Patent Info: December 2012

Monday, 10 December 2012

Goan gets patent for mechanical device invention

In a development that should bring some cheer to the Goan engineering community, a Goan has been granted a patent from the Indian patent office.

Siolim resident Raghuvir Chary, a lecturer at government polytechnic at Altinho, has received a patent for an invention entitled 'An angle measuring device for measuring angles, 0 through 360, between any two surfaces, lines or objects'.

Forty five-year-old Chary, who said he obtained an M.Tech degree from IIT-Bombay in 2000, has labelled his invention as 'Chary's Anglometer- the angle measuring device'.

'The methods and equipment of the invention are adapted to the precise measurement of an angle in any plane, with a resolution of 0.1 arcsecond, by mechanical means', states the patent description of his device.

He applied for the patent on October 3, 2007, and was granted the same on December 3, 2012.

Chary claimed the application underwent examination and re-examination as part of a lengthy process before it was granted. The patent is valid for 20 years,he said.

He claimed his invention provides direct reading of angles on one and said it was economical compared to other alternatives available. Chary said the invention had cost him around 1 lakh including cost for obtaining the patent. He said he had developed two versions of his invention- a quadrant type for general purpose applications and a theodolite type for navigational and other precise applications.

Chary said he had entered his invention for some competitions and was also looking out for manufacturers to commercially manufacture his invention.

Apple and Google Teaming Up to Buy Kodak Patents

Apple and Google, cooperating in a way unimaginable under Steve Jobs' rule, are chipping in to buy Kodak's imaging patents.

Apple and Google have a rivalry that's about as intense and cutthroat as tech rivalries go. But the leaders of each also know when to shake hands. The device makers have teamed up to offer Kodak more than $500 million for a portfolio of about 1,100 imaging patents, according to a report from Bloomberg that cited people who wish to remain unidentified.
The companies, separately, had earlier offered Kodak less money.
"The Apple-led group pursuing Kodak’s patents included Microsoft and Intellectual Ventures Management LLC as of July, the people said, while Google’s partners included patent- aggregation company RPX Corp. and Asian makers of Google’s Android phones," said the Dec. 8 report. "The two groups had separately offered less than $500 million for Kodak’s portfolio. They now teamed up to offer more together, said two of the people."
That Google and Apple could team up suggests a healing of old wounds, a desire to stay out of court later—should one or the other win the portfolio—or simply the attractiveness of the patents. In 2011, Apple rounded up a posse that collectively outbid Google for 6,000 Nortel Networks patents related to 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE), wireless, networking and social software.

Nortel had described the patents as covering "nearly every aspect of telecommunications and additional markets as well, including Internet search and social networking."
After Google received Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approval to bid for the patents, it offered Nortel $900 million. Nortel turned down the offer, instead accepting a bid of $4.5 billion from a consortium, including Apple, Microsoft, Research In Motion, Sony, EMC and Ericsson.
George Riedel, Nortel's chief strategy officer and president of business units at the time, called the dollar amount, and the interest in the patents, "unprecedented."
But so, too, is the number of patent disputes currently being fought among industry players—even companies, such as Ericsson and Samsung, that have had agreements in place for years. Samsung and Apple have also remained in headlines for patent-infringement cases around the world. While a U.K. court ruled in favor of Samsung this summer, a U.S. court in August ruled in favor of Apple and a more than $1 billion fee against Samsung—which the company is currently contesting.
The Google-Apple rivalry, it's been suggested, was also more intense when Steve Jobs, who passed away last year, was in charge of Apple. While Google CEO Larry Page once suggested that Jobs' ire toward Google was more for show than out of anything heartfelt, Jobs told his biographer, Walter Isaacson, otherwise.
"I will spend my last dying breath if I need to, and I will spend every penny of Apple's $40 billion in the bank to right this wrong," Jobs said, according to Isaacson. "I'm going to destroy Android, because it's a stolen product."
Jobs' successor as Apple CEO, Tim Cook, doesn't share Jobs' passion for "laying all foes to waste," Bloomberg reported earlier this year. "Cook appears to view litigation as a necessary evil, not a vehicle of cosmic revenge."
It seems he also knows when to set a rivalry aside.

