Apple Found Infringing SkyTel Patents, Ordered To Pay $23.6 Million.

Unfair Apple ordered to pay $23.6 Million.
Two way messaging Patents developed for the SkyTel network and owned by Mobile Telecommunications Technologies LLC are sound and were infringed by Apple, a federal jury in Marshall, Texas, said late yesterday. MTel, was awarded $23.6 million, about a tenth of what it had been seeking in damages. It was seeking $1 per device which amounted to $237.2 Million. MTel claimed Apple’s Airport Wi-Fi products and iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch devices with messaging used the technology. 
“Apple is refusing to acknowledge the contributions of others, This case is about fairness.” MTel lawyer Deron Dacus of the Dacus Firm in Tyler, Texas, told the jury in closing arguments. Guess Apple was unfair, in the eyes of the jury.
Samsung, Apple's rival also faces the similar lawsuit scheduled to go in to a trial by jury soon.
Bloomberg

Apple Gets Location-based Profile Patent

One more patent in Apple's bag. 
Geemodo: Apple Gets Geofence-based Wireless Diagnostics Patent

LG, GOOGLE Sign A Patent Agreement

LGOOGLE Patent Share. http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
LG-GOOGLE has signed a patent sharing agreement enabling the duo to cross-license of all existing patents between the duo, and any new fillings / awards over next decade.

LG already collaborates with Google in producing Nexus devices and both are important to each other. LG has become a strong player in the Android arena and it will be advantageous for Google to have LG on the friendly side.

SEOUL and MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Nov. 5, 2014 — LG Electronics Inc. (LG) and Google Inc. have entered into a long-term patent cross-licensing agreement covering a broad range of products and technologies. The agreement covers the two companies’ existing patents as well as those filed over the next 10 years.

 

“We’re pleased to enter into this agreement with a leading global technology company like LG,” said Allen Lo, deputy general counsel for patents at Google. “By working together on cross-licenses like this, companies can focus on bringing great products and services to consumers around the world.”

 

This agreement builds on the long-standing strong alliance between Google and LG Electronics, the companies said. 

 

“LG values its relationship with Google, and this agreement underscores both companies’ commitment to developing new products and technologies that enhance consumers’ lives,” said J.H. Lee, executive vice president and head of the LG Electronics Intellectual Property Center.

gridtech: Novell owns Unix and Unixware Copyrights Judge say so.

gridtech: Novell owns Unix and Unixware Copyrights Judge say so.

Tags: unix, Linux, patent, sco, novell, sco vs novell

Packet8, 8x8, Inc. Awarded New Patent Related to video Communication Systems

VoIP IP Telephony @ http://snapvoip.blogspot.com
The Patent is for video communication involving monitoring and security applications over communication networks.
The new patent, U.S. Patent No. 7,202,884, issued April 10, 2007 and is titled "Surveillance Method and System." Amongst the 37 allowed claims is claim #1 which reads:

1. A surveillance system comprising:

* a first communications system communicatively coupled and
adapted to deliver a request for image data;
* a second communications system communicatively coupled and
adapted to transmit image data;
* a programmable surveillance system including a first computer
arrangement for processing data including image data, and
including a camera configured and arranged to capture images,
wherein the captured images are processed as data by the first
computer arrangement, and wherein the programmable system is
configured and arranged to receive the request for image data
from the first communications system, and, in response to the
request, to automatically access and deliver image data to the
second communications system;
* and a second computer arrangement for communicatively coupling
with the second communications system, and for processing data
including image data, and configured and arranged to retrieve
image data delivered by the first computer arrangement.


Since its establishment in 1987, 8x8 has been awarded sixty-seven (67) United States patents covering a variety of voice and video communications technologies.

Links;
News release by PRNewswire
Packet8

Tags: patent, VoIP business, packet8

Verizon, Vonage Patent suite, chimes trouble for VoIP

VoIP IP Telephony @ http://snapvoip.blogspot.com
In U.S. District Court in Virginia, Verizon will face off against Vonage in a patent infringement case by Verizon that could lead to ripple effects in the VoIP IP Telephony market.
The lawsuit charges Vonage with violation of seven Verizon patents, all related to Vonage’s VoIP based commercial service. If Verizon wins, Vonage could be forced to pay royalties or find workaround technologies.

The lawsuit charges that Vonage infringed patents related to completing calls between VoIP users and the PSTN or the public telephony network, authenticating VoIP callers, validating VoIP callers’ accounts, monitoring the usage of VoIP callers, protecting against fraud, providing enhanced features, and using Wi-Fi. I have not seen all the patents but might be a task for PUBPAT look into.

All the patents involve technologies at the intersection of the public network and VoIP applications, where all digital communications turns in to analog.

In July 2006, Vonage said it had acquired three VoIP-related patents from Digital Packet Licensing that address compression techniques related to the public network.

The patents were part of Vonage’s overall plan to find technologies that it could employ to work around Verizon’s contested patents.

But the Holmdel, New Jersey-based company continues to maintain that Verizon’s lawsuit is an attempt to snuff out VoIP companies that have been taking away its customers.

Links;
Asbury park press

Tags: PSTN, VoIP, VoIP IP Telephony, patent, vonage, verizon, pubpat