Posts Tagged: "smartphone"

AT&T Mobility argued in a motion to dismiss that they were exempt from the jurisdiction of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) because they qualify as a “common carrier.” Specifically, Section 5 of the FTC Act gives the agency enforcement authority over “unfair or deceptive acts or practices,” but exempts “common carriers subject to the Acts to regulate commerce.” 15 U.S.C § 45(a)(1), (2). AT&T Mobility’s motion to dismiss the action was denied… The en banc Ninth Circuit agreed with the district court and overruled the previous three judge panel. The en banc Ninth Circuit ruled earlier today that “common carrier” immunity only attaches when a company is engaging in common-carrier services.

A Chinese court entered a ruling in favor of Huawei in a patent infringement case against Korean electronics conglomerate Samsung. While finding Samsung liable for infringing the Huawei patents, the court did not specify Samsung phone models that were infringing… This is only the latest action to play out in the infringement case between Huawei and Samsung in Chinese courts. In April 2017, Huawei scored its first patent infringement win in Chinese courts when it was awarded 80 million yuan ($11.6 million USD) in damages from Samsung.

A major legal battle over patented technologies in the mobile device communication sector between San Diego, CA-based semiconductor developer Qualcomm Inc. and Cupertino, CA-based consumer tech giant Apple Inc. took a new turn as multiple news reports indicated that Qualcomm had filed suit in China seeking a ban on the sale and manufacture of iPhones. Qualcomm’s court filing in China is the latest salvo in a barrage of legal challenges between both company’s over licensing activities between Qualcomm, Apple and the many Asian contract manufacturers who fabricate smartphones for Apple which incorporate technologies allegedly covered by Qualcomm’s patents.

On Monday, October 9th, San Diego, CA-based fabless semiconductor developer Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM) announced that it had entered into a licensing agreement with Istanbul, Turkey-based General Mobile, a regional smartphone brand and a partner of the Android One smartphone project developed by Google. The royalty-bearing patent license grants General Mobile the right to develop, manufacture and sell 3G and 4G complete devices which incorporate technologies that are covered by patents in Qualcomm’s portfolio.

On Tuesday, August 8th, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) announced that it was opening up an investigation on claims that Cupertino, CA-based consumer electronics behemoth Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is infringing upon patented technologies, specifically baseband processor modems, in its mobile electronic devices. The investigation follows a Section 337 patent infringement complaint filed on July 7th with the ITC by…

San Marcos, CA-based consumer hardware developer Snap Light LLC filed a patent infringement complaint against Kimsaprincess Inc., a company owned by American reality television personality Kim Kardashian West. The patent suit targets West and her company over claims that she has endorsed a phone selfie case which infringes on a U.S. patent. The suit has been filed in the Central District of California.

There is no question that smart phones have transformed the social and economic structure of society, and the integration of increasingly effective cameras has helped spark the revolution.  It is now the norm for people to document their lives through images of themselves and those around them, and to share those images through social media, where others then copy, edit, and reuse them within the blink of an eye.  Just imagine all the ways that photos are now taken, posted and virally spread via social media.  For instance, I have taken selfies, asked strangers to take pictures of me with my hiking buddies, and asked friends to send me images of people from their camera rolls. I have taken photographs of well-known personalities at private gatherings, and snapped pictures of individuals when they had no idea I was even there.   Sometimes I decide to post these personal images on Instagram or Facebook, and then away they go… Unfortunately, the Ninth Circuit failed in T3Media to fully and accurately address the limits of copyright preemption on state law claims involving the personal rights of individuals appearing in photographs.

This is the first win in court against Samsung by Huawei, which currently places third in the global smartphone market with 8.9 percent market share as of last September. Huawei asserted a patent covering smartphone technology against the Korean tech company, reportedly seeking compensation for 30 million smartphone units which were sold for a total of $12.7 billion. These infringing smartphone units included the Galaxy S7, according to reports.

On January 7th, 2007, legendary CEO of Apple Inc. and master of the product demo Steve Jobs announced the introduction of three revolutionary new products: a widescreen iPod with touch controls, a revolutionary mobile phone and a breakthrough Internet communicator. Soon, it became clear to everyone attending the Macworld 2007 keynote address, these three products would be incorporated into a single device known as the iPhone. This was Apple’s first foray into the nascent smartphone sector and it marked the beginning of a sea change in the consumer electronics industry.

The next decade should see a major increase in intelligent virtual assistants with market research firms predicting that the market will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 34.9 percent up to 38 percent between 2016 and 2024, reaching a global market size which could be as large as $12.28 billion by 2024. Industry sectors where virtual assistants will see major applications develop soon include banking, financial services and insurance, due in large part to the growth of mobile banking, as well as end-uses in the healthcare and e-commerce sectors.

Being targeted by PAEs is nothing new for Apple — but in an anti-trust complaint dated December 20, 2016, Apple finally said enough was enough. Pulling no punches, Apple accused the PAEs of “conspiring with Nokia in a scheme to diffuse and abuse [standard essential patents] and, as the PAEs and Nokia fully intended, monetize those false promises by extracting exorbitant non-FRAND royalties in way Nokia could not”. Using PAEs for direct attacks against Apple would be a smart, albeit sneaky, strategy for Nokia. Since PAEs do not themselves sell any products, there would be little risk of a countersuit from Apple – as well as a general lack of commitment to FRAND licensing terms that spell lower royalties.

American semiconductor giant Qualcomm has been taking actions in recent months against a Chinese smartphone developer whose stature has been on the rise. In a press release dated October 14th, Qualcomm announced that it had filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) against Meizu, a portable electronics manufacturer founded in 2003 and headquartered in the Chinese city of Zhuhai. Along with the ITC complaint, Qualcomm also filed a patent infringement action against Meizu in Germany’s Mannheim Regional Court and initiated a infringement-seizure action in France to begin collecting evidence for a potential future patent infringement action in that company.

Biometrics, or the measure of human physiological characteristics as expressed by data metrics, is becoming a much more valuable sector of high tech in recent months. By 2020, the global market for biometric systems should surpass $24.4 billion according to data released by Markets and Markets, with the sector growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.5 percent between 2015 and 2020. Biometrics has applications in a couple of growing tech sectors, including e-commerce, e-passports and smartphones. Computer software and hardware developer Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) of Redmond, WA, is looking to apply biometrics tech to its smartphone products.

The third quarter continued Apple’s declining iPhone sales, eating into the company’s most profitable sector. iPhone revenues dropped from $31.3 billion in 2015’s third quarter down to $24 billion in the most recent quarter, a loss of 23 percent. That drop in revenues follows a sharp reduction in unit sales for the iPhone, down to 40.3 million units sold in the recent quarter from 47.5 million units sold in 2015’s third quarter… Meanwhile, Apple as so far in 2016 earned 29 U.S. smartphone patents, with these patents primarily relating to user interfaces and portable displays.