Welcome to this edition of weekly patent news Commissioner Julie Brill of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) disclosed that in the ongoing study of patent-assertion entities, FTC is assessing is the practice of ?privateering,? where an operating company sells or licenses a patent to an assertion entity, which in turn enforces the patent against the operating entity?s market rivals. Google and Verizon cut out a patent deal that helps them avoid litigation and more importantly reduce the supply of patents available to trolls in the lawsuits. While the agreement doesn?t technically give the companies access to each other?s patents, it does give them more comfort to innovate without the fear of litigation. Uber is known to jacks up prices based on demand, a practice termed as price gouging by critics. Recently, Uber jacked up prices in Sydney to meet the demand of people fleeing a hostage crisis. The company, though, makes no apologies for what it calls ?surge pricing? and in fact it is seeking a patent. Uber applied for the U.S. patent last year for ?dynamically adjusting prices for service? using mobile devices. The system measures the supply of Uber drivers and demand from passengers, and prices fare accordingly. Google and YouTube have been sued in Germany for allegedly infringing on a video streaming patent owned by a U.S. software company Max Sound. The case could lead to sales bans on several Google Android products. Earlier in August, Max Sound filed a similar patent infringement suit against Google in U.S.. Apple was issued a patent last week on 3D Operating System. The 3D operating system casts shadow based on external sources of light like streetlight or sun. Which looks amazing. This help adapt iPhone’s display based on the surroundings. The 3D operating system also tracks users gaze and displays icons based on user?s distance and angle of view. Interesting, the hardware used by apple is already present in most of the smartphones launched recently. The 3D operating system uses GPS module, accelerometer, gyrometer and compass, to infer a 3D frame of reference for the iPhone. Once accurate position of phone is known, a front facing camera is used to estimate distance to the user and angle of view. User can switch between 2D mode and 3D mode to save battery. With this patent, apple has taken strong steps to free users from the artificial ?flat world? created by current devices.
It is time for the courtroom section In true holiday spirit, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a case about a Spider-Man toy. The toy in question uses foam string to mimic the superhero’s ability to create spider webs. The patent owner Stephen Kimble’s original invention was incorporated into the Web Blaster toy sold by Marvel Entertainment, Marvel agreed to pay Kimble 6 million dollars in royalties but they stoped payement once Kimble’s patent expired The supreme court will determine if the royalty payments should stop once the patent expires. Finally, some good news for the software patent holders. For the first time since the Supreme Court?s Alice Corp vs CLS Bank Int?l decision, the Federal Circuit has found that a patent claiming a software-related invention was patentable. In DDR Holdings, LLC vs Hotels.com, the Federal Circuit recognized that ?the claimed solution is necessarily rooted in computer technology to overcome a problem specifically arising in the realm of computer networks?, whereas the patents from earlier recent decisions claimed nothing more than the performance of abstract business process on the Internet or using a generic computer. We?ve seen many patent wars go off in the last few years especially in the highly volatile mobile market. A new patent war has emerged between Nvidia – Samsung ? Qualcomm. This began, when Nvidia began a very aggressive legal campaign against Samsung and Qualcomm in which the company has alleged that both mobile giants are infringing on several of its fundamental graphics PATENTS. Now, AMD is considering to Engage in this Graphics Patent War with Nvidia, Samsung and Qualcomm.
Moving on to international news China opens second intellectual property rights court in the city of Guangzhou. Chinese courts currently hear about 110,000 IPR cases annually and this is expected to increase. Based on recommendation of the supreme court, China is going to set up three intellectual property courts. The first IPR court was set up in Beijing in early November. The court has already accepted 221 cases in one month. A third IPR court is expected to open in Shanghai by end of this year. Singapore launches one-stop e-portal for Intellectual Property registration. The system integrates all e-filing processes for patent, trade mark and design applications into a single convenient portal. India averted the threat of any immediate downgrade by the US under its current intellectual property rights regime. Citing positive steps taken by the new Indian government in addressing America’s concerns on IP rights, the US has concluded its Out-of-Cycle Review of India’s intellectual property policies. Delhi High Court granted partial relief to Xiaomi in the Ericsson patent infringement case. The Court has granted Xiaomi the temporary right to import and sell Qualcomm-based smartphones in India. German pharma major Bayer suffered a significant disappointment, when India?s Supreme Court delivered a landmark ruling rejecting the company?s demand to cancel a compulsory licence issued to India’s Natco to sell a generic version of its blockbuster cancer drug Nexavar. Natco?s price for a month?s supply of the drug is just around $173, compared with Bayer?s branded drug at $5,500. In a similar case Swiss drugmaker Novartis has sued India’s Cipla for infringing patents covering its respiratory drug Onbrez, This comes a month after Cipla launched a copy of the drug at fifth of the original drug’s price. Please support us by subscribing to our channel by clicking the red button. If you are viewing the video on your mobile phone please find the Subscription link in the description below. Until next time keep innovating and keep patenting
