Software Patent News

Goggle Bids $900M for 6000 of Nortel’s Patents in Bankruptcy Auction

Goggle has bid $900M for Nortel’s patent portfolio, which is at auction in Nortel’s bankruptcy. Goggle said on its blog that it hopes that if its bid is successful that the Nortel patents (1) will create a disincentive for other to sue Goggle and (2) will provide a degree of freedom to operate to its [...]

Software Patent News for February 18th

PTO Unveils Details of Fast-Track Patent Option for $4000 [Law.com] – "The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announced plans to offer accelerated patent examinations at a $4,000 premium as one option in a "Three-Track" patent processing program under development. . . ."

“Use” Infringment of a System Requires Control Sufficient to Put System in Service

“Use” Infringment of a System Requires Control Sufficient to Put System in Service

Centrillion Data Systems LLC v. Quest Communications International, 2010-1110  (Fed. Cir.  Jan 20, 2010) [PDF] This case addresses the issue of whether infringement may be found for a “use”–under 35 U.S.C. 271(a)– of a system claim, which includes elements in the possession of more than one actor, e.g., the service provider possesses some elements and [...]

19% of INC 500 Companies Report Holding Patents

Inc. Magazine reports, in its September 2010 issue that 19% of the companies ranked in the magazine’s “Inc 500″ list hold patents. This is reported on page 188 of the print magazine as a part of the CEO survey. On page 126, it is reported that the CEO survey component of the Inc. 500 list [...]

Software Patent News for January 27th

Software Patent News for January 27th

IBM Offers Patent Portfolio Management Software to Clients – [IBM] – “IBM also announced that, for the first time, it will offer its invention know-how and patent portfolio management software to clients seeking to enhance their intellectual property (IP) management capabilities in support of innovation-based growth strategies.” Mozilla’s VP of Engineering On Patented H.264 Video [...]

Software Patent News for December 28th

Abandoning software patents? [Patent Law Blog (Patently-O)] – ” . . . The Supreme Court isn’t obliged to rule on the patentability of software ideas. Bilski’s patent is a business method patent, not a software patent. So why might the court make a broad ruling which would cover software? For people who are already aware [...]

Software Patent News for September 22nd

Patent Auctions Offer Protections to Inventors [NYTimes.com] – "…Wrangling over patents is beginning to move out of the courtroom and into the marketplace. A flurry of new companies and investment groups has sprung up to buy, sell, broker, license and auction patents. And venture capital and private equity is starting to pour into the field…"

Software Patent News for August 12th

Judge orders Microsoft to stop selling Word [CNET News] – "A judge on Tuesday [August 11, 2008] ordered Microsoft to stop selling Word, one of its premier products, in its current form due to patent infringement. . . . [The Court] issued a permanent injunction that "prohibits Microsoft from selling or importing to the United [...]

Software Patent News for July 18th

Man Files Patent for iPod-Like Device in 1979 [Gizmodo] – ". . .Kane Kramer, an inventor by trade, came up with a gadget and music distribution service almost eerily similar to the iPod-iTunes relationship that predates it by three decades. The guy predicted details down to DRM and flash memory's dominance."

Software Patent News for July 8th

Software Patent News for July 8th: Microsoft Puts C#, CLI Under No-Lawsuit Umbrella [TechNewsWorld] – "Microsoft stated Tuesday that it will not pursue legal action against open source software developers using C# and CLI programming languages. This will likely make some developers much more confident in using the technologies. However, the promise does not include [...]