111130

Patent News | "Lipitor goes off patent today, Pfizer vs Ranbaxy-led Indian pharma's war for blockbuster drugs intensifies"

By: Divya Rajagopal
Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com
Category : Patent News


MUMBAI: Indian pharma companies' quest to make millions from the sale of copycat versions of blockbuster drugs may turn out to be a flop show as innovative companies raise defences to protect their turf. The world's biggest-selling drug is going off patent today in the United States and Ranbaxy Laboratories, India's third-largest company, is still struggling to get approvals from the American regulator.

Ranbaxy, which has exclusive rights to the off-patent version of Lipitor, Pfizer's blockbuster cholesterolbusting drug, has built its business model around the generic version of Lipitor and its success rides on how much money it can make on sales of the copycat version of the drug. Till the time of going to the press, there was no word on whether a settlement had been reached and whether Ranbaxy will be able to launch its version of Lipitor soon.

As the clock ticked away on Tuesday, and rumours of Ranbaxy's settlement with the US Food and Drug Administration made the rounds, company executives declined comment and huddled together in last-minute confabulations with the US authorities. Arun Sawhney, MD of Ranbaxy, was defiant in an analyst call last week. "A lot of our plans are ready. The reality will be out soon," he said. ETlearns that officials from the USFDA had re-inspected the pharma major's Tonsa plant in Punjab which supplies key ingredients for atorvastatin, the medical name for Lipitor, indicating a possible settlement.

Failure to launch the generic version of Lipitor will devastate the company, which has spent millions of dollars in product development and legal costs. It will also raise a huge question mark over the Indian pharmaceutical industry's capability to generate big bucks out of high-value products going off patent in the next five years.

"Ranbaxy has lost the plot," said Surjit Pal, analyst at Elara Capital, which on Tuesday cut the company's EPS target to Rs 15 from Rs 25. Its report told investors to sell the stock, the second such recommendation on Tuesday after Deutsche Bank. "There is nothing left for Ranbaxy with regards to Lipitor now," said NR Munjal, managing director, In-Swift.

'Pfizer won't let Bestseller Lipitor go away so easily'

Munjal's company supplies active pharmaceutical ingredients to Pfizer. The anti-cholesterol Lipitor, which contributed close to $10 billion to Pfizer's revenues, is the world's biggest-selling drug and has generated sales of over $131 billion for the American drug giant. No other drug in the history of pharma has achieved similar numbers. "Pfizer will not let this product go away," said the promoter of one of the leading suppliers of Pfizer.


Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/healthcare/biotech/pharmaceuticals/lipitor-goes-off-patent-today-pfizer-vs-ranbaxy-led-indian-pharmas-war-for-blockbuster-drugs-intensifies/articleshow/10924284.cms

Patent News | "Raleigh company wins patent round"

By:



Shares of BioDelivery Sciences rose Monday after the Raleigh company reported that the U.S. Patent Office rejected a patent infringement claim against the company.

BioDelivery reported that the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office has rejected all 191 claims by MonoSol RX that the manufacturing process for BioDelivery's oral pain patch for cancer patients, Onsolis, infringed on MonoSol patent No. 7,824,588. However, the ruling didn't deal with all the claims Indiana-based MonoSol made.

"This is a very significant and positive development for BDSI and its commercial partners involved in this case," CEO Mark Sirgo said in a prepared statement. "We intend to continue to aggressively pursue whatever actions are necessary to defend our position and expect that all of MonoSol's claims will ultimately be defeated."

MonoSol sued BioDelivery for patent infringement in federal court in New Jersey in November 2010, seeking unspecified damages and an injunction barring future infringement of MonoSol patents. BioDelivery maintained that it is not infringing on MonoSol's patent and contended that the company's patent is invalid.
In September, MonoSol amended its complaint to include two additional patents, which BioDelivery also maintains it is not infringing.

Source:  http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/11/29/1677369/raleigh-company-wins-patent-round.html#ixzz1f5LUOEcL

Patent News | "Patent for Lipitor set to expire this week"

BY Tracy Connor 

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Monday, November 28 2011, 10:57 PM

Category: Patent News

Lipitor Patent News
The nation’s best-selling drug is about to get a lot cheaper.
The patent for the cholesterol-buster Lipitor runs out Wednesday, when at least one generic is scheduled to hit the market.
That’s a tough pill for drug giant Pfizer to swallow — but good news for Bronx cashier Emily Flores, whose insurance no longer covers medication.
Last week, she drove to a lower-cost pharmacy in Westchester to fill her prescription and was stunned by the price of the brand-name statin.
“They wanted 500 dollars and change for a 90-day supply. I was devastated,” she said. “I told them, ‘I was expecting you to have a generic.’ He said, ‘Not yet.’”
Flores, 63, left empty-handed and talked with her doctor about taking an alternative drug to prevent a heart attack or stroke.
“But now I might be able to afford it,” she said.
New York-based Pfizer rakes in $11 billion a year from Lipitor, thanks to the two-decade monopoly that ends this week.
Only two generics will be on the market for the first 180 days, and prices are expected to drop 10% in that time. When the rest of the generic equivalents roll out in June, the real discounts kick in.
During the 180-day period, Pfizer hopes to stop customers from bolting by keeping down retail costs for the brand-name drug.
It’s touting a co-pay card that patients can use to lower a $50 copay to $4, and a new low-cost mail-order service.
The company also is trying to cut deals with insurance companies to offer Lipitor as cheaply as generics.
It’s even exploring the possibility of applying for over-the-counter status for Lipitor — though the feds have shot down similar efforts by other statin makers.
At Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, Dr. Robert Ostfeld welcomes the expiration of a patent that has kept prices too high for some of his patients.
“Generics are nearly, if not completely, identical to the non-generic version,” the cardiologist said.
“It’s sad when patients have to legitimately choose between paying rent and taking a statin.”
Jadwiga Szyr, 62, a program manager at a Brooklyn senior center, has been forced to make tough choices.
When her insurance stopped covering Lipitor, she couldn’t afford the $180 a month her pharmacy charged. She switched to a different statin, which she says has been less effective.
“I would like to go back to taking the Lipitor,” she said. “Maybe I can now.”



Source Url: http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/patent-lipitor-set-expire-week-article-1.983733?localLinksEnabled=false

Koha trademark grab: Trust hopes commonsense prevails

By: Sam Varghese
Source: www.itwire.com

The Horowhenua Library Trust, birthplace of the Koha integrated library system, says it will hope for the best but prepare for the worst as it continues to try and regain the rights to its own trademark in New Zealand.

Trust spokesperson Joann Ransom told iTWire today that it would prepare its objection to the granting of the Koha trademark to the American defence contractor, Progressive Technology Federal Systems/Liblime, hoping that, in the meantime, PTFS would do the right thing and transfer its application to the Trust.

As reported in iTWire, the trademark grab came to media attention a few days back when the Trust appealed for donations to object to the granting of the trademark. The original developer of Koha, Chris Cormack, has expressed anger and sadness at the US firm's actions.

Yesterday, the Trust said that PTFS had expressed its willingness to hand over the trademark to a non-profit which represented the Koha community. There is only one such organisation, and it is the Trust.

Koha is free software distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public Licence and is widely used around the world. The trademark grab will not affect the code but, if it is finalised, it would mean that the software would have to be distributed under another name. Koha is a Maori word that means reciprocity in giving gifts.

"The Koha global community have been in this position before of waiting for PTFS to do something it said it would do i.e. handing of the koha.org domain back into community hands," Ms Ransom said. "They never did it but gained many precious months to redesign the website while the community waited. The URL now clearly relates to Liblime Koha (which is a fork from the main branch) and is a totally different product from Koha."

