News

• Google-Motorola Mobility merger will be done this week

  By Brad Reed | 22 May, 2012 02:27

  Now that Google has gotten permission from China's Anti-Monopoly Bureau to acquire Motorola Mobility, the companies are expected to complete their merger by the middle of this week.

• Microsoft, Apple free to flex Nortel patent muscles

  By Tim Greene | 16 March, 2012 02:32

  Apple, Microsoft and a handful of other tech companies are now free to license $US4.5 billion in patents they bought at auction last year from bankrupt Nortel, which could open up a can of worms for companies using technology covered by the patents.

• What the America Invents Act means for the small inventor

  By Jeffrey Shieh, senior patent attorney, Inovia | 06 October, 2011 06:43

  On Sept. 16 President Obama signed the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (the "America Invents Act") into law, ushering in the most significant changes to the U.S. patent system in decades.

• MS-Samsung patent deal: Great news for Windows Phones

  By Jared Newman | 29 September, 2011 06:53

  The success of Samsung's Galaxy S Android phones just became a cash cow for Microsoft, thanks to a patent cross-licensing agreement in which Microsoft gets paid for every Android phone or tablet Samsung sells.

• yARN: Are patents all that great in IT?

  By Matthew Sainsbury | 22 September, 2011 14:21

  While I was in Japan touring Toughbook facilities, one of the more interesting discussions I had with one of the Japanese execs was in regards to patents.

• Samsung files patent complaint

  By AAP | 13 September, 2011 11:47

  South Korea's Samsung Electronics says it has filed a complaint in France against its US rival Apple for infringement of three technology patents.

• Microsoft, Acer in patent licence deal

  By AAP | 09 September, 2011 08:43

  Microsoft has reached a patent licence agreement with Acer, Taiwan's leading computer maker, that will cover tablet computers and smartphones powered by Google's Android platform.

• Bogus patents target Android: Google

  By AAP | 04 August, 2011 14:34

  Google's top lawyer has accused Apple, Oracle, Microsoft and other companies of using "bogus patents" to wage a campaign against the internet giant's Android mobile platform.

• Google buys about 1000 IBM patents

  By AAP | 01 August, 2011 09:47

  Google has bought about 1000 pending and issued patents from IBM in its quest to boost its defences against suits by other technology companies, according to documents filed with the US Patent Office.

• IBM snares 5,896 patents, Apple debuts among top 50 patent winners

  By Ann Bednarz | 11 January, 2011 02:24

  IBM earned more U.S. patents in 2010 than any other company, topping the list of patent winners for the 18th year in a row.

• Software patents hurt everyone, but especially SMBs

  By Katherine Noyes | 01 September, 2010 08:02

  Software patents have figured prominently in the news in recent weeks, thanks not just to Oracle's attack on Google but also--more recently--to Paul Allen's breathtaking multi-victim onslaught.

• Creation of common EU patent system faces legal setback

  By Jennifer Baker | 26 August, 2010 05:53

  The European Court of Justice looks set to derail plans for a common patent system across the European Union. The court's Advocate General believes that a centralized patent is "incompatible with the treaties" that created the E.U., according to a leaked document.

• Finjan sues McAfee, Symantec over patent claims

  By Robert McMillan | 15 July, 2010 10:12

  Finjan has sued five rival security companies, including Symantec and McAfee, claiming it holds crucial patents used by popular antivirus products and security services.

• US trade agency to investigate Apple's patent complaint

  By Grant Gross | 17 May, 2010 05:19

  The U.S. International Trade Commission will investigate complaints by Apple that Eastman Kodak violated its patents related to digital imaging devices and software, the latest dispute in a long-standing patent skirmish between the two companies.

• Appeals body ducks question of software patentability

  By Peter Sayer | 13 May, 2010 03:33

  No change: That's the result of an 18-monthlong appeals process that the president of the European Patent Office hoped would clarify the rules on whether software may be patented.