Tech Companies Team Up To Buy Up Patents To Keep Them Away From Others: related news

Tech Companies Team Up To Buy Up Patents To Keep Them Away From Others

Google, Verizon, HP, Cisco and some others are apparently teaming up to put money towards buying patents to keep them out of the hands of patent hoarders who would turn around and sue them. This isn't a new concept, and has been tried before -- and it didn't help much. The problem is that many of the worst patent suits aren't from "known" patents, but someone claiming a patent on some minor feature that everyone thought was obvious. Also, this type of action only encourages more bad patent activities by adding another buyer to the market. Now, questionable patent holders will recognize that they can also just sell to this patent pool, rather than selling to some patent hoarding firm. This is one of those ideas that sounds good on paper, but will have little to no effect on slowing down or stopping bad patent lawsuits, and may actually enc

Big tech companies band together to fight patent trolls

Fed up with patent holding companies suing them, a consortium of high-tech companies is taking a different approach: beat them to the punch. According to The Wall Street Journal (subscription), the business heavyweights behind the move include Google, Verizon, Cisco, and Hewlett-Packard. The premise is that the companies will put money into a holding company, to be called Allied Security Trust, that will buy up patents and then license them to consortium members for free.

Tech Giants Pooling Cash To Buy Patents

theodp writes with a link to a Reuters report, based on a WSJ story, that "Verizon, Google, Cisco, and HP are among the companies that have joined a secretive group called the Allied Security Trust. Each of the companies will reportedly put $5 million in escrow to allow AST to snap up intellectual property on their behalf before it falls into the hands of parties that could use it against them. Patents will be resold after AST member companies have granted themselves a nonexclusive license to the underlying technology. According to AST CEO Brian Hinman, a former VP of IP and Licensing at IBM, the arrangement will keep member companies out of antitrust trouble." (The WSJ's story itself is more detailed, but it's subscriber-only.)

Best Buy Launches Best Buy ExpressBest Buy is testing an automated kiosk for travelers in need of purchasing consumer electronics for their trip. Best Buy Express can be found in 12 major U.S. airports and features products and prices similar to thos

MINNEAPOLIS, BUSINESS WIRE -- Best Buy (NYSE:BBY), the nation's leading consumer electronics retailer, today announced that it will begin rolling out twelve Best Buy Express(TM) automated kiosks in major airports across the U.S. as part of a pilot program. Best Buy Express kiosks will offer a variety of products and accessories at familiar store prices that will appeal to business and leisure travelers alike. Best Buy has teamed with third party ZoomSystems to launch the test.

Chinese pharma companies start to look to global patents to boost value

Shanghai. September 3. INTERFAX-CHINA - Chinese pharmaceutical companies, motivated by the premium placed on globally patented technologies by potential investors, are scrambling to apply for intellectual property protection in global markets, industry insiders told Interfax on Sept. 2. "Compared to the situation a decade ago, it should be obvious that Chinese pharmaceutical companies are much more aware of the importance of patents to protect their technologies, domestically and even globally, and also of the importance of not infringing on others' [patents]," said Woody Wu, an investment manager with Mingly China Growth Fund, a private equity fund that targets the pharmaceutical industry for investment. In 2006, the World Intellectual Property Organization received 3,190 international patent applications from Chinese companies, represen

Best Buy to be first chain to sell coveted iPhone

Best Buy Co. will start selling the iPhone on Sept. 7, becoming first U.S. chain to do so outside of Apple Inc.'s and AT&T Inc.'s own stores. The announcement, expected today expands the availability of Apple's vaunted phone to 970 full-size stores and 16 smaller Best Buy Mobile stores. It's also a coup for the Minneapolis-based chain, which has been upgrading its cellphone departments. "We had a lot of work to do, obviously, to get in a position where Apple and AT&T would feel good about Best Buy Mobile carrying it, and that's what we've done in the last 18 months," said Shawn Score, president of Best Buy Mobile. Best Buy also resells Apple's Mac computers and iPod media players. Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris said the long-standing relationship between the companies was the reason Best Buy would now be able to sell the iPhone.

