Samsung Reprimanded Over Use of Standards-Essential Patents for Import Ban [iOS Blog]
Samsung has been reprimanded by the U.S. Justice Department for using its standards-essential or FRAND patents to seek an import ban against some older Apple products into the United States. The DoJ investigated the case after concerns were raised about companies unfairly wielding their standards-essential patents to hamper competition.
As part of their extensive legal back-and-forth over patents, Samsung and Apple went before the U.S. International Trade Commission which ordered an import ban on several older Apple products saying they had violated a particular standards-essential Samsung patent. Apple argued that Samsung was asking an unfair licensing fee, but the ITC ruled that the Samsung’s claims could proceed nonetheless.
The Obama administration ended up vetoing the import ban, the first time since 1987 that the President of the United States had interfered with an ITC decision. A number of companies had lined up support for Apple, asking the President to veto the ban because the patent in question was deemed essential for 3G wireless functionality and Samsung was asking for inappropriately large licensing fees in violation of patent rules.
The DoJ said that it would not take action against Samsung because of the Presidential veto, but warned the firm against taking similar actions in the future:
In many cases, there is a risk that the patent holder could use the threat of an exclusion order to obtain licensing terms that are more onerous than would be justified by the value of the technology itself, effectively exploiting the market power obtained through the standards-setting process.
FRAND patents are supposed to allow companies to cross-license so-called “essential” patents at reasonable rates to avoid having companies with one necessary patent from extorting an entire industry with extreme licensing requirements.
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Nokia and HTC put patent litigation behind them
Nokia and HTC have settled their ongoing patent disputes and now look to be forming a working relationship. An announcement on Nokia’s press page tells us the two companies have settled all pending litigation and entered into a collaborative arrangement. According to the press release, HTC will make payments to Nokia and the two will work together in the area of 4G LTE patents.
“We are very pleased to have reached a settlement and collaboration agreement with HTC, which is a long standing licensee for Nokia’s standards essential patents…This agreement validates Nokia’s implementation patents and enables us to focus on further licensing opportunities.” – Nokia
“Nokia has one of the most preeminent patent portfolios in the industry…As an industry pioneer in smartphones with a strong patent portfolio, HTC is pleased to come to this agreement, which will enable us to stay focused on innovation for consumers.” – HTC
As to be expected, the full terms of the agreement were not made public.
The post Nokia and HTC put patent litigation behind them appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Blizzard to fund competitive gaming at the college level
The world of competitive gaming revolves around young players, but it’s not always easy for them to participate — many of them are college students without the resources to host large tournaments. They’ll soon get a helping hand from Blizzard, however. The StarCraft II developer is now promising support for college gaming groups that are part of the The eSports Association (TeSPA); as groups get larger, Blizzard will offer increasing amounts of cash, in-game bonuses and promo material. Groups with over 200 members will even get special guests. While the move is no doubt meant to sell more games, it could also create a stronger eSports community that nurtures rookies until they’re ready to hit the big leagues.
[Image credit: Glenn Batuyong, Flickr]
Filed under: Gaming
Via: The Daily Dot
Source: Activision, TeSPA
Engadget Podcast 383 – 2.7.14
Your host Terrence O’Brien weaves his way through this week’s hot topics with the agility of an Olympian athlete, aided by what can only be described as: the cult of Joseph Volpe’s personality. Missing from today’s podcast is Ben Gilbert, who will be back next week if he can manage to escape the soul-crushing grip of Sin City. This week we’re making a nod to the illustrious Mets broadcaster Ralph Kiner, discussing Microsoft’s change in direction with Satya Nadella at the helm, and offering some insight into the sale of Sony’s VAIO PC business. So settle in, the Engadget Podcast is about to begin. Simply head on down to the streaming links below, and please enjoy the show.
Hosts: Terrence O’Brien, Joseph Volpe
Producer: Jon Turi
Hear the podcast:
06:40 – Microsoft chooses cloud and enterprise head Satya Nadella as third CEO
16:43 – Meet Satya Nadella, the man tasked with reinventing Microsoft
40:42 – Sony sells its VAIO PC business, is splitting TV arm into a separate company
54:45 – Sony to close Reader store and move users to Kobo’s e-book platform in ‘late March
Subscribe to the podcast:
[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (enhanced AAC).
[RSS MP3] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in MP3) to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically.
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Download the podcast:
Contact the podcast:
Connect with the hosts on Twitter: @terrenceobrien, @jrvolpe
Email us: podcast [at] engadget [dot] com
Filed under: Podcasts
OpenTable launches pilot mobile payment program in San Francisco
Soon you’ll be able to use OpenTable to not only book your restaurant reservation, but pay for your meal as well. As rumored last year, the program is currently being tested at new diners and restaurants in San Francisco area, with plans to expand to new eateries and locations in the future. Similar to how PayPal allows you to pay at restaurants by having you check in when you arrive, OpenTable treats your reservation as a check-in of sorts. Paying for your night out with the app involves simply adding a credit card before your eat. When you’re done with dessert, you can view your check and complete the transaction on your phone without having to get a bill from your waiter, freeing you up to head on to your next adventure that much faster. With any luck, additional tester tables will open up soon — the company says it plans to let users request access to the pilot program in the near future.
