Patents

Adaptix sues Sprint, Clearwire for patent infringement

Sue Marek — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 16:30:36 -0500

Dallas-based Adaptix has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas claiming that Clearwire Corp. and Sprint Nextel infringed upon several of the company's patents when the companies launched broadband wireless service to customers using 802.16 and 802.16e WiMAX standards.

Specifically, the complaint refers to six patents, many of which use OFDMA technology. Adaptix, which was a 2007 winner of a FierceBroadbandWireless Fierce 15 award, is an OFDMA-vendor with a suite of WiMAX-based equipment that it says helps WiMAX carriers support mobile VoIP, audio and video streaming, mobile video conferencing, hotspot aggregation, temporary or disaster recovery Internet access and more.

The company wants to recover an unspecified amount of damages for the alleged patent infringement. Representatives for Adaptix, Clearwire and Sprint all declined to comment on the lawsuit.

For more:
- see the Adaptix complaint (pdf)

Related articles:
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FierceBroadbandWireless Fierce 15 2007

RIM to pay Nokia royalties for patents

Phil Goldstein — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 11:35:07 -0500

Research In Motion signed a new deal with Nokia to pay the Finnish handset giant up front for royalties in exchange for use of its wireless patents.

The world's largest handset maker did not disclose the financial details of the deal with the Canadian BlackBerry maker, but did say that RIM had signed a new multi-year patent license agreement with them, which covers CDMA2000, WCDMA and GSM patents.

Ilkka Rahnasto, Nokia's vice president of intellectual property rights, said that the deal shows the success of Nokia's increased attention to patent out-licensing. Earlier this year, Nokia agreed to make a one-time $2.2 billion payment to Qualcomm, as the two entered into a 15-year patent agreement that ended a long legal battle between the two.

For more:
- see this article

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Appeals court adds another layer to Qualcomm-Broadcom dispute

Jim Barthold — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 08:31:53 -0500

A federal appeals court has added another layer to the never-ending dispute between Qualcomm and Broadcom over digital video patents by agreeing that Qualcomm was wrong but that the punishment doled out by a lower court was too harsh. The appeals court sent the whole thing back to that lower court for another go.

The case started in 2005 when Qualcomm said chip competitor Broadcom infringed on two of its digital video patents. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California concluded that Qualcomm had not revealed it owned those patents when it became a member of the group that created the h.264 digital video standard which incorporated the patented technologies and that the patents were unenforceable in all contexts.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit now has agreed that Qualcomm's behavior was wrong, but that the patents should be unenforceable only when associated with h.264 products. It also sent the case back to the lower court.

David Rosmann, Broadcom's vice president of intellectual property litigation (and isn't that an ominous title?) promised that this thing is far from settled. In a Broadcom news release, Rosmann suggested "Qualcomm has violated the rules of the cellular standards bodies as well" and Broadcom is "determined to bring (this) to light in our other pending cases."

For more:
- see this article
- see this news release

Related stories:
Broadcom gets the latest victory in patent fight with Qualcomm
Broadcom wins round over Qualcomm in patent litigation

Broadcom files another complaint against Qualcomm

Sue Marek — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 11:00:17 -0400

The never-ending patent battle between Broadcom and Qualcomm wages on. Yesterday Broadcom filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California in San Diego seeking a declaratory judgment against Qualcomm because that firm's sales and licensing practices amount to patent misuse.

Specifically, the complaint said that Qualcomm's use of "exhausted" patents to control post-sale use of products results in a double recovery of royalties to Qualcomm. And it says that these practices constitute patent misuse.

Several patent cases between these two companies are still pending. These include the high-profile ITC decision last year that banned sales in the U.S of cellular phones that contain Qualcomm chips that infringe on Broadcom patents, which is still under appeal at the Federal Circuit; another case that was stayed by the Santa Ana court, which Broadcom may take to trial; as well as antitrust and litigation misconduct cases that Broadcom has filed against Qualcomm.

For more:
- see this article

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Google looking to free handsets from carriers

Phil Goldstein — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 09:56:29 -0400

Google is interested in producing a technology that will enable users to have an open mobile device that searches for cellular networks in range, much like WiFi devices currently sniff out hotspots, according to a patent the company filed in 2007 that was released this week.

The concept, called "Instant Bid," allows users to effectively end the system in which handsets are tethered to a single wireless network, and may be geared more toward prepaid cell phone users who do not have long-term contracts with carriers.

Google has said that the idea may amount to nothing, but with the Android software and the G1 device promising open application development, as well as Google co-founder Larry Page's push to get white-space freed up for unlicensed wireless applications, the idea of "open" at Google seems to be gaining steam.

