patent trolls

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Boston University Sues Apple Over 1997 Patent

It asks court to stop sales on iPads, iPhones, and MacBook Air

(Newser) - Boston University is asking a court to stop the sales of the iPhone 5, iPad, and MacBook Air, claiming that all those products infringe on a patent filed by one of its professors back in 1997. The patent covers a method of generating blue lasers in a cheap, compact fashion...

Obama Cracks Down on Patent Trolls

He'll issue executive order to try to curb abuses

(Newser) - President Obama plans to issue five executive orders today aimed at slaying, or at least curtailing, patent trolls—companies that amass a lot of patents purely for licensing and litigation purposes. Obama's orders will, among other things, ask the Patent and Trademark Office to take a harder look at...

Lawsuit: We Invented the Web, So Pay Up Google

Eolas Technologies patent claims interactive web is its brainchild

(Newser) - A case is being tried in Tyler, Texas, this week that could determine the future of the Internet. On one side: The world's top web companies, including Google, Amazon, Yahoo, and Apple. On the other: A tiny company called Eolas Technologies that claims it patented the "interactive web....

Tech Giants Join Forces Against 'Patent Trolls'

Fear of lawsuits behind group effort to snap up intellectual property

(Newser) - Some of tech's biggest players are banding together to corner the market on patents key to their various businesses, the Wall Street Journal reports. Companies like Google and Verizon are afraid of being held hostage by small players with a claim on key bits of intellectual property, and wary of...

Making Money: Patent Pending
Making Money:
Patent Pending
Oct 24, 2007 6:43 PM CDT

Making Money: Patent Pending

IBM wants to patent an idea about its patents, which is, well, patently contrary

(Newser) - Big Blue is seeing green in a recent patent filing. IBM, which holds more patents than any company in the world and reaps more than $1 billion in royalties annually, says it wants to make it easier for small companies to license its ideas on a “floating privilege basis....

Supreme Court Slays Patent Trolls
Supreme
Court Slays Patent Trolls
Aug 21, 2007 6:38 PM CDT

Supreme Court Slays Patent Trolls

Three recent decisions clamp down on frivolous patents and lawsuits

(Newser) - Technology Review looks at three recent Supreme Court decisions—taken together, "historic"—that crack down on "patent trolls," unscrupulous companies that file thousands of patents and just as many lawsuits, aggressively hunting for license fees. The new rulings make it harder to launch these licensing campaigns,...

6 Stories