She said lawyers who had offered to help the Trust on a pro bono basis would prepare the objection, hoping that PTFS would do the right thing and transfer its application to the Trust. The Trust has three months to file its objections.

"The community really do want to resolve this issue quickly and with the right outcome," Ms Ransom said. "I do not know if PTFS are getting grief in the US from the public but I do know that here in NZ it is a very big deal from a number of different angles. It won't just go away. In summary, we are hoping for the best but planning for the worst."

Asked what she thought about the government official who had made the decision to award the trademark to PTFS, Ms Ransom said she was not impressed.

"If it a box checking exercise, and I fear it might be, then they probably did it by the books. However, surely common sense and informed judgement should come into this process," she said.

"I sent background paperwork to IPONZ (the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand) very early on and had numerous conversations with staff at IPONZ about the merits of our counter-application. Sadly, the information we had been given by IPONZ turned out to be wrong and the PTFS application was approved at the the 11th hour."

Asked for his input, well-known free software activist and GPL expert Bradley Kuhn said the GPL was a copyright licence, and was basically silent on trademarks.

"Only if a trademark licence in some way directly restricted the permission granted by GPL would the trademark licence somehow even have a chance to cause a GPL violation," he told iTWire.

"Indeed, it seems to me that a trademark lawyer, a copyright lawyer, and a GPL expert would probably have to sit down and have a rather long discussion to decipher this situation to come to a final conclusion about whether a GPL violation has occurred merely because of the trademark shenanigans."

Kuhn said he had no specific advice for the Koha community at this time.

"What I *do* have advice for is projects who *aren't* currently facing such problems: I recommend that such projects work with someone to get their trademark registered and publish a trademark policy for their project. This is an important issue that projects should address early in their life, before they face problems."

He said the Software Freedom Conservancy, for which he currently works as executive director, offered help to its member projects with both trademark registration and policies.

PTFS was contacted on Thursday for comment. The company is yet to respond.

It is not uncommon for US firms to attempt to gain a commercial advantage in smaller countries. In 2003, for example, the US company DE Technologies sent letters to a dozen New Zealand firms alleging they were infringing its patents and demanding annual licence fees.


Source: http://www.itwire.com/business-it-news/open-source/51377-koha-trademark-grab-trust-hopes-commonsense-prevails?start=1

Patent firm IPCom says to stop HTC German sales

By: Reuters
Source: www.ibnlive.in.co



Berlin: German patent firm IPCom plans to halt as quickly as possible the sale of all HTC smartphones in Germany, another blow to the Taiwanese firm just two days after it shocked markets by cutting its fourth-quarter outlook. IPCom said on Friday it would enforce an injunction based on a Mannheim court decision from February 2009 after HTC, the fourth largest smartphone vendor globally, withdrew its appeal, which was due to be decided on next week.

"IPCom now intends to execute this injunction in the shortest possible time," the company said in a statement. "We will use the right awarded by the courts, likely resulting in HTC devices disappearing from shops during the crucial Christmas season."

HTC confirmed it pulled the appeal on Friday and said it thought it was redundant as a German patent court has questioned the validity of the patent in question. Analysts and lawyers said the withdrawal gives HTC time to battle against two other patents which could have been decided upon next week, while it can still try to delay the original injunction.
Patent firm IPCom says to stop HTC German sales

"While HTC can try to oppose the enforcement of the injunction, my research shows that the odds are very long against HTC on this one," said German patent expert and blogger Florian Mueller.

Under fire

Possible sales halt in Germany, one of the largest smartphone markets in Europe, comes at a time when HTC struggles to hold on to its position on the smartphone market. "This represents an unwelcome distraction during an already difficult quarter for HTC," said CCS Insight analyst Geoff Blaber.

Late last month, HTC warned that revenue would fall by up to 8 per cent in October-December from the third quarter, and this week it flagged a much bigger drop, citing tougher competition and the global downturn. The stock has fallen 30 per cent in eight straight trading days.

The popularity of Apple's iPhones and Samsung Electronics's Galaxy line-up, recession-weary shoppers and long-running lawsuits have taken the gloss off what was one of the industry's biggest success stories. IPCom has battled for years against HTC and Nokia in European courts.

IPCom had acquired Bosch's mobile telephony patent portfolio, created between the mid-1980s and 2000, which includes about 160 patent families worldwide, including some of the key patents in the wireless industry, such as patent 100, which standardises a cellphone's first connection to a network.

Source: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/patent-firm-ipcom-says-to-stop-htc-german-sales/206410-11.html

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Source: http://gadget411news.com

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Source:  http://gadget411news.com/cyber-monday-deals-2011-bear-motion-trademark-genuine-leather-case-for-apple-ipad-1-first-generation-black-ipad/03619







Patent firm IPCom says to stop HTC German sales

By: Tarmo Virki
Source: http://www.moneycontrol.com

German patent firm IPCom plans to halt as quickly as possible the sale of all HTC smartphones in Germany, another blow to the Taiwanese firm just two days after it shocked markets by cutting its fourth-quarter outlook.
IPCom said on Friday it would enforce an injunction based on a Mannheim court decision from February 2009 after HTC, the fourth largest smartphone vendor globally, withdrew its appeal, which was due to be decided on next week.
"IPCom now intends to execute this injunction in the shortest possible time," the company said in a statement.
"We will use the right awarded by the courts, likely resulting in HTC devices disappearing from shops during the crucial Christmas season."
HTC confirmed it pulled the appeal on Friday and said it thought it was redundant as a German patent court has questioned the validity of the patent in question.
Analysts and lawyers said the withdrawal gives HTC time to battle against two other patents which could have been decided upon next week, while it can still try to delay the original injunction.
"While HTC can try to oppose the enforcement of the injunction, my research shows that the odds are very long against HTC on this one," said German patent expert and blogger Florian Mueller.

UNDER FIRE
Possible sales halt in Germany, one of the largest smartphone markets in Europe, comes at a time when HTC struggles to hold on to its position on the smartphone market.
"This represents an unwelcome distraction during an already difficult quarter for HTC," said CCS Insight analyst Geoff Blaber.
Late last month, HTC warned that revenue would fall by up to 8 percent in October-December from the third quarter, and this week it flagged a much bigger drop, citing tougher competition and the global downturn.
The stock has fallen 30 percent in eight straight trading days.
The popularity of Apple's iPhones and Samsung Electronics's Galaxy line-up, recession-weary shoppers and long-running lawsuits have taken the gloss off what was one of the industry's biggest success stories.
IPCom has battled for years against HTC and Nokia in European courts.
IPCom had acquired Bosch's [ROBG.UL] mobile telephony patent portfolio, created between the mid-1980s and 2000, which includes about 160 patent families worldwide, including some of the key patents in the wireless industry, such as patent 100, which standardises a cellphone's first connection to a network.

Source: http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/wire-news/patent-firm-ipcom-says-to-stop-htc-german-sales_625090.html












Smartphone sector in a patent arms race

By: JONATHAN NORWOOD
Source: http://thechronicleherald.ca


In recent times, an increasingly competitive and litigious smartphone industry has spawned a patent arms race, and the need for participants to bulk up their proprietary patent portfolios.
Specifically, an eruption of patent lawsuits has occurred between almost every major developer of smartphone hardware and software in the industry. In many respects, companies are buying insurance against future legal action, injunctions, etc.

Early in 2011, a consortium led by Apple and Microsoft paid an astounding $4.5 billion for more than 6,000 patents owned by the now defunct Nortel Networks.