For more:
- see this article
- click here to see the patent

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Qualcomm slapped for violating Broadcom ban

Sue Marek — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 10:22:40 -0400

The Qualcomm, Broadcom patent saga continues. Yesterday a Santa Ana, Calif., federal judge ruled Qualcomm violated an injunction on the use of Broadcom patents and he ordered the company to pay royalties on certain QChat push-to-talk revenue.

In the ruling, U.S. District Judge James Selna said there was "clear and convincing evidence" that Qualcomm was in contempt of a Dec. 31 order that he issued to prevent the company from infringing on three Broadcom patents. In May 2007 a jury found Qualcomm had infringed on the three Broadcom patents and it awarded $19.64 million in damages for past infringement in the case.

Qualcomm says it has already moved to a new version of the QChat software and wireless phones that no longer infringe on the patents. However, the company would not say how many wireless phones would be affected by the judge's order, nor would it provide an estimate of how much money the company owed to Broadcom for the profits from its QChat product line.

For more:
See this article

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Broadcom spat slows Sprint's QChat
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Wi-LAN, RIM settle patent dispute

Sue Marek — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 15:58:42 -0400

Controversial Canadian firm Wi-LAN Inc. and Research In Motion resolved a patent suit that Wi-LAN filed against RIM in June, claiming that it had infringed upon its patents for making and selling products that include mobile handheld devices and other equipment. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Ottawa-based Wi-LAN, which some consider a patent troll, filed the suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Marshall Division--a court that is favored by patent-license companies seeking big judgments. Wi-LAN also named Motorola and UTStarCom in the case.

For more:
- read this article

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Nokia gains patent victory over Qualcomm in Germany

Lynnette Luna — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 11:36:04 -0400

As a key trial between Qualcomm and Nokia begins today over WCDMA patents, Nokia gained some ammunition in Germany. The German Federal Patent Court ruled that a Qualcomm patent pertaining to GSM phones was invalid and threw out Qualcomm's case against Nokia. The lawsuit was filed back in 2006, but delayed at Qualcomm's request.

"Nokia believes that this case is illustrative of the ongoing patent debate around open standardization. As an increasing number of technologies are integrated into new products some patent owners try to claim high compensation for patents that lack merit," Nokia said in a statement.

A U.K. court and the International Trade Commission have also ruled in Nokia's favor, saying Qualcomm's GSM patents are invalid. The GSM patent lawsuits between the two companies primarily stem from the impasse the two have over a patent agreement that expired in April 2007 pertaining to royalties Qualcomm charges for WCDMA chips. Both companies have filed a flurry of patent lawsuits against each other for both GSM and WCDMA in various U.S. states and across Europe.

For more:
- read Cellular-News

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Nokia, Qualcomm head to court this week over CDMA patents. Nokia/Qualcomm story
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Nokia, Qualcomm head to court this week over CDMA patents

Lynnette Luna — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 11:57:07 -0400

The simmering battle between Qualcomm and Nokia is heating up again as the two technology giants head to court on Wednesday to determine whether Qualcomm's charges of royalties for CDMA are too high. While the trial won't likely settle the dispute the two have over a patent agreement that expired in April 2007 pertaining to royalties Qualcomm charges for WCDMA chips, it could offer the winner of this trial some leverage in that dispute.

At issue on Wednesday in a Delaware court is whether, as Nokia contends, Qualcomm forfeited its right to seek injunctions in lawsuits to enforce patents because it promised European standards-setting bodies to license its patents under fair and nondiscriminatory terms. Nokia also claims that it is paid up on Qualcomm's key patents while the rest should be valued much less when taking Nokia's own patents into consideration.

Of course, Qualcomm says Nokia is wrong about the worth of those other patents and its "fair and nondiscriminatory" agreement with standards bodies. It contends that Nokia extended their existing license agreement by default by using Qualcomm inventions after the agreement expired.

Vendors have long grumbled about the amount of royalties Qualcomm charges for CDMA-based patents. Nokia and Qualcomm have been filing a number of lawsuits in the U.S. and Europe against each other over patents since 2005.

For more:
- read the WSJ (sub. req.)

Related stories:
Qualcomm-Nokia lawsuits continue to fly. Lawsuit story
Nokia sues Qualcomm in Europe. Nokia-Qualcomm story

RIM gets stay in Visto case

Sue Marek — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 11:00:31 -0400

Research in Motion was granted a stay in a patent infringement case filed by Visto Corp. The case was supposed to begin today in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, however in April RIM requested a stay pending the outcome of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's reexamination of all five disputed patents. Two of the patents have been rejected but the Patent Office has reconsidered one of those rejections and validated one patent. Visto and RIM are awaiting a final ruling on the other patents and waiting to hear whether or not the Patent Office will reconsider the other final rejection.