Friday, 7 December 2012

Under FTC Settlement, Bosch Agrees to Make Certain Patents Available to Competitors

The Federal Trade Commission will require Robert Bosch GmbH to sell a business that makes equipment used to recharge vehicle air conditioning systems as part of an agreement resolving charges that Bosch’s acquisition of SPX Service Solutions U.S. LLC would have been anticompetitive. Under the agreement, Bosch also will grant manufacturers licenses to key patents that they need in order to compete in the market for this equipment. The proposed settlement order also requires Bosch to end agreements that restrict third parties from advertising, servicing, distributing, or selling competitive products in the United States.
Under the proposed settlement with the FTC, Bosch has agreed to sell its automotive air conditioner repair equipment business, including RTI Technologies, Inc., to automotive equipment manufacturer, Mahle Clevite, Inc.
Bosch also has agreed to resolve allegations that, before its acquisition by Bosch, SPX harmed competition in the market for this equipment by reneging on a commitment to license key, standard-essential patents (SEPs) on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms. The FTC alleged that SPX reneged on its obligation to license on FRAND terms by seeking injunctions against willing licensees of those patents. Bosch has agreed to abandon these claims for injunctive relief.
“Patent holders that seek injunctive relief against willing licensees of their FRAND-encumbered SEPs should understand that in appropriate cases the Commission can and will challenge this conduct as an unfair method of competition under Section 5 of the FTC Act,” the Commission majority said in a separate statement.
The FTC charged that, as originally proposed, Bosch’s acquisition of SPX Service Solutions would have given it a virtual monopoly in the market for air conditioning recycling, recovery, and recharge (ACRRR) devices. ACRRR devices are stand-alone pieces of equipment used by automotive technicians to remove refrigerant from a vehicle’s air conditioning system, store the refrigerant while the air conditioning system is being serviced, recycle the refrigerant back into the system, and recharge the air conditioning system. ACRRRs prevent refrigerant gas from leaking into the atmosphere during the repair process.
Bosch, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany, has U.S. operations based in Broadview, Illinois. It is a global supplier of automotive and industrial technology, consumer goods, and building technology. It acquired RTI in 2010 and sells ACRRR equipment under both the Bosch and RTI brands, accounting for about 10 percent of the U.S. ACRRR market.
SPX, headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, is a diversified global supplier of highly engineered products for industries including power and energy, food and beverage, vehicle and transit, and infrastructure and industrial processes. Its Service Solutions business, based in Warren, Michigan, supplies automotive tools, equipment, and services for both original equipment manufacturers and aftermarket repair shops and technicians. SPX’s Robinair brand is the leading supplier of ACRRR equipment in the United States, with over 80 percent of sales in this market. On January 23, 2012, Bosch entered into an agreement to acquire SPX’s Service Solutions business.
The FTC’s Complaint
According to the FTC’s complaint, Bosch’s acquisition of SPX’s Service Solutions business would give Bosch monopoly power in the U.S. market for ACRRR devices. Following the transaction as proposed, Bosch would control an overwhelming share of the market. Four other firms are in the market, each with a very small share. The acquisition also would eliminate the current direct competition between Bosch’s RTI and Bosch brands and SPX’s Robinair brand, and would allow the combined firm to raise prices by unilaterally exercising its newly gained market power, in violation of the FTC Act, the FTC alleged.
The FTC complaint also alleges that SPX has been pursuing a strategy of suing to enjoin competitors from using patents that may be necessary to meet the standards for manufacturing ACRRR devices.
According to the complaint, SPX holds patents that other companies may need in order to make ACRRR devices that comply with standards set by an industry standard-setting group called SAE International. Standard setting is a cornerstone for many high-tech and manufacturing markets, and encourages innovation and investment in new products, according to the FTC. By agreeing to standards, companies can ensure that the numerous components can work together seamlessly, often called “interoperability.”
Setting a standard, however, can confer market power to the owner of a patent that is deemed essential to the standard, according to the agency. The holder of a SEP – even if it is relevant only to a small component of a much larger and more complex device – can use the threat of an injunction to “hold up” a licensee for an excessive royalty or prevent a competitor from complying with the standard, thereby effectively keeping it out of the market entirely. To avoid this problem, technology companies involved in setting a standard often commit to license SEPs on “fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory” terms – known as FRAND terms.
The FTC alleged that, as a member of SAE International, SPX agreed to abide by SAE rules that require companies to license their SEPs on FRAND terms. However, SPX allegedly reneged on these commitments and pursued injunctions blocking competitors from using the standardized technologies, even though the competitors were willing to license the technology on FRAND terms. The FTC charged that this practice had the tendency of harming competition and undermining the standard setting process.
The Proposed Settlement
The proposed consent order resolves the FTC’s competitive concerns by requiring Bosch to sell its ACRRR business to Mahle Clevite, Inc., before December 31, 2012. The FTC has determined that Mahle, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany, has the resources, industry experience, and financial viability to become an effective competitor in the U.S. ACRRR market. It sells other products with a similar customer base as Bosch, and its global presence will allow it to quickly replace the competition lost through the proposed acquisition.
Under the proposed order, Bosch will provide Mahle with all of the assets needed to operate Bosch’s current U.S. ACRRR business, including RTI’s operations in York, Pennsylvania. To ensure the sale is successful, Bosch also will provide Mahle with relevant intellectual property and access to key employees of RTI’s ACRRR operations. In addition, Bosch has agreed to discontinue SPX’s restrictive “exclusive dealing” arrangements with wholesale distributors and independent service technicians, and will be barred from entering into such agreements for 10 years.
To address the FTC’s concerns about SPX’s conduct relating to its existing portfolio of SEPs, the proposed order requires Bosch not to pursue any actions for injunctive relief on these patents and to make them available on a royalty free basis to implementers of the relevant SAE standards in the ACRRR market. Information about the licensing requirements can be found in the Analysis to Aid Public Comment on this matter.
In addition, Bosch will deliver to SAE a letter of assurance that going forward it will license any additional SEPs it may acquire or develop for the two relevant industry standards on FRAND terms to any third party that wants to use the technologies covered by the patents to make ACRRR devices in the United States. Bosch also has agreed not to seek an injunction against such third parties, unless the third party refuses in writing to license the patent consistent with the letter of assurance, or the third party refuses to abide by FRAND terms as determined by a court or other process agreed to by the parties.
The Commission’s vote approving the complaint and proposed settlement order was 3-2, with Commissioners Rosch and Ohlhausen voting no. Commissioner Ohlhausen issued a separate statement, dissenting from those portions of the consent that relate to alleged conduct by the respondent involving standard-essential patents, or SEPs. “Simply seeking injunctive relief on a patent subject to a fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory, or FRAND, license, without more, even if seeking such relief could be construed as a breach of a licensing commitment, should not be deemed either an unfair method of competition or an unfair act or practice under Section 5.” The vote to issue the Statement of the Commission was 3-2.
The order will be subject to public comment for 30 days, until December 26, 2012, after which the Commission will decide whether to make it final. Comments should be sent to: FTC, Office of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20580. Comments can be submitted electronically.

