FT Alphaville » Patents http://ftalphaville.ft.com FT Alphaville - Market Commentary - FT.com Fri, 24 May 2013 21:30:09 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 The FT Alphaville podcast, with Dylan Grice http://ftalphaville.ft.com/2012/12/21/1316392/the-ft-alphaville-podcast-with-dylan-grice/ http://ftalphaville.ft.com/2012/12/21/1316392/the-ft-alphaville-podcast-with-dylan-grice/#comments Fri, 21 Dec 2012 12:26:37 +0000 FT Alphaville http://ftalphaville.ft.com/?p=1316392 Welcome to FT Alphaville’s extraordinarily infrequent podcast… (click through for the podcast link).
Continue reading: The FT Alphaville podcast, with Dylan Grice]]> http://ftalphaville.ft.com/2012/12/21/1316392/the-ft-alphaville-podcast-with-dylan-grice/feed/ 0 Ireland hits its ‘patent cliff’ http://ftalphaville.ft.com/2012/11/06/1248601/ireland-hits-its-patent-cliff/ http://ftalphaville.ft.com/2012/11/06/1248601/ireland-hits-its-patent-cliff/#comments Tue, 06 Nov 2012 15:59:29 +0000 David Keohane http://ftalphaville.ft.com/?p=1248601 Chart from Michael Saunders at Citi (click to enlarge):


What that shows is a pretty dramatic fall in

Continue reading: Ireland hits its ‘patent cliff’]]> http://ftalphaville.ft.com/2012/11/06/1248601/ireland-hits-its-patent-cliff/feed/ 0 The case against idea monopolisation http://ftalphaville.ft.com/2012/10/03/1190711/the-case-against-idea-monopolisation/ http://ftalphaville.ft.com/2012/10/03/1190711/the-case-against-idea-monopolisation/#comments Wed, 03 Oct 2012 18:21:32 +0000 Izabella Kaminska http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/?p=1190711 Patents and copyrights, a.k.a the process of monopolising ideas.

A gripping new paper from Michele Boldrin and David Levine at the St. Louis Fed argues there are strong economic grounds to abolish patents, because “there is no empirical evidence that they serve to increase innovation and productivity, unless the latter is identified with the number of patents awarded– which, as evidence shows, has no correlation with measured productivity.”

Continue reading: The case against idea monopolisation]]> http://ftalphaville.ft.com/2012/10/03/1190711/the-case-against-idea-monopolisation/feed/ 0 Facebook, Microsoft, AOL and patents, oh my http://ftalphaville.ft.com/2012/04/23/971031/facebook-microsoft-aol-and-patents-oh-my/ http://ftalphaville.ft.com/2012/04/23/971031/facebook-microsoft-aol-and-patents-oh-my/#comments Mon, 23 Apr 2012 16:42:56 +0000 FT Alphaville http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/?p=971031 We’re still trying to get our heads round this at pixel time (Yahoo killer?) but here’s the release:

In the initial AOL auction, Microsoft secured the ability to own or assign approximately 925 U.S. patents and patent applications plus a license to AOL’s remaining patent portfolio, which contains approximately 300 additional patents that were not for sale.

Continue reading: Facebook, Microsoft, AOL and patents, oh my]]> http://ftalphaville.ft.com/2012/04/23/971031/facebook-microsoft-aol-and-patents-oh-my/feed/ 0 Kodak files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy http://ftalphaville.ft.com/2012/01/19/840641/kodak-files-for-chapter-11-bankruptcy-2/ http://ftalphaville.ft.com/2012/01/19/840641/kodak-files-for-chapter-11-bankruptcy-2/#comments Thu, 19 Jan 2012 09:50:10 +0000 Lisa Pollack http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/?p=840641 Eastman Kodak announced early Thursday that it and its US subsidiaries filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, reports Marketwatch. The firm said the move “is intended to bolster liquidity in the US and abroad, monetize non-strategic intellectual property, fairly resolve legacy liabilities, and enable the company to focus on its most valuable business lines.” The press release is on Businesswire. Units of the 131-year-old company outside the US are not affected by the action and would continue to meet their obligations to suppliers, the FT reports. The filing in the US gives the company protection from its creditors while it seeks to reorganise its finances and operations. Kodak has shed 47,000 jobs and closed 13 manufacturing plants and 130 processing labs since 2003. Bankruptcy would allow the company to act more quickly to shut unprofitable operations while cutting back on its pension obligations, according to bankruptcy lawyers.

Continue reading: Kodak files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy]]> http://ftalphaville.ft.com/2012/01/19/840641/kodak-files-for-chapter-11-bankruptcy-2/feed/ 0 Kodak files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy http://ftalphaville.ft.com/2012/01/19/840321/kodak-files-for-chapter-11-bankruptcy/ http://ftalphaville.ft.com/2012/01/19/840321/kodak-files-for-chapter-11-bankruptcy/#comments Thu, 19 Jan 2012 05:41:42 +0000 Kate Mackenzie http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/?p=840321 Eastman Kodak announced early Thursday that it and its US subsidiaries filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, reports Marketwatch. The firm said the move “is intended to bolster liquidity in the US and abroad, monetize non-strategic intellectual property, fairly resolve legacy liabilities, and enable the company to focus on its most valuable business lines.” The press release is on Businesswire.