Visto alleges that RIM infringed on five of its wireless-synchronization patents and is seeking damages plus a permanent injunction on all infringing RIM products.

For more:
- see this article (sub. req.)

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Wi-LAN sues Motorola, RIM and UTStarCom over patents

Lynnette Luna — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 10:17:22 -0400

The controversial company Wi-LAN--whose sole mission is the license patents to third parties--has filed patent lawsuits in a U.S. District Court in Marshall, Texas, a court that has been sympathetic to patent holders in the past by granting some fat damage awards, against Motorola, Research in Motion and UTStarCom. Wi-LAN claims these three companies are infringing on its patents for making and selling products that include mobile handheld devices and other equipment.

Some call Wi-LAN a patent troll, and the company's co-founder, Hatim Zaghloul, resigned from the company at the beginning of 2006 following disputes over the company's strategy of moving away from manufacturing products and becoming just a patent holder. The company recently reported revenues of $3.2 million in the second quarter ending in March and predicted sales of $20 million this year.

Last November, Wi-LAN initiated two patent infringement lawsuits against 22 different companies over WiFi and DSL. The suits were also filed in Marshall, Texas. Wi-LAN is charging infringement on three of its patents, two of which related to WiFi technology and one that has to do with power consumption on DSL products. The companies being sued include some big names: Apple, Dell, Intel, Texas Instruments, Sony, Lenovo, Broadcom, Acer, Best Buy and Circuit City. Wi-LAN CEO Jim Skippen had said then that Wi-LAN has plenty of funds to go after companies it says infringe on the company's patents.

Wi-LAN also announced that it settled a patent dispute with Marvell Semiconductor in a U.S. District Court in California.

For more:
- read Cellular-News

Related story:
Wi-LAN initiates patent lawsuits against 22 companies. Wi-LAN story

Sprint loses patent lawsuit over location-based technology

Lynnette Luna — Tue, 20 May 2008 11:28:56 -0400

Sprint Nextel can't seem to get any breaks lately. The company lost a patent lawsuit filed by Enovsys LLC over location-based technology. A Los Angeles jury awarded the company damages in the amount of $2.78 million. Enovsys' two patents relate to a privacy system used to protect and manage the disclosure of the precise location of a user's mobile device. Enovsys had charged that Sprint's wireless networks use those patents in managing location-based services.

To read more about the lawsuit:
- take a look at this release

Nokia: Replacement sales to buoy earnings

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 07:59:57 -0400

Nokia went on the defensive after Sony Ericsson announced that its handset sales are slowing down and Texas Instruments said it expected 3G chipset sales to fall: The Finnish phone maker said that it expected the replacement handset market to boost its market share in 2008. Nokia said replacement sales would account for slightly over 70 percent of its volume in 2008, after accounting for just less than 70 percent in 2007. The company expected color screens, cameras, email applications and music players to help drive the market. Nokia noted that growth in China and APAC countries have boosted the falling sales in EMEA, North America and Latin America.

Also, InterDigital announced today that it was in talks with Nokia over settling a patent dispute over 3G technology. While Nokia confirmed that the parties were in talks, neither side would comment further.

For more on Nokia's expectations:
- read this article from Washington Post
- check out this AP article about InterDigital

Qualcomm-Broadcom spat slows Sprint's QChat

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 07:59:55 -0400

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C. rejected Qualcomm's bid to lift an injunction that stopped it from selling chips found by a California jury to infringe on Broadcom patents. Qualcomm hoped to continue to sell its 3G chipsets for WCDMA while appealing the verdict. Sprint Nextel's attempt to intervene in the case on Qualcomm's behalf was also dismissed by the court.

"We are gratified that the U.S. Court of Appeals rejected Qualcomm's motion for a stay, leaving in force the injunction against Qualcomm's infringement issued by the U.S. District Court in Santa Ana," Broadcom General Counsel David Dull said in a statement.

Pali Research analyst Walter Piecyk said the news is not a cause for alarm for Sprint investors: "We caution investors from getting alarmed by this news as Sprint has already announced that its launch of QChat would be delayed and limited to 20 markets," Piecyk wrote in a research note. "The recently announced delay in QChat might be a surprise to some as the company repeatedly stated that it was on track for a Q1 launch despite evidence to the contrary that we unearthed in mid November."

