Current News: We pick through it, so you don't have to.
Patents in the News
Microsoft Presents MUI (Muscle User Interface)
Jan 1st
Recent patent news indicates a filing from Microsoft describing the control of a computer using Electromyography (EMG) to translate electrical activity from muscles into instructions for the computer. You should really check out the article over at TechFlash and watch the video below. It’s very interesting.
Article
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1agrUM4KYs[/youtube]
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Apple FORCES Ad Viewing
Nov 16th
Ads have always been, well, inviting to parties interested in their product but at the same time people that weren’t interested could just ignore them. It appears as though this isn’t good enough for Apple. No more playing the probability game for the fruity company. Now they are planning on FORCING users to view the ads, interested or not. I suppose in these harsh economic times revenue increases are king.
Link
AMD vs Intel Lawsuit Settled
Nov 12th
Intel has agreed to pay Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) $1.25 billion ending a long-winded antitrust and patent dispute filed in 2005. The antitrust suit accused Intel of bullying dozens of computer manufacturers, including Dell, into using Intel chips instead of AMD. With this settlement, now each company can start focusing more attention on innovation.
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Fun Fact: Intel currently controls about 80% of the market for microprocessors.
Nokia Sues Apple
Oct 22nd
Engadget posted an article today discussing a newly filed patent infringement lawsuit against Apple concerning their iPhone. It seems that Nokia’s lawsuit claims that ALL iPhone models shipped infringe on 10 of Espoo’s patents. It appears this issue has been discussed back and forth between the two companies; however, it seems that Apple’s refusal of liscensing terms has forced Nokia to take legal recourse.
Article
Eolas Sues Microsoft, Google, and 23 Other Companies
Oct 6th
Eolas is suing Microsoft, Google, and 23 other companies for patent infringement. They claim that they now have patent protection over anyone providing the ability (usually via plug-ins) to embed user-interactive applications. So yea, if you’ve used Wordpress (which uses AJAX) or any other site in which you implemented a plug-in to increase user interaction, you just became a part of history. This is getting ridiculous…
Article
This just 3 days after the Software Freedom Law Center filed a brief with the Supreme Court insisting that software patents be shot down.
Excerpt: “In this closely-watched case, the Supreme Court will decide whether the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit was correct in restricting patentable processes to those ‘tied to a particular machine or apparatus,’ or which ‘transform[s] a particular article into a different state or thing,’ a conclusion which if fully implemented could bring to an end the widespread patenting of computer programs. … This case gives the Supreme Court a chance to reaffirm what its past cases have held for more than a century: that no patent law consistent with the US Constitution can permit the monopolization of abstract ideas.”
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Guess we’ll see soon about good old Bilski…