Continue reading: Kodak files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy]]> http://ftalphaville.ft.com/2012/01/19/840321/kodak-files-for-chapter-11-bankruptcy/feed/ 0 Kodak in ‘advanced’ talks with Citi on bankruptcy http://ftalphaville.ft.com/2012/01/13/831381/kodak-in-advanced-talks-with-citi-on-bankruptcy/ http://ftalphaville.ft.com/2012/01/13/831381/kodak-in-advanced-talks-with-citi-on-bankruptcy/#comments Fri, 13 Jan 2012 04:47:37 +0000 Kate Mackenzie http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/?p=831381 Kodak is in advanced discussions with Citigroup to provide bankruptcy financing, Bloomberg says, citing three people familiar with the matter. Kodak may seek protection from creditors within weeks and then hold an auction to sell its patent portfolio, said the people. Two of the sources said Kodak may seek about $1bn in debtor-in-possession financing, though terms may change, and one said advisers to Kodak are lining up a bidder that will be the frontrunner or so-called stalking horse bidder for the patent portfolio should the company file.

Continue reading: Kodak in ‘advanced’ talks with Citi on bankruptcy]]> http://ftalphaville.ft.com/2012/01/13/831381/kodak-in-advanced-talks-with-citi-on-bankruptcy/feed/ 0 HTC calls ruling a ‘victory’ over Apple http://ftalphaville.ft.com/2011/12/20/807461/htc-calls-ruling-a-%e2%80%98victory%e2%80%99-over-apple/ http://ftalphaville.ft.com/2011/12/20/807461/htc-calls-ruling-a-%e2%80%98victory%e2%80%99-over-apple/#comments Tue, 20 Dec 2011 09:39:36 +0000 Lisa Pollack http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/?p=807461 HTC has claimed victory over Apple in a closely watched intellectual property case for the smartphone industry, despite a US court ruling that imposes a ban on the import of some of HTC’s handsets into the US. The Taiwanese company said the final ruling by the US International Trade Commission “declared an actual victory for HTC” because it found that HTC had only infringed on one patent out of 10 complaints made by Apple, and rejected two of the four claims on the patent that had been upheld in an earlier decision. The court also gave HTC until April 19 next year to comply with the ruling, reports the FT. The Apple patent that was infringed about related to data-detection technology and HTC will completely remove it from their handsets, Reuters reports.

 

Continue reading: HTC calls ruling a ‘victory’ over Apple]]> http://ftalphaville.ft.com/2011/12/20/807461/htc-calls-ruling-a-%e2%80%98victory%e2%80%99-over-apple/feed/ 0 Australian court blocks Samsung tablet http://ftalphaville.ft.com/2011/10/13/701101/australian-court-blocks-samsung-tablet/ http://ftalphaville.ft.com/2011/10/13/701101/australian-court-blocks-samsung-tablet/#comments Thu, 13 Oct 2011 04:41:54 +0000 Kate Mackenzie http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/?p=701101 Apple has won an important legal battle in a Sydney court to block rival Samsung Electronics from selling its Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia ahead of the crucial Christmas shopping season, the FT reports. In a blow to Samsung, Justice Annabelle Bennett in the Federal Court on Thursday granted a temporary injunction sought by Apple, maker of the iPad, to delay the launch of its rival’s product in Australia. Apple claims that Samsung’s tablet, one of the iPad’s biggest rivals, infringes its technology and design patents. Apple also is seeking a sales ban on Samsung’s mobile devices in the US, which is one of Samsung’s biggest markets. A court hearing is slated for later on Thursday in California. Samsung and Apple are locked in about 20 legal disputes over patents in nine countries including the US, South Korea, Japan and the UK. Last month, a German court upheld a complaint by Apple that its South Korean rival copied the design of its iPad, and banned the sale of Samsung’s newest Galaxy Tab tablet computer in Europe’s largest market.

Continue reading: Australian court blocks Samsung tablet]]> http://ftalphaville.ft.com/2011/10/13/701101/australian-court-blocks-samsung-tablet/feed/ 0 HTC makes new bid to block iPhone and iPad in US http://ftalphaville.ft.com/2011/08/17/655096/htc-makes-new-bid-to-block-iphone-and-ipad-in-us/ http://ftalphaville.ft.com/2011/08/17/655096/htc-makes-new-bid-to-block-iphone-and-ipad-in-us/#comments Wed, 17 Aug 2011 03:59:04 +0000 Kate Mackenzie http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/?p=655096 HTC, the Taiwan-based company that is Asia’s second-biggest maker of smartphones, filed another salvo in the escalating patent wars around the devices.  Its patent-related complaint at the US International Trade Commission seeks to block imports of Apple products, Bloomberg reports. The complaint filed on Monday  in Washington claims Apple is infringing three patents related to wireless technology and seeks to block iPhone, iPad and Mac computer imports. It follows a case lodged last year at the ITC that made similar claims, a ruling on which is expected in September. HTC also sued Apple this week in federal court in Wilmington, Delaware, over the three patents. Last month, a different trade judge found that HTC infringed two Apple patents. If that decision is upheld, it could lead to an import ban on certain HTC phones. Apple filed a separate complaint this month targeting HTC’s phones and new Flyer tablet computers.

Continue reading: HTC makes new bid to block iPhone and iPad in US]]> http://ftalphaville.ft.com/2011/08/17/655096/htc-makes-new-bid-to-block-iphone-and-ipad-in-us/feed/ 0