For anyone without a calculator handy, that equates to roughly $750,000 per Nortel patent. To put the intensity of competition for Nortel’s patents into context, Google opened the bidding at just $900 million (Nortel’s creditors will be happy), and was ultimately shut out completely.

Not to be without a dance partner, Google recently purchased Motorola and its 17,000 patents for $12.5 billion in cash, as well as a thousand or so patents from IBM for an undisclosed sum. This may work to put a lid on the patent race/bidding frenzy in the near term, because Google was really the one driving it.

How much is at risk? Consider the lost sales associated with the EUs recent halt of Samsung’s new Galaxy Tab because the design was too much like the iPad. Similarly, Apple has sued HTC for infringement this year and HTC has in turn counter-sued, claiming the iPhone violates several of its patents. The list goes on.
The mindset has really become one of “if you sue me, I’ll sue you back,” because the odds are that if you hold enough patents, your competitor will be infringing upon one of them.

By the same token, if you don’t have a patent war chest of your own, you are without any leverage. The result has been an increase in demand for such patents, followed by a spike in their valuations.
Consequently, large, cash-rich companies such as Google, Apple, and Microsoft have been patent stockpiling, or buying up patents to protect themselves from being sued.

It is believed that at the crux of the war was Google’s relatively late entry into the smartphone space and the robust growth in its Android operating system.

Because it was largely without a wireless patent portfolio, it had to acquire one in order to protect itself against litigation and to put it on a more level playing field with other wireless giants.

In other words, Google may very well have a great future in the wireless space, but it was essentially without a past in terms of intellectual property.

The winners will ultimately be the lawyers, and the perennial dogs like Nortel, Motorola, and even Eastman Kodak that have seen their enterprise values resurrected by their underlying patent portfolios. Smartphone maker Research in Motion, with its languishing BlackBerry brand, has also been rumoured to be a takeover target, in large part because of its patent library.

Pure play patent companies or patent trolls such as Wilan and Mosaid (who hold patents but never actually plan to manufacture or sell related products) also stand to benefit from valuation lifts over time. They simply sue anyone else trying to manufacture devices that appear to be based on their patents, and may very well become takeover targets themselves.

However, it is ambiguous as to whether their competitive edge will be hurt by their traditional prey, now beefing up their own patent portfolios.

Some industry watchers have been critical of the patent race, suggesting that the resources being allocated toward the collecting of old patents will crowd out investment in new innovation and research and development.

While there may to be some truth to this, the move away from PCs to mobile devices is irrefutable, and too much is at stake, especially for those that are late to the game.

Most of the large players are also sitting on enormous cash balances, so they have plenty of powder dry and itchy trigger fingers.

Source: http://thechronicleherald.ca/business/36321-smartphone-sector-patent-arms-race

Netgear, Merck & Co., Yahoo!, BMW, MBI: Intellectual Property

By Victoria Slind-Flor
Source: http://www.businessweek.com

(This is a daily report on global news about patents, trademarks, copyright and other intellectual property topics.)

Nov. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Harris Corp. a maker of communications-related electronic equipment, sued Netgear Inc. for allegedly infringing network-security patents.

According to the complaint filed Nov. 21 in federal court in Orlando, Florida, Netgear infringed six patents related to network security access control.

The complaint lists a number of products from San Jose, California-based Netgear that allegedly infringe the patents.

In dispute are patents 6,504,515, 7,916,684, 5,787,177, 5,974,149, 6,189,104, and 6,397,336.
Harris, based in Melbourne Florida, asked the court for an order barring further infringement and awards of money damages, attorney fees and litigation costs.
The case is Harris Corp. v. Netgear Inc, 6:11-cv-01866, U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida (Orlando).

Source:  http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5399137754124668671#editor/target=post;postID=5983106273294211412

SHC to hear rice trademark case today

By: Shahid Shah
Source:  http://www.blogger.com

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) will hold hearing in the case filed by Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan against Basmati Growers Association to decide trademark registration dispute on Thursday (today).

A similar case is pending in Delhi High Court. If it decides the case in 2012 and the court in Pakistan fails to decide, Pakistan will lose around $1 billion a year, President BGA Hamid Malhi told The News on Wednesday. “Pakistan exports basmati rice of $1 billion, which can increase to $2 billion if trademark is with us.”

Delhi High Court held a hearing on November 8.

Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) is also a party to the case in the SHC.

In 2008, trademark registrar in Pakistan had given trademark of basmati to BGA, which was challenged in the SHC in September that year. REAP says the custodian of trademark should be the government of Pakistan and not any private association.

But Malhi said growers are the right people to hold the trademark as they have long term interest in the crop. “Traders may be trading rice today, chickpeas tomorrow and leather day after tomorrow.”

About the Indian claim about trademark, he says they do not have contiguous area of basmati and they do not produce much of it.

In order to comply with Trade-related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) regime of the World Trade Organisation, the Ministry of Commerce has asked the stakeholders in rice trade to resolve the trademark registration issue, which has pitted REAP and BGA against each other.

Zahid Khuwaja, a senior REAP member, told The News that with trademark rights in their hands, rice growers would regulate the exporters’ trade.

“There should be no single ownership and the government of Pakistan should control it.”

Basmati is one of the oldest and finest varieties of rice cultivated in the sub-continent.

In India, first the matter of rice certification was handed over to All India Rice Exporters Association but later on the demand of all stakeholders it was given to APEDA.


Source: http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=78963&Cat=3 



EU Court Backs Longer Patent Protection for Combined Drugs

By:


The European Union’s highest court backed extended patent protection for drugs and vaccines that are effective against multiple diseases.
“The fundamental objective” of the EU rules in question “is to ensure sufficient protection to encourage pharmaceutical research, which plays a decisive role in the continuing improvement in public health,” the EU Court of Justice, based in Luxembourg, said in a ruling today.
The case seeks to provide the pharmaceutical industry with clarity on how to interpret EU rules on so-called supplementary protection certificates, or extended patent protection, for multidisease drugs or vaccines. The value of even a few months of extra protection for a blockbuster drug can’t be understated, said Jonathan Radcliffe, a lawyer at Mayer Brown LLP in London.
Extending patent protection would help drugmakers just as the competition from generic drugs reaches its peak. Through 2016, drug companies face loss of exclusivity on products with more than $170 billion of sales, according to Bloomberg Industries research. Next year drugs producing almost $50 billion in revenue face potential competition.

Medeva SPC

The extended patent protection, or SPC, can only be given to the company that owns the patent on a drug’s active ingredient. Today’s case arose after a unit of Medeva Holdings BV, which belongs to Celltech Pharma Europe Ltd., was refused such SPCs in the U.K. for multi-disease vaccines that consisted of patented and non-patented active ingredients. A judge in London sought the EU court’s guidance on how to interpret the region’s SPC rules.
The EU court adopted a narrower approach than many drug companies expected by reiterating that only one SPC can be given per patent, Radcliffe said in a phone interview.
“It could have a chilling effect on the strategies life- sciences companies will have to adopt, and on their revenues,” said Radcliffe, adding in some cases multiple SPCs have been granted per patent.
The cases are: C-322/10, Medeva BV v. Comptroller-General of Patents; C-422/10, Georgetown University, University of Rochester, Loyola University of Chicago v. Comptroller-General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks.

Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-24/eu-court-backs-longer-patent-protection-on-medicines-for-multiple-diseases.html

Google getting out of the green energy business?

By:IP BIZ
Source: http://ipbiz.blogspot.com


From Reuters' Google quits plans to make cheap renewable energy :

In 2009, the company's so-called Green Energy Czar, Bill Weihl, told Reuters that he expected to demonstrate within a few years working technology that could produce renewable energy at a cheaper price than coal.