Filed under: Mobile
Source: OpenTable
Tim Cook: ‘Android is Like Europe’, Many Different Things Under One Name
Apple CEO Tim Cook compared Android to Europe in his wide-ranging interview with The Wall Street Journal yesterday, saying that the PC and mobile platform wars couldn’t be compared. Cook said that Android is made up of many different things under one banner, as opposed to Windows which was one uniform platform.
Cook’s statement was in response to a question asking if the mobile device market will ultimately follow the PC market, where Apple remains a comparatively niche player compared to the dominance of Windows.
He said that the examining the PC and mobile markets as a direct comparison doesn’t work, largely because one of the historical differences between the Mac and Windows was the lack of availability for applications on the Mac, while iOS has a very strong developer base.
“There was a vast, vast difference in the number of applications that were available for the Macintosh”, Cook said. And, over the years, the gap continued to grow because the Mac lost some key applications.
However, on mobile devices, Apple has more than one million applications with half of those specifically optimized for the iPad. On Android, Cook says, there are only 1,000 apps optimized for tablets. He says the lack of properly optimized apps is one of the reasons “why the experience on Android tablets is so crappy”.
The other thing is that Windows pretty much was one thing. Android is like Europe. Europe was a name that somebody came up with for Americans who didn’t understand that Europe was a lot of countries that weren’t like U.S. states. They were very different. Android is many things. How many people who use a Kindle know that they’re using Android? And you see what Samsung is doing by putting more and more software on top. I think it’s night and day. The compare is so off.
Cook also noted that he doesn’t view the PC market a a monolith because he works at Apple — he joined the company from Compaq and said he understands the PC world “at that time because [he] was in it”. He continued, “if you really talk to the people who went through it… I don’t think any of them would tell you it’s the same” as the mobile device market today.
Elsewhere in the interview Cook revealed that Apple has repurchased $14 billion in stock over the past two weeks, and that the company is open to making large acquisitions if it makes sense. He also reiterated that Apple is working on “some really great stuff” in new product categories, an assertion that Apple executives have made numerous times over the past few months, and that Apple is spending an enormous amount of time and money on the “Macs of the future”.
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Bobsled and Skeleton Olympic Teams Analyze Performance With iPad [iOS Blog]
Coaches for the U.S. Bobsled and Skeleton Olympic teams are using a slow-motion video iPad app to record, analyze, and improve athlete performance ahead of competitive events that will begin next Wednesday.
Ubersense Coach, the app being used, specializes in slow motion video analysis, allowing coaches to record up to 120 FPS video using the iPhone or iPad camera. Captured video is then played back in super slow motion for a frame-by-frame analysis of technique.
The app, which Ubersense says is used by professional and amateur coaches alike, also includes zooming and panning tools, side-by-side comparisons, and both audio recording and drawing tools for making notes.
Along with being used by the U.S. Bobsled and Skeleton Olympic teams, the Ubersense Coach app has also been promoted by international figure skating coach Ghislain Briand and U.S. speed skating Olympian Joey Mantia.
USA Bobsled & Skeleton coaches record and analyze their athletes sliding over 80 mph using Ubersense on iPad. pic.twitter.com/HT56bHnbPl
— Ubersense (@Ubersense) January 29, 2014
Though Apple has never highlighted Ubersense Coach, it has focused on similar apps in several segments on its “Your Verse” iPad page, which shares stories of how people use their iPads.
In one segment, for example, Apple describes how hockey team LA Kings uses the ThunderCloud iBench app to capture video and evaluate players. Apple also shares the story of Bridie Farrell, a champion speedskater who uses the Dartfish Express app to train. Like Ubersense, that app in-depth provides video analysis of technique.
Ubersense has actually had a long-running partnership with the U.S. Bobsled and Skeleton Federation, originally teaming up in 2011 to license the Ubersense app to the U.S. national team for training.
The first U.S. Skeleton team event will take place on February 12 and the first Bobsled event will take place on February 16.
Ubersense Coach: Slow Motion Video Analysis can be downloaded from the App Store for free, with an “Elite” add-on available for $4.99 per month. The Elite in-app subscription adds cloud syncing, higher quality recording, and premium video content packs. [Direct Link]
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U.S. Cellular calls up $99 Moto G for no-contract plans
U.S. Cellular on Friday announced that the Moto G has been added to its no-contract lineup. Available for $99 (with instant rebate), the Moto G can be picked up through the carrier’s website starting today. Effective February 10 the device will be sold in retail stores at the same price. Nothing changes in the Moto G; it’s the same Android 4.4 KitKat handset with a 4.5-inch display, and quad-core processor. U.S. Cellular offers a new unlimited voice, messaging, and data plan for $50 per month.
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