Chalk up another win for Google and Android. Today, the jury in what a judge called the “longest civil trial” he had been a part of, decided that Google did not infringe on Oracle’s patents. This marks an end to a painful process that saw the likes of Andy Rubin and Larry Page take the stand to defend their use of Java in Android.
Feel free to cheers your phone this afternoon at happy hour.
Via: CNET
Cheers duke69111!
This whole battle of tech intellectual property is getting, or has gotten, out of hand. It seems that every company that you know the name of is suing or is being sued for something that they have done. Most notably for readers of this site though, is the attack on Android from all sides. Visual.ly has massed together some of the numbers and has put their infographic spin on it, and the whole thing looks just as confusing as you would expect.
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The HTC EVO 4G LTE will ship to those that pre-ordered on May 24, according to Sprint. After being held up at customs by the ITC for patent reasons that involve Apple (of course), the device must have passed their tests and has been cleared for take off. Sprint is still not willing to give us an official launch date for the device in stores, but if pre-orders are shipping this Thursday, it shouldn’t be too far off from that.
If you haven’t kept up with this saga, be sure to read our EVO 4G LTE review.
Via: Sprint
Cheers Sal!
Even though the court-recommended talks between Samsung and Apple were supposed to start later this month, it seems the two companies have started pulling back a bit from their thermonuclear patent war. Monday, Apple filed to narrow their patent claims against Samsung to nearly half of what they originally were. Samsung responded hours later by shaving five claims off of their suit against Apple as well.
While this is a far cry from things being resolved, this might make it easier for the two to come to a complete settlement. If something is not agreed upon, the trial is set to go to court in July.
Via: BGR
Earlier in the month, news spread over Apple filing and winning request through the U.S. court system that would grant them access to information about Google’s acquisition of Motorola Mobility and related Android developer data. Most found the filing quite vague and rather peculiar seeing as how Motorola would not have privilege to such files. After all, it is Google that bought Motorola, not the other way around. Moto, as expected, fought the ruling hard and may have won – for now.
U.S. Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner seemed to agree with their conclusion and issued a simple paragraph denying Apple’s request. “The motion is vague and overbroad and Motorola’s objections are persuasive.” What Apple is trying to accomplish is unknown at this time, but we can assume that for now, they are going to continue down every possible road in order to stunt Android’s growth.
Via: Bloomberg
Cheers K!
Wait a minute Apple, we thought the term “license” was banned for life from your campus like a Gizmodo editor. What’s this we are hearing about you offering potential licensing deals of patents to Samsung and Motorola? No more “thermonuclear war?” What happened to spending every last penny in the bank to destroy Android? Oh, things have changed according to sources familiar with the matter.
After battling with the entire Android world for a couple of years now, Apple may have realized that ridding the world of their biggest competitor’s partners is probably not going to happen. Reports have them offering licensing deals of $5 – $15 per device to Samsung and Motorola, two companies that they have both won and lost patent spats with in the last few months. These numbers come in at around 1% – 2.5% of net sales per device, which are numbers similar to what Moto was asking them for in their German win, yet Apple whined like children at how unfair of a number it was.
Company spokespersons from all of the companies involved refused to comment, so this is all unconfirmed for now. It certainly tells you one thing though, that Apple’s direction and focus is already changing with Tim Cook at the helm.
Oh yeah, you are reading that title correctly even if it makes almost no sense. A U.S. judge ruled that Motorola must hand over Android development data to Apple along with details of the pending acquisition of them by Google. Apple’s attorneys claim that the acquisition is “highly relevant” to their claims and defenses. The Android development info is obviously equally if not more important since the majority of these patents all have to do with the software side of things.
As expected, Motorola opposed the request saying that “Google’s employees and documents are not within the ‘possession, custody, or control’ of Motorola, and Motorola cannot force Google to produce documents or witnesses over Google’s objections.” Which is exactly why this move by a U.S. judge makes absolutely no sense. Two trials are set starting in June, with 6 Apple patents and 3 Motorola patents as the subjects.
Via: Bloomberg
Cheers Tim!
From Android Life