"It is even odds, more or less," Weihl said at the time. "In three years, we could have multiple megawatts of plants out there."

A Google spokesman said that Weihl had left Google earlier this month.

Before joining Google in early 2006, William E. Weihl was CTO at Akamai Technologies.

Source: http://ipbiz.blogspot.com/2011/11/google-getting-out-of-green-energy.html

Europe Patent Reform Changes the Global Infringement Landscape

By: Scott M. Fulton, lll
Source: http://www.readwriteweb.com


What if a patent granted in the State of Texas were invalid in Delaware? If the United States were a loose federation of states, as originally envisioned by its Articles of Confederation (the forerunner to its current Constitution), the validity of an invention in one state may have been challenged by another. In the European Union - which is not officially bound by a federal government - inventors (including companies) may apply for a European patent. But then all 27 member states have to incorporate all those patents (or not) into their existing systems.

The principal agenda of Neelie Kroes since ascending to the vice presidency of the European Commission (the upper house of E.U. parliament) is to set forth the so-called "digital agenda" for the continent. But she's also the standard bearer for a movement called the single market, where Europe as a whole is recognized as a unified trading partner. Key to her agenda is the implementation of a unitary patent system, where a European patent applies to every member country without question. It's a slow march towards federalism, as well as a move to standardize the classifications of patents, including for software. But today, the pace of that march may have just sped up.

The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament (the lower house) announced this morning it has completed work on a standard package of continental patent reform proposals, which will now be brought to 25 of the 27 member states. (Italy and Spain, for the moment, remain holdouts.) The three main components of this plan call for the following:

    A unitary patent system as an "adjunct" to existing methods. As the European Patent Office (EPO) describes it, inventors will still be able to apply for patents in their member countries, but through the authority of the EPO. From there, applicants will have the option of applying for "unitary effect" for the patent - meaning, to have it apply to all of Europe voluntarily. This option apparently addresses member states' concerns raised in previous years, that a pan-European patent system would rob states of legitimate sources of revenue (applications fees, royalties, etc.). Some countries actually have stakes in the licensing of patents such as those protecting standards such as MP3. Under this "adjunct" system, conceivably those revenue streams would remain untouched.

    Adoption of a standardized "language regime" once a translation matrix becomes operational. In other words, until machine translation makes it possible for an application in any language to be translated into English, and from there into a member state's language, an English-language translation of the application must be provided by the applicant whenever the language of the EPO office where the patent is being filed is French or German. This relieves the EPO, for the meantime, from the burden of translating every patent it receives into almost every other language there is.

    The creation of a single European patent court, which won't just be a system for determining the validity of patents and patent applications. It will also serve, as the EPO describes, as "a unified patent litigation system." The three parts of this litigation system would be a court of first instance, an appeals system, and a registry. But divisions of the first instance court will be scattered throughout the continent, with the effect being that patent infringement cases will take place on a Europe-wide level.

It may take several more years before a majority of E.U. member states adopt a unitary patent system. But once that happens, it may suddenly become economically feasible for software and intellectual property patent holders to challenge defendants in both the U.S. and Europe concurrently. With the perceived value of patents among stakeholders and holding companies alike often determined by their projected "take-home" value in future infringement suits, the question would become whether the European or American system would set the bar for the value of intellectual property worldwide.


Source: http://www.readwriteweb.com/enterprise/2011/11/europe-patent-reform-changes-t.php

Nanya Files Patent Complaint

By: LORRAINE LUK
Source: http://online.wsj.com



TAIPEI—Nanya Technology Corp. filed on Tuesday a patent infringement complaint against Japanese chip rival Elpida Memory Inc., its U.S. unit and California-based Kingston Technology Co. after a similar action from Elpida last week against the Taiwanese memory chip maker.

Nanya said it has asked the International Trade Commission to halt the production and sales of Elpida's dynamic random access memory chips and products containing DRAM chips made by Elpida, claiming Elpida's products infringe four of its U.S. patents.

DRAM chips are widely use in personal computers and many electronic products to store data. The complaint comes as major DRAM makers world-wide are suffering from an industry supply glut, which has led to steep price declines and put many manufacturers in the red.

"Nanya is evaluating its other options, including the filing of a patent infringement lawsuit in the U.S. district court. We expect to be compensated for the sale of products that infringe our patents," Nanya Technology Vice President Pei-Lin Pai said in a statement.

Elpida said Tuesday the Japanese memory chip maker can't comment on issues involving lawsuits, while U.S.-based flash memory card maker Kingston, which uses Elpida's DRAM chips for its products, declined to comment.

Patent infringement claims are common in the high-tech industry as companies fiercely compete to set industry standards. Analysts say such disputes typically end in cross-licensing arrangements whereby both parties can benefit from sharing their respective patents. In many cases, companies use claims and lawsuits as weapons in getting the upper hand in negotiations.

Nanya's complaint comes after Elpida said last week it filed a complaint in the U.S. with the ITC, claiming Nanya's products infringe seven of its U.S. patents.

Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204443404577053110242913468.html#ixzz1eQTWygUD

U.S. Trade Body Clears Apple in Patent Case

By: MATT JARZEMSKY AND PAUL MOZUR
Source: http://online.wsj.com



The U.S. International Trade Commission ruled that Apple Inc. products don't infringe on patents held by HTC Corp.'s recently acquired subsidiary S3 Graphics, a setback for the Android handset maker.

The news sent shares of the Taiwan-based smartphone maker down by more than 5% early Tuesday, as the decision called into question the rationale behind HTC's $300 million acquisition.

HTC Chief Financial Officer Winston Yung on Tuesday defended the purchase of S3 Graphics, a Freemont, Calif.-based company that supplies graphics and video capability for its portfolio of patents.


Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204443404577052900155171364.html#ixzz1eQSjyv7Q

Tootsie Roll says Footzyrolls shoe brand steps on its trademark

By: Chicago Tribune Business
Source: http://www.chicagotribune.com


A small footwear company selling a Footzyrolls shoe brand got hit with a trademark lawsuit this week from Chicago-based candy giant Tootsie Roll Industries.

According to the lawsuit filed in federal court in Illinois, Rollashoe, which makes rollable ballet slippers called Footzyrolls, is infringing on the brand name of Chicago-based Tootsie Roll.

Tootsie Roll, which made $521 million in sales last year, alleged that the $2 million Footzyrolls brand will confuse and "deceive" consumers into thinking that the shoes are associated with Tootsie Roll's portfolio of products.

Calling Rollashoe's actions "willful, malicious and fraudulent," Tootsie Roll also claims that Footzyrolls, which launched in 2009, dilute, or tarnish, the value of the Tootsie Roll brand.

Rollashoe, based in Miami Beach, Fla., however, disputed the allegations.

"This lawsuit is completely frivolous and has no merit," Rollashoe owners Sarah Caplan, 28, and Jenifer Caplan, 34, said in a statement.

The sisters, who filed for a trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, debuted the Footzyrolls shoe line at a trade show in 2009.

Less than a year later, Footzyrolls became a million-dollar brand featured in Oprah's magazine. The shoes are now sold in Bloomingdales and Fred Segal.


Source: http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-1119-tootsie-suit-20111119,0,6569699.story

Apple patent application aims to keep iPhones shatter-proof with shock mounted glass

By: Michael Gorman
Source: http://www.engadget.com


From 'smart' pens to a smarter Siri, Apple's always attempting to find new ways to improve the iPhone, and the company's latest patent application wants to keep its crack-prone glass blemish free. Aptly named a "shock mounting cover glass in consumer electronic devices," the invention claims a tunable shock mount sandwiched between the phone's glass and other hardware. There's also plans for a sensor that can distinguish a "drop event" from normal phone movements and an actuator to prepare the shock mount for impact. Given that it's only at the application stage, we won't be seeing bombproof iPhone displays any time soon, but here's hoping it'll become a product reality someday. Mostly so we can see just how much of a beating it can take.

