intellectual property

A federal judge on Thursday told Google it needs to hand over documentation about how it's searching for information it's required to provide as part of a lawsuit between Apple and Samsung.

Apple earlier this week had requested the court require Google to disclose its methodology, adding that the search giant was not doing "a full search" for documents related to its Android operating system, which Apple wants to use as evidence in its patent lawsuit against Samsung.

In a court order, U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul Grewal said that Google has two days to provide … Read more

Online discount retailer Monoprice has apparently discontinued selling its top-rated home theater speakers shortly after being hit with a patent-infringement lawsuit.

In March, CNET reported on Monoprice, a darling of tech geeks for its cut-rate cables, noting that a handful of its new products were virtually identical to rival offerings.

Perhaps the most striking: Monoprice's 5.1 Hi-Fi Home Theater Satellite Speakers & Subwoofer system, which bears more than a passing resemblance to the Energy Take Classic 5.1 system, which CNET's Matt Moskovciak called "the best budget speaker system we've reviewed." Other than the … Read more

New legislation introduced to Congress on Monday aims to change the patent review process to curb the influx of new patent-related lawsuits.

Sen. Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, presented a new bill that amends 2011's America Invents Act by making permanent a temporary revision that allows the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to review a patent after it has been granted.

The new legislation, called the Patent Quality Improvement Act, would also change language for what types of businesses are covered under current America Invents Act, something Schumer says would better include technology start-ups.

"The … Read more

Aereo is trying to cut CBS off at the legal pass.

The TV streaming service has filed a complaint against CBS (CNET's parent company), to prevent it from filing yet another lawsuit against it. Aereo allows people to watch and record live network broadcasts via the Web, a feature that has gotten it into trouble with CBS, Fox, ABC, and NBC. The networks have argued that Aereo's $12-per-month service is illegal because it distributes their shows without compensating them in return.

Both sides have been battling it out in court, and so far the rulings have favored Aereo. … Read more

Microsoft's ownership of Skype has placed it in the crosshairs of a patent lawsuit.

CopyTele, a company that calls itself "specialists in patent monetization and patent assertion," launched its suit today, alleging that some of the technology used in Skype violates patents owned by its subsidiary, Secure Web Conference Corp.

In its complaint, CopyTele is asserting the infringement of two U.S patents -- "Method and apparatus for securing e-mail attachments" and "Portable telecommunication security device," both granted in 2005.

Both patents concern secure Web-based peer-to-peer communications, such as those used by Skype. … Read more

Craigslist has won the first round in its federal lawsuit against PadMapper and two other companies, which extracted and used real estate listings from the world's most popular classifieds site.

U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco on Tuesday rejected attempts by the defendants to dismiss Craigslist's lawsuit, which alleged a slew of unlawful acts -- including terms of use violations, copyright violations, trespass, and civil violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA).

"Defendants' continued use of Craigslist after the clear statements regarding authorization in the cease and desist letters and the technological … Read more

Opera Software has sued former employee Trond Werner Hansen, alleging that he gave trade secrets to rival browser maker Mozilla.

The Norwegian company seeks damages of 20 million kroner, or $3.4 million, according to a report by newspaper Dagens Naeringsliv, which uncovered the suit and wrote about it Monday.

"Opera is of the opinion that the former employee has acted contrary to his contractual and other legal obligations towards Opera. Among other things, we claim that he is in breach of the duty of loyalty and his contractual and statutory confidentiality obligations," said Ole E. Tokvam, a … Read more

Patents are either the scourge of technology, or its savior -- depending on who you talk to.

Intellectual Ventures, a company that has quite a bit invested in the business of patents, talked to more than 200 top executives earlier this year, and now says the majority of those individuals are keen on the idea of patents.

The controversial Bellevue, Wash.-based technology company -- which CNET profiled extensively last August -- released the findings of that study, which is its first, on Monday. It partnered with PR firm Waggener Edstrom and research firm Research Now to accumulate the data. … Read more

Motorola phones will continue to face a ban on their sales in Germany.

On Thursday, the Munich Higher Regional Court rejected an appeal by Google-Motorola to lift the injunction of its Android phones. In May 2012, a German court ruled that the company had violated a Microsoft patent over SMS, ordering a sales ban against its phones in Germany. Google appealed the ruling, but the court was unswayed.

Dubbed "Communicating multi-part messages between cellular devices using a standardized interface," the patent in question relates to text messaging.

"We are gratified the court has affirmed the District Court'… Read more