Best Buy Hosts Electronics Recycling Event This Weekend Residents in Littleton

What: Best Buy and Samsung partner to host a free consumer electronics recycling event Saturday, August 23 and on Denver's proclaimed Green Sunday, August 24 at the Southwest/Littleton Best Buy. The first 100 cars each day will receive a $5.00 Best Buy gift card. Best Buy is committed to fueling its growth worldwide as a responsible, values-driven global corporation. This means Best Buy aspires to make business decisions that are considerate of economic value to shareholders, the ethical responsibility of the enterprise and impact on people, communities and the environment. As a result, Best Buy has taken the lead on a number of environmental initiatives. We are pleased to bring our recycling initiative to Denver in conjunction with Green Sunday and the upcoming Democratic National Convention.

Mindspeed Sells Patents

Newport Beach-based Mindspeed Technologies announced today that it has sold what it describes as "certain non-core patents" for $10M. Terms and buyers of the patents were not disclosed. Mindspeed said the patents came from a broad portfolio of patents which are no longer core to the firm's business focus. Details on the types of patents sold and number of patents was not released by the company. Mindspeed said it has been generating revenue from patent sales in the last year, and expects to engage in additional "strategic, non-core" patent sale or licensing arrangements in the future.

Best Buy to Sell iPhones: The Symbiosis Grows

Best Buy (BBY) will start selling Apple’s iPhone in its stores and the relationship between the two parties has become quite symbiotic. For Apple (AAPL), Best Buy is a great distribution channel–Apple Stores are typically located in metropolitan areas and consumers may not stumble on an AT&T (T) store. Meanwhile, Apple is just solidifying an existing Mac distribution partnership with Best Buy by adding the iPhone. - The iPhone will be sold at Best Buy Mobile, which has been rolled out to its 970 stores. Best Buy sells Macs at 600 stores.

Best Buy to Install More Vending Machines at Top Airports

The Best Buy vending machine at Dallas Fort Worth airport will be just one of a series of "Best Buy Express" machines, according to new info from Best Buy itself. In partnership with ZoomSystems, Best Buy will install similar machines at Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Minneapolis and San Francisco. So from September 1st you'll be able to buy cellphones, cameras and other digital goodness when you fly from one of these 9 locations. Be careful though: For some reason these machines are really good at tempting you. Maybe it's all the excitement of flying, but I so very nearly bought an iPod from a similar machine last year, and I didn't even need one. [AP News]

International Companies Require China-Specific Patent Strategies

Shanghai, China � May 22, 2008: China, one of the world�s largest and most promising markets, has seen a 20 percent annual increase in patent application filings over the last fifteen years. In 2007, the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) of China received 694,153 patent applications, an increase of 21.1 percent over the previous year. These applications included filings for all three types of patents granted in China: Invention patents (valid for 20 years from the date of filing), Utility Models (valid for 10 years), and Design patents (also valid for 10 years). With regard to invention patents (20 year patents), China is currently third in the world behind the United States and Japan. In its latest study, Evalueserve, a global research and analytics firm, forecasts that if patent filings in China continue to grow at the current r

IBM, Oracle, SAP sued over server software patents

IBM, Oracle and SAP were sued by a closely held company that accuses them of infringing its patents. Implicit Networks, based in Seattle, claims the three companies and Adobe Systems are violating two patents for computer-server software that performs faster security functions. The patents were issued from 1998 and 2001 applications. The complaint, filed July 15 in federal court in Seattle, targets IBM's Websphere Application Server, Oracle's Application Server and BEA WebLogic Server, SAP's NetWeaver and Adobe's JRun and ColdFusion products. Implicit seeks a "royalty" and didn't specifically ask that sales of any products be halted. Oracle is the world's second-biggest software maker, behind Microsoft. IBM is third in software. SAP, based in Walldorf, Germany, is the world's biggest maker of business-management software, and Adobe is the

Remember All Those 'Influence' Ad Companies? They May Have A Patent Problem

It was just a couple weeks ago that we (skeptically) noted that there were a bunch of companies trying to create systems to use things like a "FriendRank" to use "influence" to help advertise. However, it looks like those companies may have to deal with a bit of a patent block. Slashdot points out that Google has applied for a patent on just such a process to establish a sort of "FriendRank." Of course, the fact that there are a bunch of companies all trying to do this (prior to this patent application being published) certainly suggests that this is hardly the sort of breakthrough that requires a patent (though, it seems likely that those other companies are also applying for patents, meaning we may soon have yet another patent thicket).

