Apple Finally Invites Key Supplier Samsung to IP Litigation Party
The big news yesterday was the extraordinary Apple earnings story and its effect on the stock market’s short-term memory. Earlier news this week, however, reported that Apple is suing long-time chip partner Samsung for patent and trademark infringement and unfair competition, with public relations emphasis on similarity of design: “Rather than innovate and develop its own [...]
Supreme Court Heard i4i and Microsoft Arguments on Monday
Appraisers, IP Managers and Technology Transfer Officers may recall the $290 million verdict that a small Canadian software provider won against mega-co Microsoft back in 2009. (See BVWire #85-1.) Here’s the background: In 1994, Michel Vulpe, i4i founder, and Stephen Owens received patent 5,787,449 for a “Method and system for manipulating the architecture and the content of a [...]
Bookmark This Reference on Secondary Trademark Infringement
We are used to headlines on secondary infringement matters in copyright law. In Gorkster, secondary infringement of copyrights was held out for the world to see as the Supreme Court reversed the Ninth Circuit and found that technology companies (file-sharing entrepreneurs) could be held liable for “actively inducing” illegal downloaders’ (the end-users’) acts of infringement. [...]
How a Lawyer’s Offhand Attempt at Humor at Trial May Have a $60M Pricetag
On April 8, a federal jury awarded Commil USA LLC of The Woodlands, Texas $63.8M for infringing on U.S. patent 6,430,395. Issued in 2002, the patent covers a way of maintaining network connections through a series of base stations so a person with a laptop computer, mobile phone or device with a wireless-transmission feature such [...]
USPTO Creates Its Own “Fast Pass” for Patent App Filers with Extra Cash and a Need for Speed
It appears next month the Track One program announced by USPTO nearly a year ago will commence. Filers who adhere to certain limitations with respect to their claims and who file electronically … and who pay still another $4,000 … will get priority treatment (within 12 months) at USPTO. Speeding things up is an admirable [...]
McKinsey Braces for Reputation Hit
In June, 2009, McKinsey published an article in the McKinsey Quarterly entitled “Rebuilding Corporate Reputations.” The article not only convinces you McKinsey understands the role and value of reputation as a corporate intangible, but that it knows how to insulate, protect and repair, including the fact you have to “get out in front of the [...]
Arbitration Panel Rewards Norit for ADA’s Misappropriation of Its Trade Secrets
Norit is the world’s largest manufacturer of activated carbon for purification purposes. The overall market for carbon activated product is increasing, largely due to demand growth in the U.S. In a 2008 lawsuit, Norit accused two former employees and their new employer ADA of theft of trade secrets used to construct a new activated carbon manufacturing [...]
Jay Walker Refuses to Yield
Walker Digital owns about 200 issued U.S. patents , and they endeavor to license their properties to companies engaged in e-commerce solutions. Jay Walker, founder of priceline.com, is the chief inventor, and it’s now clear he has decided to invest a substantial portion of WD’s reported $200M in licensing revenues in patent protection lawsuits, having [...]
Facebook Dodges One Bullet
As reported yesterday on CNN, Tyler and Cameron, the brothers Winklevoss, sadly must live with the $65M settlement they got for their share of the Facebook “idea,” according to a U.S. appellate court. The brothers had argued that they were using a $15B valuation at the time to calculate their share, when it should have [...]
Sector Creep Can Be Risky
Translating an industrial brand into a consumer one can be tricky. Trickier yet is translating brand building skills from one sector to another. The WSJ reports Cisco will take a $300M charge this quarter as it abandons its attempt to establish a consumer sector identity through the Flip camera. Bookmark on DeliciousDigg this postRecommend on [...]
2 Comments