As it has countless times in the last decade, Microsoft once again finds itself at a crossroads.
Over the course of thirty-plus years, Microsoft rose to global dominance on the back of the desktop computer. But in the last decade, PC sales have been slowing as mobile devices become the next paradigm in personal computing. This presents some serious challenges for the folks in Redmond; the problems are bigger than just finding ways to win with smartphones and tablets. The traditional method of selling boxed software or licenses to hardware manufacturers and big businesses is changing.
Apple’s landmark $ 1 billion damages award over Samsung has been partially vacated by presiding judge Lucy Koh, FOSS Patents reports. The judge has orders just north of $ 450 million be struck from the $ 1 billion total, an amount which relates to 14 Samsung products involved in the case, pending a new trial to determine appropriate damages for those specific devices.
Koh said that a new trial has to be held to determine damages on those products, which include the AT&T Galaxy SII, the Galaxy Tab, Nexus 4G and others, based on the fact that the court isn’t able to make adjustments to the amounts owing based on infringement by those products for legal reasons. In the second trial, which will be decided by an entirely new jury, Apple could wind up being awarded more or less in damages based on their evaluation of the per-product cost of infringement for that group of Android smartphones and tablets.
Apple is still entitled to an award of $ 598,908,892 from the part of the damages decision that Koh has determined should stand, though FOSS Patents suggests that no actual money will change hands until the result of this new, second trial is decided. Apple will also be able to exercise its option to pursue additional damages based on post-judgement royalties, and pre-judgement interest, pending the new jury’s decision.
HP has made it clear it has some ambitious aspirations, and at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference today, CEO Meg Whitman gave some insight on how the company is hoping to achieve those goals. Unsurprisingly, a large part of its approach is to address the company’s former failures in mobile. “What happened is the market moved very fast to tablets and smartphones and now we’ve got to manage that transition,” she said, noting that her predecessors did to try to address the shift by buying Palm. “But as you know, under the previous administration that took a little detour to nowhere.”
As a result, HP has expanded the way it thinks about its computing business. “We now have the opportunity to compete in a…
In another face of the ever turning world of patent battles, Reuters reports Microsoft has snagged a victory over Motorola as the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in its favor today. Motorola had obtained an injunction in Germany against Microsoft products — including the Xbox 360 and Windows 7 — based on its h.264 patents back in May, but today the court upheld a previous decision putting enforcement on hold because of Microsoft’s existing lawsuit against Moto for breach of contract. Microsoft’s push to leverage its patents into licensing payouts from manufacturers of Android devices have seen the two at each other’s throats since at least 2010, when the folks from Redmond lodged an ITC complaint over nine patents and followed up with another suit accusing Motorola of charging unfair license fees for its patents. Motorola fired back with its own pair of lawsuits — all of this a year before we heard it would be acquired by Google — and the battle was on. Whether or not this moves us any closer to any resolution remains to be seen, but at least Bavarian gaming consoles are safe, for now.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Microsoft, Google
US Appeals court rules Motorola can’t enforce injunction against Microsoft in Germany… again originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Sep 2012 19:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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In a court filing late Friday night Apple has requested the court enhance the $ 1.05 billion in damages a jury awarded it from Samsung for their patent lawsuit in California. FOSS Patents’ Florian Mueller has a breakdown of the figures, revealing that Apple has chosen to seek enhancement just on what the jury deemed “willful” patent infringement to the tune of $ 135 million (less than the 3x amount it could have pursued) plus an additional $ 400 million for infringement of trade dress. That adds up to $ 1,756,455,218 it’s now seeking from Samsung, plus, as Reuters reporter Dan Levine notes, the expected request for permanent injunctions. That could cover more than the products mentioned in the lawsuit, as Mueller also points out Apple is asking for an injunction against other products with similar features, which could extend to devices like the Galaxy S III. As usual, it’s all still far from over and the figures could change, but Samsung is probably just hoping Apple’s lawyers use iOS 6 Maps for their next trip to the courtroom.
Update: Per FOSS Patents, adding in interest and supplemental damages Apple’s total request is now a tidy $ 707 million.
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile
Apple seeks additional $ 707 million, permanent injunctions in patent case against Samsung originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 22 Sep 2012 03:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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We hope you didn’t think that Motorola would fight a purely defensive patent war against Apple after Google’s acquisition closed. Just days before a final ruling on its initial complaints, the RAZR maker has filed another dispute with the International Trade Commission that accuses Apple of violating patents through some iOS devices and Macs. Exact details of the dispute are under wraps for now; Motorola, as you’d imagine, only contends that it has no choice after Apple’s “unwillingness to work out a license.” While Apple hasn’t said anything about the subject, we already know how much it disagrees with Motorola’s previous licensing strategy — it’s unlikely Apple will just roll over, no matter what’s at stake.