The Tech Museum of Innovation President to Ring the NASDAQ Stock Market Closing Bell On Behalf of The Tech Awards

What: Peter Friess, President of The Tech Museum of Innovation, will preside over the Closing Bell on behalf of The Tech Awards, a signature program of The Tech Museum of Innovation presented by Applied Materials (AMAT). Where: NASDAQ MarketSite - 4 Times Square - 43rd & Broadway - Broadcast Studio When: Wednesday, August 27, 2008 at 4:00 p.m. EDT Contacts: Analisa Schelle (415) 677-2721 Analisa.schelle@ogilvypr.com NASDAQ MarketSite: Robert Madden (646) 441-5045 Robert.Madden@NASDAQOMX.com

Now Companies Suing eBay For Giving Others Better Listings

Remember all those lawsuits against Google by people who didn't like how Google listed them (i.e., they felt that Google had them too far down the rankings)? Well, it appears that some similar lawsuits are being filed against eBay. One jewelry sales company, Windsor Auctions, felt that it should have been making more money via eBay and sued the company after realizing that a competitor was using tools eBay provided it to get better listings. Windsor mostly relied on a depression-era law that tried to stop big companies from engaging in predatory sales practices (using its marketing muscle to force suppliers to give it better deals). As Eric Goldman points out in the link above, the law makes almost no sense today (and it's questionable if it ever did).

Jailbreak: Source Official Map Pack and New Screens

Jailbreak is a Half-Life 2 modification similar to Team Deathmatch for Half-Life 2, but with a difference: two teams, two jails. When you kill a member of the opposite team, they respawn, locked up inside your jail. When a member of your team is killed, they respawn inside the enemy jail. Your objective is to imprison every member of the enemy team. The twist is that you can break out members of your own team, by fighting your way to the enemy jail and opening the doors. The game goes back and forth until one team is entirely locked up, the losers executed (in a variety of customised ways), then the next round begins.

Is It Good For Business To Subsidize OSS Developers?

ruphus13 writes "A lot of developers for open source software have full-time day jobs too. As economist Milton Friedman said, 'The business of business is business.' So, does it make sense for companies to encourage their developers to contribute to the open source community? OStatic discusses a blog post by Alfresco exec Matt Asay, who makes the case for why they should. '"Companies like IBM, Intel, SGI, MIPS, Freescale, HP, etc. are all working to ensure that Linux runs well on their hardware. That, in turn, makes their offerings more attractive to Linux users, resulting in increased sales." While I don't think we'll ever see companies everywhere subsidizing employee development of open source tools, many tech and non-tech companies alike could benefit from subsidizing open source development from employees with talent.

Patents facilitation centre opened

The Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council (Pharmexcil) announced the inauguration of a Patents Facilitation Centre here on Friday. Apart from Hyderabad, the centres are also being set up in Mumbai and Delhi with the support of the Department of Chemicals & Petrochemicals. These centres are expected to come up in the next two years. The Hyderabad centre was inaugurated by Mr V.S. Sampath, Secretary, Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals, Government of India. The se Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) and Patents Facilitation Centres are expected to provide small and medium pharmaceutical manufacturers and exporters the information and knowledge on patents, status of patents of pharmaceutical products compared with other countries. It would also provide training and short-term courses in IPRs.

