Tech Giants Meet in an Attempt to Settle Wireless Patent Disputes

[Akshay Masand]

Tech giants such as Apple, Google, Microsoft, Samsung, and others (including Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Philips, Qualcomm, Research in Motion, and Sony) recently met in Switzerland to discuss the potential patent litigation reform in the lawsuit-saturated wireless industry. Originally organized by the United Nations International Telecommunications Union, the discussion was an attempt to tackle the implications of patent litigation in the wireless industry. The discussions led to clear recognition of the industry being “deeply divided” over standard-essential patents.

Of the issues brought up, Florian Mueller of FOSS Patents explained two stood out: an injunction relief over standard-essential patents and the appropriate royalty base. The meetings were held as a result of concerns on part of regulars who are attempting to take action before issues escalate and become even worse. According to Mueller, “There are no winners or losers today because they all contributed to a timely, well-organized and informative event. In a way, today’s winner was the ITU.”

The issues are far from over with the group planning to continue to have a number of informal meetings over the next 12 months in an effort to form proposals. According to Mueller, “The ITU considers itself uniquely positioned, thanks to its vast experience in resolving global issues, to provide a forum in which a constructive exchange of thoughts may lead to a compromise. That said, I still believe that judicial and regulatory decisions will be needed.” Hopefully the companies will be able to reach an agreement so we can all start seeing a reduction in patent cases that continue to pop up on what appears to be a daily basis.

Source: FOSS Patents

[Certde]

Yeah, get rid of the stupid patent war so we can finally get some interesting articles here on Modmyi.

[cmwade77]

How about a simple one:
If it is an essential function to run a cell phone (i.e. how it connects to a cell tower, how data is transmitted, even the idea that it is a touch screen), it cannot be patented. End of story.

[jOnGarrett]

I can see all of the companies coming to some sort of agreement that would be beneficial to all--every company except apple.

How about a simple one:
If it is an essential function to run a cell phone (i.e. how it connects to a cell tower, how data is transmitted, even the idea that it is a touch screen), it cannot be patented. End of story.

what about patents that say "rectangular shape with rounded corners"

[Breezer23]

How about a simple one:
If it is an essential function to run a cell phone (i.e. how it connects to a cell tower, how data is transmitted, even the idea that it is a touch screen), it cannot be patented. End of story.

So you mean the truly innovative and useful features that Apple doesn't come up with? Software patents in general are a joke. The entire system needs a MAJOR tune up.