Filed under: Cellphones, Desktops, Laptops
Post-acquisition Motorola files fresh ITC complaint against Apple originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Aug 2012 19:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Samsung may have convinced Judge Koh to toss a few international handsets out of Apple’s lawsuit, but the Korean firm still has Cupertino’s patent licensing accusations to contend with. Their tactic? Convince the court that Apple’s claim to the inventions are invalid, and that the technology was developed prior to the disputed patent’s filing. It’s called showing “prior art,” and Sammy’s done it before — famously showing a scene from 2001: A Space Odyssey in an attempt to put Apple’s iPad design claims to rest. Today’s examples were more grounded in reality, focusing on debunking Cupertino’s claim to the “bounce back” effect that happens when a user reaches the end of a page and common multitouch zoom / navigation gestures.
Samsung pitted the famous “bounce back” feature against an old PocketPC interface called LaunchTile, which allowed users to navigate through 36 applications by zooming in and out and a panning across a grid-like “world view” of said apps. Movement between grids snap to each zone, marking the end of a page. Apple shot back, noting that LiveTile’s snapping navigation didn’t work on diagonals, and cited other differences as well. Samsung wasn’t deterred, however, and brought out DiamondTouch, a projector based multitouch table that utilized both one touch scrolling and pinch-based zoom gestures. The table even takes aim at the aforementioned bounce-back patent with a technology called TableCloth, which bounces back images that are pulled off screen. DiamondTouch’s creator, Adam Bogue, told the court that he had demoed the technology to Apple privately back in 2003, noting that it was also available to anyone who visited the Mitsubishi Electronic Research Laboratories’ lobby.
If the jury takes to Samsung’s claims of prior art, it could severely cut Apple’s claims against it. Even so, Cupertino’s lawyers aren’t going down without a fight, and still have a number of navigation and design claims that Samsung hasn’t addressed. The two parties are expected to keep up the fight for about a week, we’ll keep you posted on the inevitable revelations as they come.
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablet PCs
Samsung’s defense against Apple patents begins with DiamondTouch table, LiveTile UI prior art originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Aug 2012 23:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The plot thickens! Dr. Steve Mann, the human cyborg made famous by an incident in a Parisian McDonald’s, just released a new picture (above) of his altercation with a McD’s staffer. The picture clearly shows a McDonald’s employee touching Dr. Mann’s permanently installed augmented reality eye piece. This invalidates McDonald’s statement, which claims “interaction with Dr. Mann was polite and did not involve a physical altercation.”
Dr. Mann stated the man struck the EyeTap, but like a side-swipe, grabbing motion rather than a direct punch to the face. Apparently, the man touching (or striking) the eye piece is the same person who eventually pushed Dr. Mann on to the street. The person in the background of the new picture later tears up (below) the letter from Mann’s doctor, explaining the device’s need and removal process.
Again, like I stated yesterday, without a video of the incident, it’s hard to say which party is in the wrong but Dr. Mann’s still images tell a chilling story all by themselves.
McDonald’s released a statement yesterday regarding the incident,
“We share the concern regarding Dr. Mann’s account of his July 1 visit to a McDonald’s in Paris. McDonald’s France was made aware of Dr. Mann’s complaints on July 16, and immediately launched a thorough investigation. The McDonald’s France team has contacted Dr. Mann and is awaiting further information from him.
In addition, several staff members involved have been interviewed individually, and all independently and consistently expressed that their interaction with Dr. Mann was polite and did not involve a physical altercation. Our crew members and restaurant security staff have informed us that they did not damage any of Mr. Mann’s personal possessions.
While we continue to learn more about the situation, we are hearing from customers who have questions about what happened. We urge everyone not to speculate or jump to conclusions before all the facts are known. Our goal is to provide a welcoming environment and stellar service to McDonald’s customers around the world.”
- McDonald’s
I’m still not convinced that mobile payments via NFC are on the road to ubiquity, but these fancy shmancy iPhone cases that double as card holders are all kinds of awesome. KillSpencer just debuted its latest, made almost entirely of exotic rosewood. It’s a beauty, to be sure.
The front and back are both attached using a removable adhesive, though there’s no side coverage for the iPhone. I’d have to review it and throw my iPhone across the room a few times before I could be sure, but it doesn’t look as though this case offers the most protection for your phone. But that’s not always what a case is about.
With the iPhone, you’re essentially walking around with the same exact phone as quite a few people. Most look at cases as a form of personal expression, with a little added protection as a bonus. The KillSpencer Precision Pocket case is a lot like that, though we kind of wish that the company had offered this as a front/back panel replacement kit rather than as a case.
Either way, the case holds up to three cards with a card lock and thumb slot to help you push a credit card or ID out with ease. It costs $ 89.00 and can be purchased here.
The General Court of the European Union, the second-highest court in Europe, has rejected Microsoft’s appeal against an antitrust ruling over the company’s licensing practices. Four years ago, Microsoft was fined €899 million ($ 1.44 billion) for failing to comply with an antitrust decision in 2004. The European Commission ordered Microsoft to pay the fine alongside changes to its versions of Windows involving a removal of the Windows Media Player.
In a ruling today, the General Court of the European Union cut Microsoft’s fine by €39 million to €860 million ($ 1.1 billion). Microsoft issued a statement to Reuters saying it is “disappointed with the court’s ruling,” despite the slightly reduced fine.
