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planetgs.com (76)
www.thegisforum.com (67)
www.spatialsciences.org.au (32)
georezo.net (30)
(Page 3 of 13, totalling 78 entries)
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Friday, March 20. 2009
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TomTom Countersues Microsoft
Two week ago we learned that Microsoft was suing TomTom over allegations the satnav company infringed on eight patents, some related to mapping, some related to basic operating system functions. Today TomTom has countersued. TomTom filed a patent infringement action in the Eastern District of Virginia on March 16th. That suit claims that Microsoft's Streets and Trips infringes on four TomTom patents related to vehicle navigation.
- Wall Street Journal
- C|net
Posted by Adena Schutzberg
in Microsoft, Patents, Satellite Navigation
at
10:23
| Comment (1)
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Wednesday, March 11. 2009
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New Apple Patent for LBS Ads/Purchases
The patent application was filed in 2007 and made public March 5 and is titled: Graphical User Interface with Location-Specific Interface Elements
In short, per The Register, it proposes to patent a location-based interface that can display ads and facilitate purchases over your iPhone or iPod touch while in stores or malls. I didn't get that level of detail from the abstract, but apparently, again per The Register, "the ones described in most detail in the filing would enable users of Apple's WiFi-equipped handhelds and laptops to identify and purchase tunes, movies, videos, photos, and audiobooks while they are being played or displayed in a bricks-and-mortar store."
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Posted by Adena Schutzberg
in Patents, Apple
at
06:00
| Comments (0)
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Wednesday, February 25. 2009
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Microsoft Sues TomTom over Navigation/File Management Patent Infringement
Microsoft has tried to engage TomTom in licensing the patents for over a year with no luck, so the time has come to go to court. This is just the third time Microsoft has gone to court to allege patent infringement (the company been on the other end of such suits, however).
There are two separate filing alleging infringement of eight patents, five related to navigation and three to file management. ITWire reports the file management patents are key parts of TomTom's implementation of the Linux kernel. The filings are before the U.S. District Court in Washington and the International Trade Commission. The former are aimed at gaining payment for damage, the latter to block future imports of infringing products.
This is not a good time for TomTom to have to go court; the company warned this week it may default on its debt incurred to acquire Tele Atlas. (MarketWatch)
Update 2/26/09: Thursday morning TomTom "rejected" the claims without elaborating. (Dow Jones)
- C|net
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Posted by Adena Schutzberg
in Microsoft, Patents
at
15:56
| Comments (4)
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Tuesday, February 10. 2009
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Crowdsourced Patent Exploration Yields Prior Art on Garmin Patent Suit
Crowdsourcing is used for everything now from determining books to read to creating maps. Why not use it to find prior art in patent cases? That's what Article One Partners does - it offers prizes ($50,000 in its first successful effort) to those who find what the company (not the courts) determine is prior confirmation that a patent's idea existed before the patent was granted. It's one way a patent can be invalidated by the courts.
The company's first effort paid off: two individuals found prior art related to a patent for a touch screen keyboard that can't be moved, resized or changed on a device. The patent holder SP Technologies has already made deals with Apple and Magellan and has ongoing litigation against others in GPS including TomTom. When Garmin was sued in 2008, Patent One announced its first contest to find prior art against the patent. And, it determined, such publicly available material was found. The two contributors will split the $50,000.
This sounds like a great model to tap into "experts" as advisors to support or invalidate patents. If you are interested, the company has announced seven new patent studies including one exploring Apple's multi-touch patent.
How does the company make money? It licenses the results of its "contests."
- press release
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Posted by Adena Schutzberg
in Patents
at
06:00
| Comments (0)
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Tuesday, January 13. 2009
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Patent Watch: Apple Calendar and Mapping Patent
Titled "Integrated calendar and map applications in a mobile device," (text) the patent application describes a smart application that takes advantage of knowing both the time and locations of meetings. It can help route one efficiently or pop up reminders that it's time for the next appointment.
- Unwired
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Posted by Adena Schutzberg
in LBS, Patents, Apple
at
06:36
| Comments (2)
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Tuesday, January 6. 2009
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Patent Watch: Has Apple Patented Touchscreen Mapping?
The patent filed with the World International Property Organization (WIPO) is titled: "Touch Screen Device, Method, and Graphical User Interface for Providing Maps, Directions, and Location-Based Information."
Unwired argues that "most of the features used in it’s [sic, Google] mobile navigation app" are owned by Apple, not Google.
MacNN also chimes in.
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Posted by Adena Schutzberg
in Google, Patents, Apple
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07:21
| Comments (2)
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(Page 3 of 13, totalling 78 entries)
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