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Analysis NPE takes aim at Twitter in notable test for former Yahoo! patents

Twitter found itself on the wrong end of an infringement lawsuit late last month when an entity called Digi Portal accused the social media company of infringing on one of its patents.  According to a recent RPX newsletter, Digi Portal is an apparent affiliate of the NPE IP Edge, which, as the most prolific plaintiff in the US over the last two years, has plenty of experience litigating against some of the largest and highest profile companies around.  What’s most interesting Read more

Richard Lloyd

Analysis Xiaomi has spent over $1 billion on IP royalties over the past three years, IPO documents show

File this under: things I missed while going through Xiaomi’s 600-page IPO prospectus. An analysis at Chinese tech news portal Sina points out that the company revealed its IP licensing outlays for the past three years (hat tip to Don Merino for digging this up and sharing on LinkedIn). Here are the figures, converted to present US dollars (the original data can be found on page 447 of this document): Expense 2015 2016 2017 Royalty fees Read more

Jacob Schindler

News IPBC Latin America to be held in Rio de Janeiro on 29th November

We are delighted to announce the latest addition to the IPBC family, with the launch of IPBC Latin America, which will be held for the first time on 29th November in Rio de Janeiro. The event - taking place immediately after the annual ASIPI meeting, which is also being held in the city - joins IPBCs Global, Asia, Europe, South East Asia, India, Korea, China, Japan, Taiwan, Shenzhen and Australasia on our roster of events whose focus is on the strategic use of IP to create Read more

Joff Wild

Analysis With a visit to the PTAB the epic Apple v Qualcomm conflict takes a new twist

The sprawling dispute between Apple and Qualcomm, in which the two Califoirnia-based companies are slugging it out in a protracted, multinational dispute, took a new turn yesterday when the iPhone giant filed inter partes reviews (IPRs) against two of the chipmaker’s patents that have been asserted against it in district court. It could well the first time Qualcomm has been forced to defend its patents before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.   The patents in Read more

Richard Lloyd

Analysis Longhorn IP unit acquires former Sharp semiconductor patents from Foxconn

Longhorn IP, the Texas-based NPE, has launched its fifth portfolio, a collection of semiconductor patents originally owned by Sharp. The licensing company, run by Khaled Fekih-Romdhane and Chris Dubuc, is calling its new vehicle Katana Silicon Technologies LLC – a name hinting at the Japanese source of the patents, which USPTO assignment records reveal is Sharp. Like the other components of Foxconn’s sprawling IP holdings, monetisation of the Sharp portfolio is handled by MiiCs Read more

Jacob Schindler

Analysis Lawsuits involving Jaguar Land Rover, Bentley and Volvo underline growing auto sector patent focus

A couple of recent infringement suits involving long-established car manufacturers have shown once again that patent assertion remains a looming threat in an auto industry that is undergoing some very significant changes.  Late last week Jaguar Land Rover brought a case against Bentley Motors accusing the luxury carmaker of infringing one of its patents relating to its “terrain response” technologies. The patent-in-suit, RE46,828 entitled “vehicle control” is a Read more

Richard Lloyd

Analysis $400m verdict against Samsung a milestone for Korean university, but just the beginning of the battle

Last Friday, a jury in the Eastern District of Texas ordered Samsung Electronics to pay $400 million to the IP licensing arm of South Korea’s top technology university. KAIST IP US LLC, an affiliate of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, saw its patent survive multiple IPRs and a dispute over its proper ownership en route to a courtroom victory over South Korea’s most prominent technology company. While US litigation watchers will be wary of a reversal on Read more

Jacob Schindler

Analysis IBM, Microsoft and Samsung lead the way in cybersecurity patents - but China is catching up fast

New research has revealed that IBM owns the largest portfolio of cybersecurity patents, with a little over 2,500 families. Big Blue is closely followed by Microsoft and Samsung; while Canon, Intel and Google also feature prominently among the largest players in the space, the full list of which contains many of the world’s leading patent owners.  But perhaps the biggest story from the new analysis is the growth of Chinese companies in the cybersecurity sector. Companies Read more

Richard Lloyd

Analysis Delaware will not turn into the new Eastern District of Texas because it has no incentive to, study claims

Research into the increase in patent suits in the District of Delaware following TC Heartland has found that the venue shift is likely to result in less litigation from patent assertion entities (PAEs), while also revealing that firms incorporated in Delaware have been impacted by the changes resulting from the Supreme Court’s landmark decision most positively. The TC Heartland ruling reinterpreted venue selection rules in the US and drastically reduced the choices a patent owner Read more

Timothy Au

Analysis South Africa moves to substantive examination for pharma patents, amid fears system could grind to halt

Pharmaceutical patent owners may have been concerned to read some of the key features of South Africa’s new IP policy. Recently adopted by the country’s cabinet, it seeks to clamp down on perceived “evergreening” by life sciences companies – raising the prospect of changes to patentability criteria – and suggests an increased role for compulsory licensing. However, the policy contains no concrete provisions to curtail or prohibit patents on incremental Read more

Adam Houldsworth