Yesterday Arris filed a declaratory judgment action in D. Del. against Rockstar based on Rockstar asserting alleged standard essential patents (SEPs) against cable operators who purchased Arris equipment (recall our Jan. 21, 2014 post about Rockstar lawsuits with cable operators). Among other things, Arris seeks a declaration of the essentiality of Rockstar patents, what standard
Ericsson and Samsung settle SEP disputes with cross-license plus money
Ericsson announced a global cross-license settlement agreement with Samsung for patents relating to GSM, UMTS and LTE standards, which settlement includes two ITC investigations and litigation in E.D. Tex. that we have followed. Reports estimate that, in addition to exchange of consideration such as cross-licenses, Samsung will make an upfront payment to Ericsson of $650…
Competition Commission of India initiates another investigation of Ericsson’s licensing of FRAND committed cellular patents
In an order dated January 16, 2014, the Competition Commission of India (“CCI”) ordered another investigation into Ericsson’s licensing of cellular patents that are subject to FRAND obligations, which investigation will parallel a similar investigation of Ericsson that CCI ordered on November 12, 2013 (discussed in our prior post). The rationale for this…
Rockstar sued by cable operators for breaching standard setting obligations
Last Friday, several cable operators filed a Complaint against Rockstar in D. Del. alleging that Rockstar’s assertion against them of patents breached obligations owed to various standard setting organizations (“SSOs”) based on prior owner Nortel’s commitment to license patents on RAND, FRAND or royalty-free terms. Our Jan. 2 and Nov. 1 posts discussed Rockstar’s purchase…
Motorola and Apple Dispute Whether Apple’s FRAND Claims Should Have Been Dismissed (Apple v. Motorola, Fed. Cir. 2013-1150, -1182)
The parties and amicus have now finished briefing in the appeal from Judge Crabb’s ruling that dismissed Apple’s action seeking a declaration of a FRAND royalty because Apple would not agree to be bound by that ruling. This post summarizes the parties most recent filings.
First, recall that last summer we posted about Apple’s opening…
Second Circuit argument today on dismissal of RAND/antitrust dispute based on foreign activity
Today, the Second Circuit will hear argument in an important case on the extent that foreign injury (reduced foreign sales and closure of foreign plants) arising from foreign RAND breaches can have remedy in the U.S. based on their impact on U.S. commerce. The case, Lotes Co., Ltd. V. Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.…
Update: Judge Whyte finalizes Daubert and evidentiary rulings framing RAND issues for Realtek v. LSI jury trial
Judge Whyte recently issued his final ruling on Daubert and other evidence regarding RAND issues for the upcoming Realtek v. LSI jury trial based on his tentative ruling discussed in our Nov. 14 post. Judge Whyte basically kept his tentative rulings and bases thereof, as discussed in our prior post. He did provide additional…
Judge Stark bifurcates Blu-ray SEP case to determine essentiality and FRAND rate before liability issues (One Blue v. Imitation, D. Del. 1:13-cv-917)
Yesterday Judge Stark followed an approach used by Judge Holdeman in the Innovatio WiFi case by bifurcating FRAND issues from liability where essentiality and a RAND royalty rate will be tried first in hopes the result will spur settlement, followed by discovery and trial on liability issues if still necessary. Recall that this case arose…
American Antitrust Institute Contends Georgia-Pacific Factors Are Innappropriate for RAND-Encumbered Patents (Ericsson v. D-Link, Fed. Cir.)
Two weeks ago, we posted about non-party IEEE’s amicus curaie brief in Ericsson v. D-Link, et al., an appeal pending before the Federal Circuit. The appeal, initiated by defendants D-Link, Dell, Acer, Gateway, Netgear and Toshiba, challenges a jury’s damage award against the defendants for infringement of plaintiff Ericsson’s patents that are claimed to be…
Funai’s Reply Comments in ITC’s review of RAND ruling in LSI-Realtek investigation (Inv. No. 337-TA-837)
We previously discussed the opening comments filed by respondent Funai in the International Trade Commission (ITC) investigation of whether Realtek and Funai infringe complainant LSI’s alleged 802.11 and H.264 standard essential patents (SEPs). Funai recently filed two sets of reply comments as part of the ITC’s review of the ALJ’s initial determination rejecting Realtek and…
