In the short history of Vonage, 2007 is the year when Vonage ended up losing four patent suits, and in each case, having to pay huge sums of money. Vonage has pay AT&T $39 million, Sprint Nextel (S) $80 million, and Verizon Communications (VZ) $120 million to settle patent infringement lawsuits. However, Vonage’s patent dispute [...]
Archive of posts filed under the Patents category.
Verizon Wireless selects LTE as 4th Generation Wireless Technology
Verizon Wireless has confirmed plans to use Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology as its 4th Generation (4G) technology. Today, Verizon Wireless uses CDMA2000 technology and most of the rest of the world (including Verizon Wireless’ European half-parent Vodafone Group Plc.) uses W-CDMA (also called UMTS) for 3G services. These two technologies are similar but are [...]
Qualcomm gets a breather in patent fight against Broadcomm and stay on Ban on importing 3G cellular handsets
Qualcomm got a breather now, and so did a number of its key customers. The Ban on the importation of new 3G handsets containing Qualcomm chips is stayed while an appeals court reviews the merits of the case. The United States International Trade Commission had imposed the ban in June as a remedy to its [...]
Soon you may be able to access an ATM from your cellular phone
Diebold and NCR Corporation, leading players in the automated teller machines market, are developing technologies to enable cell phones or PDA’s/Smartphones to transact with an ATM. NCR has been developing technology for linking hand-held communications devices with ATMs since 2001. NCR already uses such technology in Denmark and Singapore. Over the past 18 months, Diebold [...]
Nokia Rubs Salt in Old foe Qualcomms wounds
Qualcomm has lots of friends, but Nokia is not one of them. In fact, Nokia is almost an arch enemy; this club includes Texas Instruments (TI), who with Nokia, was trying to develop CDMA chips for Nokia phones (mostly), but this didn’t work out because Qualcomm apparently was charging too much to license its patents [...]
Qualcomm to settle 3G Patent Dispute with Broadcom?
Earlier this week, Qualcomm’s General Counsel Lou Lupin resigned in the face of mounting legal battles related to Intellectual Property in 3rd Generation Wireless systems. Rightfully so, because Qualcomm has had several setbacks in its patent disputes with Broadcom and Lou was responsible for directing these battles. Moreover, for a company like Qualcomm that has [...]
Sticking it to Qualcomm
Not surprisingly, the Bush administration has upheld the ban on importing new models of cell 3G phones that have chips from Qualcomm. The Department of Homeland Security review found insufficient justification for overturning the order on grounds that it would create problems for public safety agencies. I have to applaud the Bush Administration for doing [...]
Verizon Wireless does U-turn and pays Broadcom to import EV-DO mobile devices
The unending patent saga between Broadcom and Qualcomm takes yet another twist as Verizon Wireless has agreed to pay Broadcom $6 per handset, up to a maximum $40 million per quarter and a lifetime maximum of $200 million in order to be able to import EV-DO handsets into the USA. Verizon Wireless had previously supported [...]
Broadcom gives Qualcomm a taste of its own medicine
The unending saga of Broadcom vs. Qualcomm took another twist when Broadcom offered to receive $6 for every handset sold with a Qualcomm chip that was found to infringe a patent for a battery- saving feature. Qualcomm summarily rejected the offer saying it would have to pay US$1.5 billion to US$2 billion over the three [...]
Mandriva Linux says no Patent deal with Microsoft
Mandriva, the company formerly known as Mandrakesoft, that publishes the Mandriva GNU/Linux operating system says on a posting on the company blog by CEO François Bancilhon that there will be no cross-licensing pact with Microsoft. Mandriva has offices in the U.S., France, and Brazil and sells in more than 140 countries through dedicated channels and [...]
