Home

Patent

NetRatings Sues WebSideStory for Patent Infringement

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 6, 2006 - 5:29am.
New York - NetRatings, a provider of Internet audience measurement and market research, announced on Monday that filed patent infringement claims against WebSideStory, a provider of Internet marketing services. New York-based NetRatings says the five patents in question cover the "collection, analysis and reporting of information concerning computer usage activity." "Our patented technologies are at the core of NetRatings' high quality, innovative product portfolio," said NetRatings CEO William Pulver. "As we see growing demand from Internet advertisers and marketers for products and services that rely on these technologies, we intend to aggressively pursue and expand our patent enforcement program." NetRatings has filed similar patent claims against Coremetrics, Omniture, SageMetrics and Sane Solutions.
tags: Patent | Infringement | NetRating | Story | WebSide |

MeeVee Granted Two Patents on TV Search Engine Technology

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 6, 2006 - 5:14am.
Burlingame, Calif. - MeeVee, a developer of personalized TV search engine technology, announced on Monday that it has been granted two patents for its television search technology. The company said the new patents cover its method of tagging video content with descriptive metadata and searching the metadata to identify television programs, program segments and video content of interest to viewers.
tags: MeeVee | Technology | Engine | Patent | Grant |

U.S. Patent Office to Re-Examine Forgent JPEG Patent

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 3, 2006 - 6:45am.
Austin, Texas - Forgent Networks, a company that buys patents and seeks to license their use by other companies, announced this week that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will re-examine its patent related to JPEG technology. Texas-based Forgent has already generated over $105 million in licensing fees on the patent, from makers of digital cameras, cell phones and other devices. If invalidated, the company would keep the licensing fees already won but would not be able to pursue further deals.
tags: U.S. | Patent | JPEG | Re-Examine |

NeoMedia Technologies Gets Patent on Camera Phone Bar Code Scanner

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 2, 2006 - 7:07am.
Ft. Myers, Fla. - NeoMedia Technologies, a developer of wireless services, has received a U.S. patent for its technology that covers the capture and processing of bar codes explicitly from camera cell phones. The patent describes NeoMedia's method of capturing the image of a bar code by the camera device on a web-enabled cell phone, and processing the bar code so as to deliver the appropriate URL -- or web-based information -- to the user's cell phone screen, the company said.
tags: Phone | NeoMedia | Scanner | Patent | Camera |

Microsoft Awarded Interactive TV "Pause" Patent

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 16, 2005 - 8:24am.
London - Microsoft has been awarded a patent on technology that pauses a television show while viewers follow embedded links to relevant websites, chat rooms or other content, The Register reported. The company originally filed for the interactive TV "pause patent" in 1993. "Hyper-links to Internet sport pages or chat rooms can be included and the information displayed in a split screen along with the game, or the viewing of the game can be paused at the viewer's discretion for any length of time. Even with these arbitrary pauses the present invention(s) permits the viewer to watch the entire game, no matter when and how many viewing pauses are taken," reads the patent application.
tags: TV | Microsoft | Award | Patent | Pause |

Acacia Licenses Streaming Patent to Gannett, Tribune, Scripps

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 15, 2005 - 9:40am.
Newport Beach, Calif. -- Acacia Research, a holder of patents on streaming video-on-demand and other technologies, announced on Monday that it has secured licenses of its digital media transmission patent from a group of newspaper and other news publishers, including Gannett, Internet Broadcasting Systems, Journal Communications, Landmark Communications, The E.W. Scripps Company and Tribune Company. In addition to having now licensed its streaming patent to 302 companies, including Disney and Playboy, Newport Beach, Calif.-based Acacia has also sued firms including Comcast, Cox and DirecTV that have declined to license its technology for patent infringement.
tags: Gannett | Patent | Tribune | Acacia | Scripps |

Altnet Pursues Patent Licenses from File-Sharing Firms

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 13, 2005 - 10:24am.
Sherman Oaks, Calif. -- Altnet, a provider of secure file-sharing services that piggyback on the Kazaa peer-to-peer network, has sent letters to fellow file-sharing software providers LimeWire, BearShare and Mashboxx, seeking licensing fees for their alleged use of patented Altnet technology. The Altnet technology in question concerns "hashes," or alphanumeric codes assigned to label individual song or media files on P2P networks. "No lawsuits have been filed at this time, but this is placing companies on notice that their software uses (Altnet's) patented technology. If they wish to continue using it, then they need to obtain a license," Altnet counsel Larry Hadley told CNET News.com. Altnet has sued the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and several anti-piracy firms, which it claims infringed its patents in the process of their monitoring of file-sharing services for copyright infringement. Some recipients of the letters from Altnet told The Washington Post they are negotiating with other file-sharing providers to pool resources for a legal challenge to Altnet's patents.
tags: File-Sharing | Altnet | Patent |

