Today the Federal Trade Commission made its long-awaited announcement that it has voted to seek public comment on a proposal to conduct a Section 6(b) study of patent assertion entities and their impact on innovation and competition. The FTC proposes this study based on requests from the public and Senators as well as the FTC’s
Judge Robart rules sufficient evidence supports jury verdict that Motorola breached RAND obligation in dealings with Microsoft
Yesterday, Judge Robart issued an Order that denied Motorola’s motion to overturn the jury’s verdict that Motorola breached its RAND obligations in dealing with Microsoft on standard essential patents (SEPs) for IEEE 802.11 WiFi standards and ITU H.264 video compression standards. Judge Robart’s ruling here indicates that assessing compliance with a RAND obligation is a
Rep. Goodlatte circulates second discussion draft on patent reform that would require pleading SSO obligations
Yesterday, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Robert W. Goodlatte (R-Va) released a second discussion draft of a patent reform bill directed to concerns about patent litigation abuse, which draft replaces his prior May 2013 discussion draft. This second discussion draft includes the requirement to plead what standard setting organization obligations apply to an asserted patent, stating:
Federal Circuit oral arguments being held today in Apple v. Motorola “Posner appeal” (No. 12-1548)
This morning, the Federal Circuit will hold arguments in appeal no. 12-1548, Apple Inc. v. Motorola, Inc., which is the appeal of Judge Posner’s dismissal of both parties’ patent infringement claims for failure to prove entitlement to a remedy (either injunctive relief or damages). This is a case that could have vast consequences for
Appropriate royalty base for standard-essential patents a disputed issue in Innovatio IP Ventures bench trial
Another week, and another standard-essential patent trial. Whereas last week brought us the jury’s verdict finding a RAND breach in the Microsoft-Motorola case, the trial this week relates to a determination of the appropriate RAND royalty rate for Innovatio IP Ventures, LLC’s WiFi-essential patent portfolio (consisting of patents previously owned by Broadcom).
You may
Jury finds Motorola breached RAND obligations, awards $14.5M in damages to Microsoft
This afternoon the RAND breach of contract case between Microsoft and Motorola went to the jury, and this evening — after just a few short hours of deliberation — the jury came back with its verdict. According to Curtis Cartier (@curtis_cartier on Twitter), a freelance journalist who attended the trial, the jury found
International Trade Commission to fully review decision finding no violation of Section 337 in InterDigital 3G patent case
Today, the U.S. International Trade Commission issued its delayed decision on whether it would review ALJ David P. Shaw’s Initial Determination finding no violation of Section 337 in In the Matter of Certain Wireless Devices with 3G Capabilities and Components Thereof, Inv. No. 337-TA-800. (For some background, see our previous post on the ALJ’s
The Comparative Law and Economics of Standard-Essential Patents and FRAND Royalties (a new paper from Prof. Thomas Cotter)
The week leading up to Labor Day was a relatively quiet one on the SEP litigation front, with the exception of the ongoing Microsoft-Motorola RAND jury trial in Seattle (scheduled to wrap up and go to the jury tomorrow). Late last week, the ITC also postponed until tomorrow the decision whether to review the ALJ’s