Patent Litigation in East Asia: Huawei, Samsung, HTC, Nintendo and COLOPL
Summary: A quick look at some high-profile cases in which large Asian firms are embroiled; it seems clear that litigation activities have shifted eastwards (where actual production is done)
THE patent trolls are down for the count in the US. Litigation is down, especially in their favourite venue (where cases fell by more than half). This impacts not only trolls but any company which relies mostly/only on litigation rather than production.
The media which cheers for patent trolls (usually funded by patent trolls too) has begun looking eastwards. Sometimes it’s even moving eastwards and hiring there. They attempt to adapt in order to survive.
Watchtroll, as usual, tries to malign defendants; in this one post it claims that Samsung was — in the context of the Chinese legal system — “Maliciously Delaying Negotiations”. We wrote about this earlier this month and did not see such an accusation. “Observers believe a case in which Samsung was found to infringe Huawei’s SEP patents is helpful in determining what is misconduct in FRAND negotiations and a sign the Chinese judicial system is resolving increasingly more complicated and new IP disputes,” Karry Lai wrote from Hong Kong (for Managing IP). Well, FRAND itself can be viewed as a form of “misconduct” or at least injustice. Perhaps Samsung has a legitimate explanation/side/role in this story.
Staying around Asia (although in US courts such as CAFC), in Taiwan we have HTC coming under attack again (from a rather obscure entity called Advanced Video Technologies). In the words of Patent Docs:
One of the most important (if not the most important) inquiries in performing due diligence involving acquisition of a patent portfolio is ensuring that the entity asserting ownership of the patents actually has proper title (in what can be a complex chain, starting with the inventors). This is particularly true in view of the position taken by the Federal Circuit that even one inventor, who has not assigned her rights, can prevent the other inventors or their assignee from bringing suit as being an indispensible party, and that the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure do not permit that recalcitrant inventor from being involuntarily joined. The failure to make sure that the chain of title was intact led a district court to grant defendants’ motion to dismiss, in Advanced Video Technologies LLC v HTC Corp., a decision the Federal Circuit affirmed last week.
All these sorts of ‘nuisance’ lawsuits have over time shifted to Asia, especially China and Singapore. As for Japan? Or Korea? They aren’t quite as overzealous with their patent laws.
Further north (to Taiwan) and over in Japan, the main English-speaking media is adoring patents again. In reality, it’s their products (e.g. cars) and not their patents which make the Japanese prosper. But to IAM writers this misleading report is an adrenaline rush. Several patent maximalists link to it and this one says: “Impressive numbers, but usual caveat applies: most of these royalties are being paid from overseas subsidiaries to their parent companies in Japan, especially in the auto sector…”
IAM’s Jacob Schindler said that and he also said that “Nintendo’s first patent assertion in Japan sends rival’s share price plummeting,” reminding us of this lawsuit which might end up destroying a small company (using patents alone). To quote:
On January 10 2017, a Japanese mobile game company COLOPL announced that it got sued by Nintendo for patent infringement. Nintendo seeks JPY 4.4 billion (approximately $40 million) in damages and an injunction to stop operation of “Shiro Neko (White Cat) project” which is COLOPL’s most profitable smartphone game. Nintendo reportedly filed a lawsuit at Tokyo District Court on December 22 2017 after the negotiation for over a year since September 2016. This is the first time Nintendo has filed a patent infringement lawsuit in Japan. Nintendo alleges the COLOPL’s game infringes on Nintendo’s 5 patents relating to touch panel operation and other technologies.
We wrote about it last week. It’s not about software, but it puts in jeopardy a legitimate business. █
Blockchain Patents Are a Catastrophe in the Making as Trolls and Aggressors Accumulate Them
As patents pertaining to blockchains continue to be granted — even in defiance of Alice/Section 101 — it seems likely that patent wars will sooner or later erupt, involving some large banks, IBM, and patent trolls associated with the notorious Erich Spangenberg
Qualcomm/Broadcom/NXP Combination Would Become a Disastrous Patent Thicket Which Benefits Nobody
Worried by the prospect of mega-mergers and takeovers which would put far too much market power (and monopoly through patents) in one place, governments and corporations speak out
Patent Litigation in East Asia: Huawei, Samsung, HTC, Nintendo and COLOPL
A quick look at some high-profile cases in which large Asian firms are embroiled; it seems clear that litigation activities have shifted eastwards (where actual production is done)
Patent Litigation in the US is Down Sharply and Patent Trolls’ Demise Has Much to Do With It
Docket Navigator and Lex Machina both show a significant decline in litigation — a trend which is likely to carry on now that TC Heartland is in tact (not for just half a year but a whole year) and PTAB completes another record year
Cheating the US Patent System is a Lot Harder After TC Heartland
Some new examples of tricks (and sometimes cheats) attempted by patent claimants and their representatives; it does not go as well as they hoped
RPX Might Soon be Owned by Patent Troll Erich Spangenberg
RPX, whose top executives are leaving and business is gradually dying, might end up as another ‘asset’ of patent trolls
Patent Quality (Not Numbers) as an Asset: Oppositions, Appeals and Rejections at the EPO