Game Publishers Sued Over 3D Graphics Display Patent

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 2, 2004 - 9:24am.
Dallas -- A Texas-based law firm has filed patent infringement lawsuits against 12 video game publishers, including Activision, Atari, Electronic Arts, Take Two Interactive, THQ and Vivendi Universal Games, alleging the companies are infringing on 3D graphics display techniques contained in a 1988 patent. The lawsuit, filed by the law firm of McKool Smith, concerns U.S. Patent No. 4,734,690, which describes a method of storing 3D representations of objects that are then rendered onto a 2D screen while allowing 3D navigation of the objects. McKool Smith did not say what damages are being sought in the suits, which if held up in court would likely mean a license fee being paid to the patent holder for a large percentage of video games on the market.
tags: Games | Patent | 3D Graphics | Sued |

Acacia Suffers Setback in Streaming Patent Infringement Lawsuit

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 14, 2004 - 5:31am.
Los Angeles -- A company claiming to hold patents on basic streaming media technology was delivered a blow on Monday, when a federal court judge essentially ruled several of its patent claims to be invalid, The Los Angeles Times reported. Acacia Research, which has already won licenses for its technology from Disney, Playboy, Radio Free Virgin and over 100 others, responded by saying that several of its claims are still intact, and that the judge has still not heard from expert witnesses on any of its claims. "This is one step in what is typically a long process," said Acacia chairman Paul Ryan. "We continue to believe that we have strong arguments of infringement." Acacia sued a number of adult website operators after they refused to license its technology; U.S. District Judge James Ware filed the preliminary order against Acacia on Monday. The company also has a patent lawsuit pending against the nation's top cable and satellite TV operators, including Comcast and DirecTV. "We're pleased that the court saw, frankly, a lot of it our way," Jonathan Singer, an attorney for nine of the adult sites sued by Acacia, told The Times. The next oral arguments in the case will likely be heard in the fall, with decisions coming in the following months. Acacia's shares were down 37% Tuesday on news of the ruling.
tags: Law | Patent | Infringement | Acacia |

Microdrive Maker Seagate Files Patent Suit Against Rival Cornice

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 25, 2004 - 7:35am.
Scotts Valley, Calif. -- Seagate Technology, a manufacturer of hard disk drives, announced this week that it has filed a patent infringement suit against Colorado-based rival Cornice, which makes the microdrives used in digital music players from firms including Rio and iRiver. Earlier this month, Scotts Valley, Calif.-based Seagate released the first of its own 1-inch, 5GB microdrives designed for consumer electronics. "We cannot allow the competitive advantage we've established through our long-term investment in R&D to be unfairly attacked by those who would illegally infringe on our technology portfolio and intellectual property," said Seagate president Bill Watkins. Seagate is seeking monetary damages and a permanent injunction that bars Cornice from making, using, importing, offering to sell, or selling the allegedly infringing products in the United States.
tags: Law | Seagate | Patent | Cornice | Microdrive Maker |

Clear Channel Acquires Patent for Selling Instant Live Concert CDs

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 25, 2004 - 7:22am.
New York -- Clear Channel Entertainment has purchased a patent it says gives it the exclusive right to record and sell live concert CDs direct from venues, Rolling Stone reported. New York-based DiscLive, which was recently acquired by Immediatek, estimated it would gross $500,000 this spring from selling live concert CDs from bands like The Pixies, Billy Idol and the Allman Brothers. The service includes a mobile recording and CD burning studio that can churn out finished discs for fans to pre-order online and pick up at the venue after the concert. Clear Channel, which operates a similar service called Instant Live, purchased the patent for DiscLive's technology from its inventors, and believes that it covers not only Clear Channel's 130 owned venues, but all U.S. venues as well. The company has granted one-dollar licenses of the patent to some smaller bands that want to record and sell CDs of their shows, but told The Pixies that they may no longer sell their concert CDs direct from venues. "We want to be artist-friendly," Steve Simon, Clear Channel's director of Instant Live, told Rolling Stone. "But it is a business, and it's not going to be 'we have the patent, now everybody can use it for free.'"
tags: Clear Channel | CDs | Patent |

Apple Looks to Patent iPod's Graphical User Interface

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 29, 2004 - 4:03am.
London -- Apple is attempting to patent the graphical user interface utilized on its iPod digital music player, ZDNet UK reported on Monday. A patent application on the multimedia player software was published on Thursday of last week, listing its three inventors as Apple CEO Steve Jobs and Apple engineers Jeffrey L. Robbin and Timothy Wasko. The company's U.K. office declined to comment on the patent application.
tags: Apple | Patent | iPod's Graphical | Interface |

