Tag archive: licensing

Have you ever wondered why your PC is so expensive? Well, a good portion of that cash goes straight into the pockets of Intel for its processors and Microsoft for Windows. Unfortunately, while the market has seen that the days of expensive PCs are over, executives at Microsoft and Intel may fight to retain high PC prices as we move into the next era of the PC: tablets. Tablet PCs are slowly taking over the market. With Windows 8, even Microsoft… Read More

According to Microsoft, half of all Android devices are now under its patent protection. Yesterday, the Redmond software maker revealed it has signed a deal with Compal Electronics giving the company “broad coverage under Microsoft's patent portfolio” for tablets, phones, e-readers and anything else running Google's Android or Chrome operating systems. Under the new deal, Microsoft will receive royalties from Compal,… Read More

When HP acquired Palm for $1.2 billion back in 2010, everyone knew the takeover was about Palm's webOS rather than its struggling smartphone business. Now, both HP CEO Leo Apotheker and HP's Palm business unit head Jon Rubenstein have confirmed that HP is in talks with other companies about licensing out webOS so they can make their own webOS devices—and one of the companies in question is Samsung. Apotheker confirmed to Bloomberg… Read More

Google knew years ago that its ever-changing, topical logos would be a hit – and that’s why it decided to patent them. Way back in 2000, Google co-founder Sergey Brin filed to patent Google Doodles in an application titled “Systems and methods for enticing users to access a web site.” And now the beloved and occasionally newsworthy feature of the Internet giant’s homepage is officially licensed Google property. Now, our kneejerk reaction is to… Read More

If the iPhone charger you bought on eBay for 37 cents doesn’t wear Apple’s shiny “Made for iPhone” logo, Steve Jobs and Co. didn’t get their cut of the profit. And they’re none too happy about it. According to Bloomberg, Apple has turned its legal guns on the manufacturers of unlicensed third-party accessories. The majority of Apple accessories, including the menagerie of white plastic add-ons you might pick up at your local Apple store, are… Read More

In a brief statement, low-cost big-screen TV maker Vizio has announced it has entered into the MPEG Licensing Authority's MPEG-2 patent license portfolio—and, in doing so, brings an end to a series of lawsuits brought against it by industry heavy-hitters like Sony, Samsung, Philips, and Panasonic. Financial terms of the licensing agreement were not disclosed, but the deal removes a dark cloud from Vizio's future. The… Read More

Little-known fact: You may be able to burn up a stack of DVDs in your basement without paying a dime, but manufacturing and selling DVDs without the necessary licensing will bring down the wrath of some big companies you probably don’t want to be dealing with. The Italian company ACME found that out on Thursday, when Toshiba formally brought charges against it for patent infringement in a Milan court. Toshiba, one of the nine… Read More

According to Reuters, the European Commission has requested information from the developers of the rival Blu-ray and HD DVD next-generation disc formats, but noted the request is not the start of a formal investigation. Instead, the EC is looming into whether the licensing terms of the new DVD formats are in violation of EU competition regulations. The EC declined to from which companies it was requesting information, or which licenses… Read More

Hewlett-Packard Co. filed a patent infringement lawsuit Thursday against Gateway Inc., alleging its rival refused to pay licensing fees on six HP patented designs. Alleged culprits included laptop hinges, keyboards that require passwords–even the cursor that points to icons on a computer's video display. According to HP attorneys who filed in San Diego federal court, Poway-based Gateway paid licensing fees from 1994 to 1999 to… Read More