Best Buy Sells the iPhone; Sales Projections Raised

Apple (AAPL) and retailer Best Buy (BBY) got cozy with a “store within a store” pilot project a couple years ago. After a successful test, the pilot became a full-fledged roll out. Last week, Best Buy finished another project: a long effort to upgrade its cell phone sales department. (Best Buy Mobile shops are a a joint venture with Britain’s Carphone Warehouse). Putting the Apple and Phone upgrades together, Best Buy selling the iPhone would seem a natural fit. That’s exactly what was announced Wednesday.

Best Buy to Incorporate Music Centers

Richfield, Minn.-based Best Buy Co. Inc. is planning to use about 2,500 sq. ft. of retail space in dozens of its stores throughout the United States for musical instruments and accessories, according to the Associated Press. The consumer electronics retailer expects to open about 85 music centers within its stores by the end of this year in an effort to expand revenue opportunities as CD and DVD sales decline. "We're not just extending the shelf space in the store, we're creating a designated area specifically for this experience," said Kevin Balon, vice president of musical instruments for Best Buy. "And we're trying to create an authentic and genuine musical instrument store look and feel inside of Best Buy." Ten music centers have already opened in Best Buy stores in California, Illinois and Minnesota.

Ready, set...reconnect, with Best Buy's BIG Reunion!

Best Buy continues its support of Big Brothers Big Sisters with a new initiative reconnecting long lost "Bigs" and "Littles" MONTREAL, July 3 /CNW/ - The chance for past Big Brothers Big Sisters mentors to reconnect with long lost "Littles" is just a click away! Would you like to know what your Big or Little is doing today? Have you ever thought of reuniting with your former Big or Little, but were not sure how to go about it? Throughout the month of July, former Bigs and Littles are encouraged to visit Best Buy's BIG Reunion website at www.BestBuy.ca/BigReunion and register with Big Brothers Big Sisters ALUMNI. Once registered, alumni members will have the opportunity to complete an online Reconnection Request and participate in Best Buy's BIG Reunion.

The right of appeal under the amended Patents Act: a case study

Before the Patents Act, 1970 was further amended by the Patents (Amendment) Act, 2002 and the Patents (Amendment) Act, 2005, a party may only oppose the grant of a patent by the Controller of Patents at the pre-grant stage; however, after the Controller has made a decision, a party may appeal against it in the High Court under section 116(2) of the 1970 Act. Following the changes made by the Amendment Acts of 2002 and 2005, a party wishing to appeal against the decision of the Controller needs to bring proceedings before the Appellate Board, which was constituted under section 83 of the Trade Mark Act, 1999.

HSM shredders offically Best Buy

HSM has won two 'Best Buy' awards from What To Buy For Business. The July 2008 issue of the magazine looked at shredders launched in the UK since the beginning of 2008 and judged them on a range of stringent criterion. The Securio B34 4.5x30 and B32 3.9 were both awarded the accolade of Best Buy whilst the Securio B32.4 5x20 machine received a �Worth A Look� commendation.

Sony Group, Toshiba and IBM Renew Cell Broadband Engine(TM) Center of Competence with Georgia Tech

The Georgia Tech College of Computing today announced the renewal of the Sony Corporation/Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (Sony Group)-Toshiba-IBM Center of Competence (STI Center), based on Georgia Tech's exceptional work in multiple areas of research and evangelism for the Cell Broadband Engine(TM) (Cell/B.E.) technology. Through Georgia Tech's efforts, the STI Center has been responsible for creating and disseminating software optimized for Cell/B.E. systems, and for performing research on the design of Cell/B.E. systems, algorithms and applications. In conjunction with this renewal of the STI Center, Georgia Tech is announcing a series of new research projects that are being undertaken at the center to develop applications and productivity tools based on the Cell/B.

UniPixel Acquires Display Technology Patents

WOODLANDS, TX-- Uni-Pixel has reached an agreement to acquire a block of patents that are applicable to UniPixel�s TMOS display technology. The acquisition of the patents increases the total number of UniPixel�s TMOS display-related patents to one hundred and six (106) patents issued and filed. The patent transaction is a direct result of collaboration efforts entered into during 2007 surrounding the development and assembly of its TMOS display technology.

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