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/20/apple-patent-application-aims-to-keep-iphones-shatter-proof-with/

Apple accuses Amazon of false advertising in ongoing pursuit of 'App Store' trademark

By: Mikey Campbell
Source: http://www.appleinsider.com


Apple continues to fight for the "App Store" trademark, accusing Amazon of false advertisement in an amended filing against the company's use of the term in a recent promotion for the Kindle Fire tablet.

Apple filed the revised claim on Wednesday in response to Amazon's use of the term when marketing the Kindle Fire in September, hoping to bolster its position in winning the "App Store" trademark, reports paidContent.org.

The iPhone maker claims that it has the only true App Store and that Amazon's use of the term could lead customers to believe that the companies have affiliated software marketplaces. The filing goes on to say that Amazon's ad was false or misleading, and could have caused confusion for customers.

"For example, consumer of mobile software downloads are likely to be confused as to whether Amazon's mobile software download service is sponsored or approved by Apple or is merely a conduit for Apple's APP STORE service."

Amazon's Kindle Fire web page has been updated since its Sep. debut and no longer includes mention of the Amazon App Store.

Apple originally filed the complaint in March when Amazon used the phrase "Appstore for Android" when promoting its marketplace for software designed to run on Google's smartphone platform. Since then the Internet sales giant has used the term in various advertisements and Amazon related services.


Source: http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/11/11/17/apple_accuses_amazon_of_false_advertising_in_ongoing_pursuit_of_app_store_trademark.html

Fung Gin Da Energy Science and Technology Co Ltd Files Patent Application for Apparatus for Generating Electric Power Using Wind Energy

By: Power Eng
Source: http://www.power-eng.com



New Delhi, Nov. 17 -- Taiwan based Fung Gin Da Energy Science and Technology Co Ltd filed patent application for apparatus for generating electric power using wind energy. The inventor is Chun-Neng Chuxng.

Fung Gin Da Energy Science and Technology Co Ltd filed the patent application on Nov. 2, 2010. The patent application number is 3043/MUM/2010 A. The international classification number is F03D11/00.

According to the Controller General of Patents, Designs & Trade Marks, "An apparatus for generating electric power from wind energy includes a blade device rotatable relative to a base to convert wind energy into a mechanical rotary power output, and havingan upright rod connected with upright blades and coupled to a generator in the base to convert the mechanical rotary power output into electric power. Each blade has spaced windcollecting ribs extending vertically from a first side surface thereof, thereby defining a wind-collecting space between any two adjacent wind-collecting ribs. A wind-collecting unit includes upright plates mounted on the base, angularly equidistant and disposed around the blade device. Any two adjacent plates define an inwardly converging windguiding channel therebetween. The plates are non-flat so that wind is guided by the plat&s to blow onto the first side surfaces of the blades via the wind-guiding channels."


Source: http://www.power-eng.com/news/2011/11/1543611936/fung-gin-da-energy-science-and-technology-co-ltd-files-patent-application-for-apparatus-for-generati.html

Look out! Here comes Apple's killer location-services patent

By: Erik Sherman
Source: www.news.cnet.com



A reissue of a patent originally dating back to 1998 -- and that Apple got from Xerox -- has delivered into CEO Tim Cook's hands some serious, and scary, potential control over location-based services. If you thought that Google, Samsung, HTC, and others were already depressed over the legal success Apple has had in fighting Android, it's now officially worse.

Even more, it could bring some important activities of other companies, such as Facebook and Foursquare, under Apple's purview -- which is another way of saying that Apple might be able to tell these companies to pay up if they wanted to use location services. Given that location-based service is one key to the mobile ambitions of virtually everyone else in the industry, the patent could give Apple control over some hot parts of mobile technology, including location-based innovation in advertising, social networks, mapping, flash deals, and augmented reality. And Apple has proven that it's perfectly willing to use legal muscle to deal with competitors.

Location, location, location
The patent that issued yesterday, RE42,927, is actually a reissue of a patent that Xerox received in 2000 and filed for in 1998. According to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Apple received ownership of the patent on December 17, 2009. (Yes, once again Xerox came up with a cool idea only to see Apple do something with it, as it did with GUIs and mice.)

In other words, this patent is old enough to predate much of what is now happening in both mobile and social media. Even worse -- for Apple's competitors -- it's broad. Here's the all-important first independent claim that helps set the scope for what the patent might legally cover:
 
A location information system that displays location specific information, the location information system, comprising: a receiver that receives location identification information from at least one site specific object identifying a location.Iadd., where the at least one site specific object is a beacon.Iaddend.; and a transceiver that transmits the location identification information to a distributed network and that receives the location specific information about the specified location from the distributed network based on the location identification information, wherein the location specific information provides information corresponding to the location.

Don't let the odd Iadd/Iaddend text throw you. It seems to show the difference between this newest version of the patent and the previous one. Breaking it down, here's what the claim covers:

The system will display information that is specific to the location the device is in. That could mean text, video, sound, or images. There is no restriction on what the information conveys, so anything from something informative in a visual display to a two-for-one burger special would seem to be covered.
   
The device has a location information system that receives location information from at least one object that specifies the location of the site where the device user is. The patent description makes it clear that this could include GPS signals from space or a barcode plastered on a building. Because "receiver" is another broad term, you could include GPS radios in cell phones or a camera and software combo that would obtain a two-dimension QR barcode. Apple broadened the language to include GPS systems.
   
A transceiver (another general term) sends the location information over a distributed network like the Internet to some unspecified destination and, in return, gets location-specific information in return.

Once the information is back, the device can presumably do whatever it wants with it, whether display the data separately, incorporate it into something else, or even toss it.

This patent is so basic that it would be hard to get around it. Just about any location-based system at its heart has to transmit a local location and receive information in return. That leaves the question of what Apple will decide to do ... and to whom.

Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-57326207-37/look-out-here-comes-apples-killer-location-services-patent/

New Apple Patent Hints at MacBook-Tablet Hybrid

By: John P. Mello Jr
Source: http://www.pcworld.com



You don't need to be a Steve Jobs to see that as laptops become ever thinner and tablets become more and more popular, convergence of the products is inevitable. As that day approaches, Apple is preparing to be ready for it.

The company received approval from the U.S. Patent Office this week for a patent for a MacBook with a cellular antenna and a rotating display. Such a MacBook could have the super thin qualities of the MacBook Air and the cellular connectivity and touchscreen versatility of the iPad.

It could also steel Apple against the onslaught of Ultrabooks that PC makers are readying to unleash on the world. "This officially announces to the Wintel camp that Apple now has the ability to match or beat the Ultrabook design that is to come to market in 2013 with the [Intel] Haswell processor," declared Jack Purcher, of Patently Apple.

Intel announced the Ultrabook category of PC laptops in May. The line is squarely aimed at the MacBook Air. The first wave of Ultrabooks, based on existing Intel processors, has already begun to hit the market. The units are supposed to be priced under $1000 and be super thin--0.78 inches--or in the case of the HP Folio announced today, even less--0.70 inches.

Next year, the platform is expected to be advanced further with the introduction of units based on Intel's Ivy Bridge processor. A third wave of Ultrabooks is planned for 2013. They would be based on the Haswell processor and consume half the power of today's laptops. Some of them also will sport Windows 8 with its touchscreen-enabled Metro interface.
Patent Details

According to Purcher, the new Apple patent calls for a hinge structure that would allow a MacBook to "rotate relative to the base of the laptop computer." He explained that structure is very much like the second or third generation Ultrabook design spec that allows it to transform into a tablet for simple reading, surfing and/or scribbling with a smart pen.

