Google has filed a formal complaint with the European Commission, alleging that Microsoft and Nokia are using patent trolls to stifle competition in the smartphone sector. The search giant hopes that the two companies will held accountable for their alleged collusion, and that it's complaint will spur others to take similar action in the coming months.
Apple is facing yet another lawsuit, as Mosaid subsidiary Core Wireless Licensing accuses the handset maker of infringing on eight patents. The suit targets several current Apple devices, including most iPhone and iPad variants, along with any similar products that the company will release in the future.
Frequent patent-based attacker Mosaid on Monday said its shareholders had greenlit a plan that would sell the company to Sterling Fund Management for $570 million, or slightly less than the $590 million mentioned in October. It should close by the end of this week. Sterling's exact aims weren't mentioned with the deal.
Barnes & Noble got an important win late this week after the ITC agreed (PDF) to make requests to Canada and Finland for evidence from patent holder Mosaid as well as Nokia. The calls would have Mosaid supply documents for its deal with Nokia through a letter rogatory, or a non-binding request to a foreign court. Nokia, meanwhile, would be asked for testimony from CEO Stephen Elop and other executives under the Hague Convention's Article 3, in which case the court wouldn't have much choice but to comply.
Barnes & Noble in its defense against Microsoft has countered with a 43-page list of prior art that it believes invalidate Microsoft's supposedly Android-related patents. The examples often go back over 16 years and include software as far back as NCSA's Mosaic browser, the precursor to Netscape and Microsoft's own Internet Explorer. The strategy would only need a handful of prior art claims to negate Microsoft's case.
A common source of mass patent violation lawsuits, Mosaid, was bought out on Friday by private equity group Sterling Partners. The deal, worth about $590 million Canadian ($594 million US), will see Sterling take on the task of managing 2,000 Nokia patents as well as the others that Mosaid owns. Both Nokia and its new mobile OS partner need to approve the deal, which should close if approved in December of January.
Mosaid in a statement Wednesday pressed share owners to turn down a second, $480 million Canadian ($488 million USD) buyout offer from Wi-LAN. Following an earlier deal, Mosaid claimed that the cash being offered was "clearly inadequate and highly opportunistic." It was even more so now that Mosaid was managing 2,000 Nokia patents through a takeover of Core Wireless, chairman Carl Schlachte said.
Wi-LAN continued its profiteering campaign on Friday by starting litigation against key computer and phone makers. The Ottawa firm targeted Apple, Alcatel-Lucent, Dell, HP, HTC, Kyocera, Novatel, and Sierra Wireless for all allegedly violating two patents, the first related to CDMA voice and HSPA 3G while the second touched on LTE 4G and Wi-Fi. As in most of its lawsuits, Wi-LAN is claiming damages but is known to be hoping for a settlement instead.
Mosaid signaled the likely start of a rash of new patent lawsuits after it reached a deal to manage 2,000 Nokia patents. The deal, which sees it take control of Core Wireless Licensing, will let Mosaid license out and sue over alleged infringements of 1,200 "standards-essential" patents for 2G, 3G, and 4G, as well as 800 general wireless implementation patents. Rather than pay for the patents directly, it was gambling that it could pay for the deal through royalties and lawsuit payouts in the future.
An offer of $480 CAD million ($490 million) by patent troll Wi-LAN directly to the shareholders of Mosaid Technologies, a similar company, has been proposed on Wednesday. Mosaid asked its shareholders on Thursday to ignore the offer, however, according to a recent report. Mosaid rejected an earlier, more direct offer from Wi-LAN.
RIM on Wednesday made a preventative deal with Intellectual Ventures to safeguard itself against patent lawsuits. The BlackBerry creator gets access to about 30,000 patents and can use them either as a defense or as a negotiating strategy for making licensing deals of its own. RIM hasn't given any specific plans.
Mosaid late Wednesday sued as many technology firms as possible in hopes of profiting off the success of Wi-Fi. The Ottawa-based company's complaint targeted major device makers such as ASUS, Canon, Dell, Intel, and RIM as well as those building chipsets, such as Atheros and Marvell, for allegedly infringing six patents covering Wi-Fi, including network finding and the orthogonal multiplexing used for the faster speeds in the newer 802.11n spec. CEO John Lindgren insisted that "all" devices using Wi-Fi were dependent on the patents and had to pay royalties.