Benoît Battistelli wants a rubber-stamping operation (like INPI) rather than a functional patent office, but oppositions at the Office prove to be fruitful and many erroneously-granted patents are — by extrapolation — already being revoked (affecting, in retrospect, Battistelli’s so-called ‘results’)
Links 19/1/2018: Linux Journalism Fund, Grsecurity is SLAPPing Again
Links for the day
The EPO Ignores This Week’s Decision Which Demonstrates Patent Scope Gone Awry; Software Patents Brought Up Again
The worrisome growth of European Patents (EPs) — a 40% jump in one year in spite of decline in the number of patent applications — is a symptom of the poor judgment, induced largely by bad policies that impede examiners’ activities for the sake of so-called ‘production’; this week’s decision regarding CRISPR is another wake-up call and software patents too need to be abolished (as a whole), in lieu with the European Patent Convention (EPC)
WesternGeco v ION Geophysical (at the US Supreme Court) Won’t Affect Patent Scope
As WesternGeco v ION Geophysical is the main if not sole ‘major’ patent case that the US Supreme Court will deal with, it seems safe to say that nothing substantial will change for patent scope in the United States this year
Links 18/1/2018: MenuLibre 2.1.4, Git 2.16 Released
Links for the day
Microsoft, Masking/Hiding Itself Behind Patent Trolls, is Still Engaging in Patent Extortion
A review of Microsoft’s ugly tactics, which involve coercion and extortion (for businesses to move to Azure and/or for OEMs to preload Microsoft software) while Microsoft-connected patent trolls help hide the “enforcement” element in this whole racket
Patent Prosecution Highway: Low-Quality Patents for High-Frequency Patent Aggressors
The EPO’s race to the bottom of patent quality, combined with a “need for speed”, is a recipe for disaster (except for litigation firms, patent bullies, and patent trolls)
Press Coverage About the EPO Board Revoking Broad’s CRISPR Patent
Even though there’s some decent coverage about yesterday’s decision (e.g. from The Scientist), the patent microcosm googlebombs the news with stuff that serves to distract from or distort the outcome
Links 17/1/2018: HHVM 3.24, WordPress 4.9.2
Links for the day
No Patents on Life (CRISPR), Said EPO Boards of Appeal Just a Few Hours Ago
Broad spectacularly loses its key case, which may soon mean that any other patents on CRISPR too will be considered invalid
Only Two Weeks on the Job, Judge Patrick Corcoran is Already Being Threatened by EPO Management
The attack on a technical judge who is accused of relaying information many people had already relayed anyway (it was gossip at the whole Organisation for years) carries on as he is again being pushed around, just as many people predicted
EPO Board of Appeal Has an Opportunity to Stop Controversial Patents on Life
Patent maximalism at the EPO can be pushed aback slightly if the European appeal board decides to curtail CRISPR patents in a matter of days
Links 16/1/2018: More on Barcelona, OSI at 20
Links for the day
2018 Will be an Even Worse Year for Software Patents Because the US Supreme Court Shields Alice
The latest picks (reviewed cases) of the Supreme Court of the United States signal another year with little or no hope for the software patents lobby; PTAB too is expected to endure after a record-breaking year, in which it invalidated a lot of software patents that had been erroneously granted
Patent Trolls (Euphemised as “Public IP Companies”) Are Dying in the United States, But the Trouble Isn’t Over
The demise of various types of patent trolls, including publicly-traded trolls, is good news; but we take stock of the latest developments in order to better assess the remaining threat
EPO Management and Team UPC Carry on Lying About Unified Patent Court, Sinking to New Lows in the Process
At a loss for words over the loss of the Unitary Patent, Team UPC and Team Battistelli now blatantly lie and even get together with professional liars such as Watchtroll
China Tightens Its Knot of Restrictive Rules and Patents
Overzealous patent aggressors and patent trolls in China, in addition to an explosion in low-quality patents, may simply discourage companies from doing production/manufacturing there
Microsoft’s Patent Racket Has Just Been Broadened to Threaten GNU/Linux Users Who Don’t Pay Microsoft ‘Rents’
Microsoft revisits its aggressive patent strategy which it failed to properly implement 12 years ago with Novell; it wants to ‘collect’ a patent tax on GNU/Linux and it uses patent trolls to make that easier
EPO Scandals Played a Considerable Role in Sinking the Unified Patent Court (UPC)
Today’s press coverage about the UPC reinforces the idea that the EPO saga, culminating in despicable attacks on Patrick Corcoran (a judge), may doom the UPC once and for all (unless one believes Team UPC)
J Nicholas Gross Thinks Professors Stop Being Professors If They’re Not Patent Extremists Like Him
The below-the-belt tactics of patent trolls and their allies show no signs of abatement and their tone reveals growing irritation and frustration (inability to sue and extort companies as easily as they used to)
The US Supreme Court Has Just Denied Another Chance to Deal With a Case Similar to Alice (Potentially Impacting § 101)
There is no sign that software patents will be rendered worthwhile any time in the near future, but proponents of software patents don’t give up
Litigation Roundup: Nintendo, TiVo, Apple, Samsung, Huawei, Philips, UMC
The latest high-profile legal battles, spanning a growing number of nations and increasingly representing a political shift as well
Roundup of Patent News From Canada, South America and Australia
A few bits and pieces of news from around the world, serving to highlight patent trends in parts of the world where the patent offices haven’t much international clout/impact
Links 15/1/2018: Linux 4.15 RC8, Wine 3.0 RC6
Links for the day