As for the antenna patent, Purcher said that Apple has been filing patents in that area for almost two years. "It's a forming trend that is certainly illustrating that Apple's industrial design team, lead by Jony Ive, is trying different approaches in creating the perfect Telephonic MacBook," he wrote.

Citing the recent biography of Apple's co-founder Steve Jobs, Purcher argues that the company is in the same situation it was in when it decided to introduce the iPhone. At that time, Jobs knew the iPhone would cannibalize iPod sales.

"The same is true for the future Ultrabook that will sport the Haswell processor and more importantly, support a rotatable display to allow a notebook to transform into a tablet for leisurely reading etc.," he wrote. "Likewise, Apple has to offer a notebook-tablet alternative product or risk having their iPad sales erode at an accelerated pace. With a combo unit, Apple will be able to justify dropping iPad sales if their MacBook-Tablet is the direct beneficiary."

Source: http://www.pcworld.com/article/244062/new_apple_patent_hints_at_macbooktablet_hybrid.html

Hockey stick firms in trademark battle

By:René Bruemmer
Source: http://www.montrealgazette.com



A battle of the trademarks is brewing between two of Canada’s hockey giants.

Bauer Hockey Corp. filed a statement of claim in federal court against Sher-Wood Hockey Inc. on Monday, ordering them to desist from marketing and producing a new line of high-end hockey sticks and to destroy or hand over any products already created.

At issue is the name: Sher-Wood’s new sticks, first released in August, are dubbed Nexon. Bauer contends this is too similar to the name it has chosen for a full family of products it is launching in June 2012, called Nexus. It’s the first new product line Bauer has rolled out since the Vapor skate debuted in 1997.

In its legal proceedings filed this week, Bauer’s lawyers argue the similarity is no coincidence.

“The use by the Defendant Sher-Wood in Canada of the Nexon trademark in association with hockey products will likely lead consumers to the inference that the Plaintiff Bauer Hockey is the source of the Nexon hockey products or that the Defendant Sher-Wood is in some way approved, authorized or endorsed by the Plaintiff Bauer Hockey or that there is some business connection between the parties,” the statement of claim reads. “Sher-Wood Hockey Inc. has passed off its wares as the wares of the Plaintiff Bauer Hockey Corp., contrary to section 7(c) of the Trade-marks Act.”

Bauer is seeking a permanent injunction restraining Sher-Wood from manufacturing, selling or advertising the sticks or any other hockey products with the Nexon trademark. It also calls for Sher-Wood to hand over or destroy any sticks, products or logos that could be confused with the Nexus trademark. Bauer also might press for damages.

On the home page of Sher-Wood’s website, the name Nexon predominates, with Anaheim Ducks player Bobby Ryan clutching a Nexon stick. “The true one piece stick is here,” reads the ad. Sher-Wood has four collection lines, including the Nexon brand, most of which feature protective gear along with sticks. So far, the Nexon line has six types of composite hockey sticks, ranging in price from $189 to $59.

A spokesperson for Sher-Wood said the company could only comment when their CEO was back from overseas in two weeks.

Bauer made its official launch of the Nexus line in late October at the BauerWorld 2012 trade show in Orlando. But players like Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals have been wearing Nexus gear for a while now, Bauer spokesperson Steve Jones said, and the company has owned the trademark to the Nexus name since 2007.

“We’re trying to make sure there isn’t confusion in the marketplace,” Jones said. “We are officially the No. 1 stick in the marketplace, so for us this type of protection is very important from a branding standpoint.”

The issue of trademark infringement arises frequently, Jones said.

“It comes up quite a bit more often than a lot of people think,” Jones said. “When you look at it, there are a lot of hockey companies out there, and not a lot of great names.”

Source: http://www.montrealgazette.com/sports/Hockey+stick+firms+trademark+battle/5715313/story.html#ixzz1dqJt1IfO

Patent Trolls Cost Businesses $80 Billion Per Year, Study Finds

By: Katherine Noyes
Source: http://www.pcworld.com



This is particularly true in the mobile arena, where companies including Apple and Microsoft have been especially enthusiastic in their use of patents as leverage over their competitors.

Of course, it's one thing for a company with products to protect to begin asserting patents against others; it's quite another, however, for companies to buy and assert patents without producing any goods of their own.

“Patent troll” is the name typically given to firms in this latter category, and--according to a new study--they're depriving technology businesses of more than $80 billion per year, to the detriment of small inventors and society as a whole.

Half a Trillion Dollars

“Non-practicing entities” (NPEs) is the polite name given to patent trolls by Boston University School of Law researchers James Bessen, Jennifer Ford, and Michael Meurer, whose paper, “The Private and Social Costs of Patent Trolls” (PDF), will soon be published in the journal Regulation.

Whereas such firms once helped enable technology markets and boost the profits small inventors could earn from their inventions, that's no longer the case, the authors argue. Rather, today's NPEs assert patents “on an unprecedented scale,” they write, involving thousands of defendants every year in hundreds of lawsuits.

The researchers studied the effect of patent lawsuits on defendants' wealth by examining the stock price of those companies around the time the lawsuits in question were filed. After factoring out market trends and random factors, they found that between 1990 and 2010, NPE lawsuits are associated with half a trillion dollars in lost wealth to defendants.

'They Decrease Incentives for Innovation'

Over the past four years, in fact, that lost wealth averaged more than $80 billion per year--primarily at the expense of technology companies that invest heavily in R&D.

Such litigation typically focuses on software and related technologies, the authors note; most often, it targets firms that have already developed technology. Particularly telling is that “the loss of incentives to the defendant firms is not matched by an increase in incentives to other inventors,” they write.

The bottom line is that patent trolls are simply exploiting weaknesses in the patent system without adding value, the study concludes. In fact, they harm society by doing so: “While the lawsuits increase incentives to acquire vague, over-reaching patents, they decrease incentives for real innovation overall,” the researchers explain.

'Fuzzy Boundaries'

It's easy to lay blame at the feet of the patent trolls themselves, of course, but the authors of this study point squarely at the “fuzzy boundaries” and unclear scope of patents on software and business methods, in particular.

I couldn't agree more. We're all paying a heavy price for this broken patent system. It's long past time to abolish software patents, once and for all.


Source: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/243928/patent_trolls_cost_businesses_80_billion_per_year_study_finds.html

AMI loses 'my' trademark battle

By: ROELAND VAN DEN BERGH
Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz



AMI Insurance has lost its battle to trademark 15 common insurance terms with the prefix "my", such as "my insurance".

The trademarks were approved for registration by the Intellectual Property Office last year.

But rivals AA Insurance, IAG New Zealand, Tower Insurance and Vero Insurance united to appeal against the decision to the High Court at Wellington in June.

They claimed the terms were generic to the industry, and were not distinctive enough to qualify as a trademark and could confuse consumers.

Justice Joe Williams said in his judgment that a large number of "my marks" had been registered in relation to goods and services, such as "My Money", a trademark for a Bank of New Zealand account and Sky Television's "My Sky".

But these did not use generic product names, unlike the words AMI was seeking to register, Justice Williams said.

AMI's application was the first in the insurance industry to try to trademark generic industry terms, including "my insurance, my car insurance and "my house insurance".

AMI said that the words it wanted to register were not used in the way its competitors would use them.

It argued that it was a "clever technique" to communicate to consumers in their own words.

The opposition by competing insurance companies simply reflected that AMI was the first to try and register the terms.

Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/5969673/AMI-loses-my-trademark-battle

KMA Global Solutions International Announces New Application Equipment Development

By: Press Release
Source: www.marketwatch.com



TORONTO, ONTARIO, Nov 14, 2011 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- KMA Global Solutions International, Inc. KMAG +25.00% is pleased to announce its latest innovation for its Application equipment designed to apply the patented Dual tag. We are currently working very closely with a consumer packaging client that has various configurations in their packaging that has forced us to increase our capabilities to allow for application in a 360 degree environment. Applying the Dual tag on cylindrical surfaces that allow for RFID verification at high speed has challenged us and our automation partner Milestone Automation to keep ahead of our competition.

KMA has developed a suite of high speed application process that enables application and "RFID Read, Write and Verification" at the highest speeds in the industry.

Jeffrey D. Reid, Chief Executive Officer of KMA Global Solutions International, Inc., commented, "Working closely with innovative clients has challenged KMA and its partners to constantly advance our processes and technology." KMA is working with Milestone Automation to prepare a suite of products in this fast growing marketplace.

KMA's DUAL Tag(TM) provides theft protection through its innovative combination of two leading Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) technologies in a single, high-speed application. Packaging companies that have adopted DUAL Tag(TM) consider it to be of great benefit to their operation. When compared to applying the two EAS technologies separately, production efficiencies increase substantially and overall costs are significantly reduced. DUAL Tag(TM) eliminates inventory costs associated with duplicate inventories that differ only by EAS technology and allows products to be sold through any retail channel.

Source: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/kma-global-solutions-international-announces-new-application-equipment-development-2011-11-14-16280?reflink=MW_news_stmp

How does one takes one's tea? Lady Gaga brings along one of her trademark teacups as she heads out to the X Factor studio

By Marcus Barnes
Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk


Lady Gaga has a penchant for carrying teacups with her, it's one of the many odd quirks she displays on a regular basis.

And she brought out some of her finest crockery as she made her way from her hotel to the X Factor studios in north-west London today.

The singer is performing as part of the Gaga VS Queen themed weekend and left the Lanesborough Hotel with her teacup filled with coffee.
One lump or two? Lady Gaga leaves the Lanesborough Hotel with a teacup filled with coffee en route to the X Factor

One lump or two? Lady Gaga leaves the Lanesborough Hotel with a teacup filled with coffee en route to the X Factor

Completely misusing the cup, Gaga strolled into her waiting with the coffee - which she perhaps drank to give herself an energy boost before she hit Fountain Studios.

In typical Gaga style, the teacup wasn't the only remarkable item about her person.

The 25-year-old also wore a funny pair of hexagonal glasses, a vintage beige dress, lilac heels and a pair of white gloves.
Signed, sealed, delivered: Gaga signs an autograph for a fan while keeping hold of her coffee

Signed, sealed, delivered: Gaga signs an autograph for a fan while keeping hold of her coffee

And, in a mark of respect to the UK's Remembrance Day, she also sported a poppy on the right side of her chest.

In fact she was reminiscent of a member of aristocracy in her regal getup.

The mystery of Gaga's fascination with teacups was explained two years ago when she was questioned by The Sun newspaper.
Pink won't make the boys wink today: Amelia Lily is a little downcast on her way into the Fountain Studios

Pink won't make the boys wink today: Amelia Lily is a little downcast on her way into the Fountain Studios

She told the paper: 'I used to have tea at home with my mother every day, you see.

'She hasn’t got a name but she’s quite famous now, so I made her stay in today. I take her everywhere because she makes me feel at home.'

The singer added: 'I’ve made a habit of drinking out of china because it makes me feel grounded. I don’t think it’s a good lifestyle to always be eating and drinking out of paper. It’s very wasteful.'

Earlier today Amelia Lily was pictured making her way into the Fountain Studios looking rather bedraggled.

The singer predictably won through to make a second attempt at winning the competition on last night's show.

But perhaps the 16-year-old stayed up a little too late celebrating after the show.

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2061019/Lady-Gaga-heads-X-Factor-studio-trademark-teacups.html#ixzz1deQz5tF4

Patent Monopoly Hurts Innovation, Consumers

By : Christine Harbin
Source: http://www.policymic.com


Whenever a company like Apple or Motorola develops a new smart phone, it risks losing billions in lawsuits because it may be infringing on another company's intellectual property. To mitigate this risk, mobile-technology companies are buying up billions in patents.

Patents pull a high price-tag. Last June, Google paid $12.5 billion for Motorola's U.S. smart phone business and its 17,000 patents. In July, a group of companies including Apple and Microsoft paid $4.5 billion for 6,000 patents from Nortel Networks, out-bidding Google.

Government is failing to help. Last September, President Barack Obama signed a patent reform bill that was "mostly pointless" because it didn't do much to solve the problem of over-broad patents.

Some say that the patent system is broken, but I’m skeptical of this claim. Mobile technology is an industry that remains in its infancy, and the same rules on intellectual property may be difficult to apply. I suspect, instead, that we are seeing a patent market bubble. Mobile technology companies currently face a high level of uncertainty in the legal climate, and they are responding by increasing their demand for intellectual property protection.

This begs the broad question: Are intellectual laws good for society?

Critics of intellectual property laws argue that people will invent less if they are distracted with litigation. From the perspective of consumers, a lower rate of innovation is certainly undesirable. However, Google's top patent lawyer says that ending patents won't cause innovation to stop and that historically innovation has happened in the absence of patents.

Supporters argue that intellectual property protections ensure that people get rewarded for their ideas and have an incentive to innovate. Although this sounds good in theory, it often doesn't play out in practice. Sometimes patent laws make competitors see the rewards. For example, Apple owns the patent for the “slide to unlock” feature that all Google Android phones use, so Apple is poised to get billions of dollars in royalties from Android, even though Google is unlikely to see a dime from it.

I haven't decided whether patent laws are good or bad for society, but I do think that the practice of hoarding patents is bad because it restricts competition. We are moving toward a world in which a small number of companies own most of the patents. If the mobile phone market became a monopoly or duopoly, it is likely that prices would rise and innovation would slow. That would be bad for consumers.

Source: http://www.policymic.com/articles/2363/patent-monopoly-hurts-innovation-consumers

Mike's Mailbag: Doesn't Syracuse have a trademark on Carrier Classic?

By: Mike Waters
Source: http://blog.syracuse.com

The Carrier Classic began at Syracuse in the 1977-78 season. Syracuse beat Le Moyne and Michigan State to win the early season tournament.

Interestingly, the Carrier Dome itself didn’t open until three years later.

The last Carrier Classic at Syracuse was played in the 2000-01 season. Syracuse defeated Akron and Virginia Tech to win the championship.

The Syracuse version of the Carrier Classic was named for Carrier Corp., the tournament’s sponsor. The game between North Carolina and Michigan State on Friday night aboard the USS Carl Vinson was dubbed “the Carrier Classic” for completely different reasons.

“We never protected it,” SU associate athletic director for marketing Marc Donabella said. “Carrier was already a company’s registered trademark.”

It’s a moot point, but even if Syracuse was still holding the Carrier Classic, Donabella didn’t think it would be a trademark infringement with pursuing.

“Honestly, I don’t think there would be any confusion in the marketplace,” Donabella said.

I’m surprised that such a heralded player, such as Trevor Cooney, may redshirt this year. Given the team’s lack of consistent outside shooting last year, I assumed Trevor would have a role in this year’s team. What is your take on Trevor and his role (or lack thereof) this year?
— Jeremy in Basking Ridge, N.J.


After the team’s practice on Friday, I asked Jim Boeheim if Cooney would redshirt. Boeheim said they had not made a final decision yet.