For more on the news:
- read this article from the Washington Post

Qualcomm paid lobbyist $200K

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 07:59:55 -0400

Qualcomm paid Lent Scrivner & Roth $200,000 last year to lobby various federal agencies and government bodies. The firm lobbied the government on patent reform legislation, Broadcom's patent case against Qualcomm and telecommunication reform issues. Qualcomm paid the firm $100,000 during each half of 2007. Pete Leon, former legislative director for Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY) and Richard Molen, a legislative director for former Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT) were two of the lobbyists that worked on behalf of Qualcomm.

For more on Qualcomm's lobbying activities:
- read this article from the AP

Analyst: Qualcomm and Nokia to settle soon

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 07:59:55 -0400

American Technology Research analyst Mark McKechnie expects that Qualcomm and Nokia would resolve their patent dispute within three to 18 months, but in the end Nokia will pay upwards of 2 percent royalties to Qualcomm. McKechnie argued that this would drive Qualcomm's earnings higher in 2009 and 2010 both because of the royalty payments and because of the decreased legal expenditures.

For more on the Qualcomm/Nokia licensing spat:
- read this article from AP

Related Articles:
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Qualcomm-Nokia, lawsuits continue to fly Article

Judge reverses ruling in Qualcomm lawyers case

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 06:59:55 -0500

U.S. District Judge Rudi Brewster will allow the six Qualcomm lawyers, who a magistrate sanctioned for their actions while representing Qualcomm in its patent suit with Broadcom last year, to defend themselves by citing private communications they had with Qualcomm. Qualcomm had previously convinced the judge that those communications were protected by attorney-client privilege, but Brewster changed his mind after learning that Qualcomm had introduced four statements from employees that criticized the services of its outside lawyers in the Broadcom case. The lawyers received the sanction after it came to light that thousands of documents relating to the Broadcom case were withheld from the court's proceedings.

For more on the ruling:
- read this WSJ article (sub req)

Jacobs defends Qualcomm patent position

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 06:59:58 -0500

During a keynote address yesterday at the University of Colorado Silicon Flatirons conference on intellectual property Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs told an audience consisting primarily of lawyers and law students that other wireless firms often get upset with Qualcomm for having to pay royalties. However, he says that the company is continually using those royalty payments to reinvest in research and development. "We apply a large part of our royalties to R&D," Jacobs said.

He added that there is no truth to the complaints in the European Union that Qualcomm slows innovation and keeps prices high. "We have a greater degree of competition in the market and handset prices are falling." He added that foe Nokia, which he called the "ringleader" of the companies that are coming after Qualcomm, has seen its market share increase. "In emerging markets, they [Nokia] control the distribution channels. And they say that we are dominant."

Regarding the commitment from operators to upgrade their networks to technologies such as WiMAX and LTE, Jacobs said that those technologies will just be another radio that they incorporate into their chip sets. However, he also said that LTE is not more efficient than HSPA+ but does offer broader bandwidth. -Sue

Related Article:
U.K. court gives Nokia another win against Qualcomm. Article

U.K. gives Nokia another win against Qualcomm

Mon, 03 Mar 2008 06:59:57 -0500

After losing a ruling from the ITC in the U.S. last week, Qualcomm has lost another bid to prove Nokia infringed on its patents in the U.K. The U.K. High Court ruled that Nokia had not infringed on two of Qualcomm's patents that relate to GSM technology standards. Qualcomm filed 11 lawsuits around the world against Nokia during the past two years, but has yet to win any legal action against the company, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.

"We are pleased with the Court's decision that the patent claims are invalid and believe it is consistent with and supported by the facts," said Nokia CFO Rick Simonson. "This is the second court to conclude that Qualcomm does not have relevant and valid GSM patents."

For more on the court decision:
- read this article from the WSJ

Microsoft settles up with Visto

Mon, 03 Mar 2008 06:59:55 -0500

Unlike the very public and well-documented mobile email lawsuits of the past (remember RIM vs. NTP?), Microsoft and Visto have settled a suit that launched nearly two years ago but has yet to go to trial. Visto accused Microsoft of violating its mobile email patents, which Visto had successfully sued Seven Networks over in 2006 and won about $7.7 million in damages. The settlement with Microsoft includes both cash and "non-cash consideration" according to the company's press release. The case would have gone to trial next week.

Now the pressure is on Research In Motion, which Visto alleges has infringed on four of its patents. That case will proceed to trial in July if the parties don't reach a settlement beforehand.

For more on Visto vs. Microsoft:
- read this article from CNET

Related Article:
RIM countersues Visto. Article