Kodak Acquires 2 Digital Printing Firms; Sues Sony for Patent Infringement

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 9, 2004 - 6:30am.
Rochester, N.Y. -- Photo giant Eastman Kodak stepped up its move into the digital market yesterday when it acquired two digital printing companies owned by the German firm Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG for a combined $150 million. The two companies, NexPress Solutions and Heidelberg Digital, manufacture digital color and black-and-white printers. Separately, Kodak announced it has filed patent infringement claims against rival camera maker Sony, alleging the company is infringing on 10 of its patents covering digital photography technology. The suit seeks an injunction against further sale of the allegedly infringing products and unspecified monetary damages. "We have attempted to resolve the matter with Sony for almost three years, and the discussion between us have not led to a suitable licensing agreement," Kodak spokesman Gerard Meuchner told Reuters. Sony said it had not yet seen the suit and had no comment.
tags: Sony | Kodak | Printing | Digital | Patent | Infringement |

Patent in $521 Million Judgment Against Microsoft Declared Invalid

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 8, 2004 - 6:39am.
Seattle -- Eolas Technologies, winner of a $521 million patent judgment against Microsoft over features in the company's Internet Explorer browser technology, has seen that award put in question after the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office last week said in a preliminary ruling that the Eolas patent is invalid, Reuters reported. Microsoft had started to make changes to its browser to comply with a federal judge's ruling last month upholding the $521 million jury award, but suspended the move to wait for the Patent Office's ruling. If the patent is ruled invalid after the full review process, Microsoft will not be forced to make changes to its Internet browsing software or pay the half billion-dollar settlement.
tags: Microsoft | Patent | Judgment | Invalid |

TiVo Wins Judgment in Patent Suit Brought by Pause Technology

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 11, 2004 - 9:22am.
San Jose, Calif. -- TiVo, a provider of digital video recorder hardware and services, announced on Wednesday that a federal judge has granted summary judgment in TiVo's favor in a patent infringement case brought by Massachusetts-based Pause Technology in 2001. United States District Judge Patti Saris said that TiVo's technology does not infringe on a 1995 Pause patent that covers a "time delayed digital video system using concurrent recording and playback." San Jose, Calif.-based TiVo said it will pursue an order that would require Pause to pay all of its attorneys' fees and costs.
tags: TiVo | Patent | Pause Technology | Judgment |

Acacia Streaming Media Patent Claims to be Tested In Court

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 18, 2003 - 3:02am.
Newport Beach, Calif. -- A company holding patents that it says apply to the process of delivering streaming media via video-on-demand services has filed patent infringement suits against 39 online adult video providers, in a test of its wide-ranging claims on the technology. Acacia Media Technologies, a unit of Acacia Research Corp., holds the patents and filed the claims in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. The company also announced that it has licensed the technology in question to eight adult entertainment firms. In addition to adult firms, Newport Beach, Calif.-based Acacia has also targeted several Internet radio broadcasters; Radio Free Virgin has already agreed to pay Acacia's licensing fees rather than go to court. The company has said it also plans go after cable TV operators that offer video-on-demand services.
tags: Law | Patent | Acacia |

Firm Looking to Sell Recently-Granted Online Testing Patent

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 7, 2003 - 3:42am.
Cleveland, Ohio -- Test.com, a company that was recently granted a patent that covers the process of distributing and selling tests on the Internet and sharing revenues received for the test with the test creator, said it is looking to sell or license the patent to a third party, CNET News.com reported. Ohio-based Test.com said that the patent could cover technology currently used by online and traditional learning institutions to give tests online. The company told News.com that it wants to sell the technology because it has since switched business models, "prompted by a weak economy and the lack of interest in a general online testing site." "We believe [the patent] is pretty valuable," Test.com CEO Jim Posch told News.com. "We think it will give someone a competitive edge."
tags: Internet | Patent | Cleveland | Ohio | Test.com |

CNET: Patent Claim Could Rile Streaming Media Industry

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 6, 2003 - 3:54am.
San Francisco -- CNET News.com on Thursday reported on the efforts of a firm called Acacia Media Technologies to enforce patents it says control the process of transmitting compressed audio and video over the Internet. So far the company has targeted online pornography streaming sites and several Web radio operations and plans to go after digital pay-per-view providers, but would not confirm if it has targeted giants like Microsoft or AOL with its licensing efforts. One large webcaster, Radio Free Virgin, agreed to license Acacia's technology last month. "We did research on the claims and found that they were pretty clear -- somewhat broad, but specific enough to cover us," Radio Free Virgin general manager Zack Zalon told News.com. "We realized that they were tight enough that a license would be substantially less expensive in the long run than litigation."
tags: CNET | Patent | Rile | Media Industry |