That tells me the idea is at least being considered by the SU coaching staff and also by Cooney and his family.

Cooney is a tremendous shooter, but more than that, I think he’s a very good all-around player. He’s strong and athletic. He puts the ball on the floor better than I had thought.

But he’s got two guys ahead of him at the two-guard position in Brandon Triche and Dion Waiters.

Personally, I like the idea of redshirting Cooney because I think he’s very good, will get better and will have more opportunities in the future. I would love to see him get the benefit of a fifth year.

Source: http://blog.syracuse.com/orangebasketball/2011/11/mikes_mailbox_doesnt_syracuse.html

Apple patent suggests new iPod features

By: Christina Bonnington
Source: http://edition.cnn.com


(WIRED) -- Passing earwax-tainted earbuds between friends is nobody's favorite way to share iPod tunes. An integrated speaker in the smaller iPod nano and iPod shuffle models could end that practice for good, and provide opportunity for a host of new iPod possibilities.

A newly published Apple patent describes how Apple could add a teeny speaker dome to the clip on the iPod shuffle or iPod nano. It's a sneaky way to add some extra functionality to Apple's smallest media players -- all without adding any extra bulk.

According to the patent, which was broken down by Patently Apple, the addition of a speaker would be a "natural evolutionary step for their media players."

The addition of a speaker -- along with Apple's embrace of the iPod nano as a wrist-worn device and the integration of Nike+ exercise software -- would also position Apple well for targeting the same fitness market that's home to the Motorola Motoactv, NPD analyst Ross Rubin says.

Over the past two years, several signs have pointed to one or more iPod lines being discontinued. Indicators include lackluster sales (last quarter, Apple sold 6.6 million iPods, a 27 percent decline from the same period in 2010), and a dearth of product refreshes for the shuffle and classic models. Nonetheless, Apple continues to support its beloved line of media players. And now it seems new energy may be breathed into the line.


CEO Tim Cook said iPod is a "large and important product" for the company at Apple's 2011 iPhone event. And Apple recently dropped the prices of its nano and touch iPod models, making them more competitive and more accessible to a wider market. Current iterations of the nano and shuffle have no external speaker, but the larger iPod touch does have one.

The iPod nano-like Motoactv, a wearable fitness-tracking music player.

Rubin sees the addition of a speaker to, say, an iPod nano as a gateway to a slew of new use-case scenarios.

"One thing it might point to is the nano being used to interface with an iOS device," Rubin says, much the way the Motoactv can sync with an Android device, and be used to relay the arrival of calls or text messages on its small screen.

Rubin says future nanos could be worn on your wrist, displaying social media updates relayed from an iPad stowed away in your backpack or messenger bag. A nano with a small speaker could also feature an audible alarm, making timed work-out tracking all the more convenient -- useful when you want to use Nike+ without earbuds.

Rubin also points out that you could activate Siri requests using the small screen on your wrist and have answers relayed to you through the speaker.

If the speaker only ended up being used as a music playback mechanism, Rubin says, "It wouldn't make a radical difference" in how we use or perceive iPods. True, but not needing to share earbuds anymore? Still a plus.

Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2011/11/11/tech/innovation/apple-nano-ipod-features/

Protecting your Digital Trademark Without Litigation

By: Ramon Ray & the Smallbiztechnology.com Team
Source: http://www.businessinsider.com

Whether you’re a business owner just setting up your online corporate prescience, or are an online veteran looking to flex your web muscle, you likely have encountered at least a domain name or two which are crucial to your brand but have already been taken. Be it the .com or even .org version of your company name, or even a broad term such as WidgetProfessioanals.com – not having an effective domain is the digital equivalent of a storefront without signage.

Before continuing there are two crucial terms to keep in mind before going further.  The first is cybersquatting, which for purposes of this article is defined as “the action of registering, selling, or using a domain with the intent of profiting from the goodwill of another party’s trademark.” The next term is typosquatting, which involves registering domains similar to an existing brand or trademark with the exception that the domains contain typos so they divert traffic from the original trademark holder when users mistype the website name.

During the dot com boom cybersquatting was rampant as speculators snatched up domains of major companies such as Microsoft, Motorola, and even the former web-giant Yahoo. In turn these victims filed numerous lawsuits, which resulted in long periods of litigation and in some cases large payouts to the original domain holder. The CNN piece titled  ‘Cybersquatters:’ Invading big names’ domains provides a larger set of examples, however since 2000, cybersquatting has become less of an issue due to improvements in dispute resolution (discussed shortly), and web savvy business owners now purchasing all the essential domains relating to their company before ramping up their online presence.

On the other hand, typosquatting has remained a common issue for virtually any website owner. Unlike cybersquatting, which can be prevented by purchasing all the domains pertaining to your trademark, typosquatting involves snatching misspelled domains which are very similar to popular websites. A common characteristic of typosquatted domains is a page filled with keywords related to the misspelled website, or even pages offering a search bar to “find what you were looking for.”

For the most part typosquatting is difficult to prevent because typosquatters use automated tools to register hundreds (or in some cases thousands) of domains within a short period of time (often over a few days) and then after a short time dump the domains which don’t attract enough traffic. This allows the squatters to test domains en masse without having the obligation of paying full price for the domains that are not effective.

Although most people associate business disputes with lawyers and dragged out court cases, the majority of domain disputes are solvable without an attorney. The solution lies in using the Uniform Domain Name Resolution Policy (UDRP), a policy enacted in 1999 by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). For those unfamiliar with the role of ICANN, the organization is an international governing body in charge of handling the issuance of .com’s, .net’s, .org’s, and approximately 65 country level domains of which the sponsoring countries have adopted UDRP policies.

As ICANN has international jurisdiction, if you find a domain or site that is clearly in violation of your trademark or brand rights, you can file a complaint, which if accepted, will be reviewed and evaluated by a panel of arbitrators who will either approve or reject the claim. Regardless of the defendant’s location, claims often are processed without issue as long as the domain in question falls under the UDRP policies, with verdicts often being delivered within a few weeks. The primary caveat to this remedy is that unlike litigation, the UDRP does not allow for punitive damages. Rather, the UDRP provides a fairly streamlined method for allowing business owners to protect their branding rights without having to shell out extravagant retainer fees for counsel.

In the interest of keeping this piece at a reasonable length, I’ll provide a very basic overview of the criteria commonly used to tell if a website is infringing on your rights. For a full overview of the UDRP process and the statistics showing its effectiveness over traditional litigation the ICANN Dispute Resolution section of their website provides a wealth of information written in fairly simple language.

In a nutshell the key criteria required for ICANN to consider action against a domain holder are:

  1.     Your domain name is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark or service mark in which the    complainant has rights; and
  2.     You have no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the domain name; and
  3.     Your domain name has been registered and is being used in bad faith.

If all three of the above are applicable to a domain in question, you might be eligible for legal recourse via the UDRP rather than having to pursue litigation. As mentioned earlier however, the UDRP does not allow for monetary damages to be awarded, and there is no guarantee that you will receive a favorable outcome. The above criteria is simply pulled from the ICANN website and is geared towards general legal cases.

If you find yourself in a position where you feel you are a victim of cyber or typosquatting, it is best to consult an intellectual property attorney to discuss the options available. In some cases however it might be beneficial to simply contact the domain owner directly and ask if you can purchase the domain from them. While this might seem counterintuitive, sometimes paying a couple hundred or even a couple thousand is well worth the savings in legal fees, time commitments, and other constraints which can cause you to lose focus on the core fundaments of your business.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Smallbiztechnologycom-SmbNewsAndInsight/~3/aQfwRwWCxJ0/#ixzz1dMUGN0HM