Patents | featured news

Calling it a jump-start for the economy and a boon for jobs, President Barack Obama signed into law on Friday a bill that overhauls the nation's patent system for the first time in nearly six decades.

Samsung's chairman has asked top management to strengthen its software capabilities as Samsung finds itself embroiled in an intensifying patent battle with Apple after Google announced its acquisition of Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion.

To recap, Google’s chief legal officer, David Drummond, sent a shot across the bow of Apple, Microsoft and Oracle, accusing them of participating in an “organized campaign” to take Google’s Android platform down through patent lawsuits.

Pfizer hopes to have an over-the-counter version of the world’s best-selling drug after it loses patent protection.

The cost of prescription medicines used by millions of people every day is about to plummet....

Apple netted a victory in its legal dispute with HTC, as an International Trade Commission judge ruled the cellphone maker infringed two Apple patents.

Oracle is seeking between $1.4 billion and $6.1 billion in a patent lawsuit against Google over the lucrative smartphone market, according to a court filing.

Nokia Oyj won an almost two-year patent dispute with Apple Inc., in a settlement that awards a one-time payment and royalties to the Finnish handset maker. Nokia rose as much as 4.1 percent in Helsinki trading. The agreement will bolster the Devices & Services unit’s second- quarter profitability, Espoo, Finland-based Nokia said in a statement today. The details of the contract, under which Apple will pay an undisclosed sum and royalties for the term of the agreement, are confidential, Nokia said.

The legal battle began in 2007 when i4i sued Microsoft. A federal jury awarded $290 million to i4i after finding that Microsoft, in 2003 and 2007 versions of Word, its word processing application, had infringed i4i's patent relating to text manipulation software.

We recently broke the story of a small search software outlet named Masterobjects taking on Amazon.com in a notable patent infringement lawsuit, later also taking Google to court. Now it's apparently Microsoft's turn to get sued by the company, and my guess is more will follow.