ObjectVideo Enters into Global, Portfolio-Wide Patent License Agreement with Bosch

ObjectVideo, Inc., announced today that it has reached an amicable settlement with Bosch Security Systems, Inc., of Fairport, New York, which includes, among other mutual obligations, a global, portfolio-wide patent license agreement with Bosch. The agreement settles patent infringement litigation in the Eastern District of Virginia. ObjectVideo and Bosch have also asked the United States International Trade Commission (USITC) to terminate its proceedings related to the matter.
“We are pleased to have entered into a global, portfolio-wide license agreement with Bosch, a leader in the video security market,” said Raul Fernandez, chairman of ObjectVideo.
“The agreement amicably settles the matter and allows us to focus our full attention on our customers,” said Christopher Gerace, president, Bosch Security Systems, Inc.
Bosch is the seventh licensee to join ObjectVideo’s patent licensing program; other licensees include Sony Corporation, Pelco by Schneider Electric, Tyco Security Products’ American Dynamics business unit and VIVOTEK. The company holds 47 U.S. and international patents and has 45 U.S. and international patents pending.

ObjectVideo Enters into Global, Portfolio-Wide Patent License Agreement with Bosch

ObjectVideo ends legal action against Bosch

Just two days after announcing a patent licensing agreement with Pelco, video analytics developer ObjectVideo said on Thursday that it has also come to terms with Bosch and asked that the U.S. International Trade Commission terminate its proceedings related to the case. The licensing agreement between the two companies ends a litany of legal action that ObjectVideo has brought against several surveillance equipment manufacturers over the last year and a half.
"We are pleased to have entered into a global, portfolio-wide license agreement with Bosch, a leader in the video security market," said Raul Fernandez, chairman of ObjectVideo in a statement.
"The agreement amicably settles the matter and allows us to focus our full attention on our customers," said Christopher Gerace, president, Bosch Security Systems.
ObjectVideo initially brought lawsuits against Bosch, Sony and Samsung for alleged infringement of the company’s video content analytics patents in April 2011. The video analytics firm brought a subsequent legal action against Pelco earlier this summer. Each company, with the exception of Samsung, has subsequently entered into a patent licensing agreement with ObjectVideo.
American Dynamics, a business unit of Tyco Security Products, as well as Vivotek have also entered into patent licensing agreements with ObjectVideo.
A spokesman for ObjectVideo said that the company had no comment about its recent agreements with Pelco and Bosch.