ITC SAYS MOTOROLA MOBILITY GUILTY OF MICROSOFT PATENT INFRINGEMENT

The United States International Trade Commission ruled late Tuesday that Motorola Mobility is guilty of infringing on one of Microsoft’s patents. The patent is related to calendar sync and how one might use a device to schedule a meeting, BBC News explained. Microsoft originally filed a suit against Motorola Mobility in August in an attempt to block sales of several Motorola Android smartphones, such as DROID 2, DROID X and several others, and accused Motorola Mobility of infringing on seven total patents. The ITC judge ruled that Motorola Mobility devices do not infringe on six of Microsoft’s patents, however. Microsoft recently filed a similar lawsuit against Barnes & Noble, and the company has already reached licensing agreements with HTC, Samsung, ViewSonic and several other firms.

ITC SIDES WITH APPLE, BANS US IMPORT OF SOME HTC DEVICES

A judge with the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled Monday that HTC is guilty of infringing Apple’s patents in several devices. The ITC also ordered a ban on the import of several of HTC’s smartphones although it is unclear which models are affected. The ban will take effect on April 19th. “Notice is hereby given that the U.S. International Trade Commission has found a violation of section 337 in this investigation and has issued a limited exclusion order prohibiting importation of infringing personal data and mobile communications devices and related software,” the ITC said in its determination. “The Commission has determined that exclusion of articles subject to this order shall commence on April 19, 2012.”

The injunction applies to two patents related to “data tapping,” and “if Google can implement this popular feature, which users of modern-day smartphones really expect, without infringing on the two patent claims found infringed, this import ban won’t have any effect whatsoever,” patent expert Florian Muller of FOSS Patents said in a post.

Apple accused HTC of infringing on 10 total patents and the ITC ruled in July that HTC was in violation of two of those patents. HTC later filed for an appeal of the case, in which Apple sought to ban the Taiwan-based vendor from selling its devices in the United States. “We can sit by and watch competitors steal our patented inventions, or we can do something about it. We’ve decided to do something about it,” Apple’s late CEO Steve Jobs said in March, 2010, when the complaint was initially filed.

HTC released a statement after the ruling saying it will appeal the decision. Additionally HTC stated they have a solution ready to address the violations noted in the judgement.

ITC JUDGE SAYS APPLE DOES NOT INFRINGE ON HTC PATENTS

An ITC judge has ruled on HTC's first complaint against Apple from back in May of 2010, finding no violation of the patents in question on the part of Apple. As FOSS Patents notes, however, the ruling hardly puts an end to the dispute between the two companies, and HTC certainly seems to be in it for the long haul. Its general counsel told CNET that "this is only one step of many in these legal proceedings," and that, "we are confident we have a strong case for the ITC appeals process and are fully prepared to protect our intellectual property."

HTC GUILTY OF INFRINGING ON TWO APPLE PATENTS

A judge with the U.S. International Trade Commission on Friday ruled that HTC’s Android phones infringe on two of ten Apple patents covered in a complaint filed by the Cupertino-based company last year. “We can sit by and watch competitors steal our patented inventions, or we can do something about it. We’ve decided to do something about it,” Apple CEO Steve Jobs said in a statement at that time. “We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours.” The ITC’s decision is an initial determination however, and it will now need to be reviewed by a six-member Commission.

Apple’s complaint in this case covered a total of ten patents, and the two HTC has been determined to be infringing are numbered 5,946,647 and 6,343,263. These patents cover a “system and method for performing an action on a structure in computer-generated data,” and a “real-time signal processing system for serially transmitted data,” respectively. Both patents are said to be hugely important to the core Android OS, and if upheld, the ruling could be incredibly damaging to the rest of Google’s Android partners.

Apple is also in the process of suing Motorola and other Android partners for infringing on these and other patents. HTC has already stated that it plans to appeal the ITC’s determination, telling reporters it will “vigorously fight” the ruling. A final determination in the case is due on December 6th, 2011.

APPLE, NOKIA SPAT ENDS; APPLE PAYING NOKIA

On Tuesday Nokia announced that it has reached an agreement with Apple that “will result in settlement of all patent litigation between the companies,” and that both firms will withdraw all complaints against one another from the U.S. International Trade Commission. The two firms have been fighting over patents for the past few years, filing counter suit after counter suit. The battle was thought to have had some closure when the U.S. ITC ruled that Apple did not infringe on Nokia’s patents, but then last month the government group said it would continue its investigation. Nokia said Tuesday that the agreement “consists of a one-time payment payable by Apple,” and that the Cupertino-based company will continue to pay royalties to Nokia for the remainder of the agreement. “We are very pleased to have Apple join the growing number of Nokia licensees,” said Stephen Elop, Nokia’s president and CEO. “This settlement demonstrates Nokia’s industry leading patent portfolio and enables us to focus on further licensing opportunities in the mobile communications market.”

KODAK WINS IN APPLE'S PATENT INFRINGEMENT CASE

An International Trade Commission (ITC) judge has ruled that Kodak did not infringe upon camera patents held by Apple. Reuters is reporting that an administrative law judge rejected the Cupertino-company’s claims, with a final decision by the ITC due on September 19th.

Kodak, although not as prominent as it once was when film reigned supreme, still holds a treasure-trove of patents. “Many investors see Kodak’s value in its lucrative portfolio of intellectual property,” reads the report. “It has more than 1,000 patents and it made an estimated $630 million in 2010 from its licenses. But analysts have said this revenue from licenses is unpredictable and the portfolio might eventually dwindle.”

Kodak has a pending suit filed against both Apple and Research In Motion, again surrounding smartphone camera technology, that is set to be decided upon on May 23rd.

ITC RULES APPLE DID NOT INFRINGE ON NOKIA PATENTS

An International Trade Commission panel on Friday ruled on a patent infringement suit filed by Nokia against Apple in May 2010. In the suit, Nokia alleged that Apple’s iPhone infringed on multiple Nokia patents covering wireless data transmission, data encryption and other related technologies. The ITC found that Apple did not infringe on any of the five patents named by Nokia in its complaint. The suit was one several patent-related suits exchanged by Nokia and Apple in recent years in the United States and in Europe.