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PatentInfringement posts

ITC rules Samsung infringed on four Sharp patents, bans import of some LCDs

by Donald Melanson posted Nov 10th 2009 at 11:52AM

The US International Trade Commission already ruled in June of this year that Samsung had infringed on one patent held by Sharp, but it's now back with another ruling that finds Samsung violated no less than four LCD-related patents held by its rival. Once again, the ITC has also barred Samsung from selling the infringing LCDs in the US (still not clear on exactly what's affected), but Samsung seems more than ready to comply with the ruling, saying that there will be "no impact on our business and our ability to meet market demand." For its part, Sharp simply says that the ruling has "made it clear that ITC has consistently supported Sharp's claim that LCD products of Samsung violated Sharp's patents" -- Samsung, meanwhile, says it has no plans to negotiate with Sharp on the issue, so let's just hope its workaround is more than a quick fix.

Sony and VIZIO ditch the courtroom, clear up licensing issues

by Darren Murph posted Oct 29th 2009 at 9:14AM

VIZIO sure ends up in a whole lot of legal battles, but one way or another, it always seems to find its way out in the long run. Such is the case once again today, as the current LCD TV king has apparently said all the right things to Sony. If you'll recall, Sony (along with a slew of others) filed suit against Vizio awhile back over patent licensing concerns, but now it seems the two have reached a mutual agreement to use each other's technologies without bickering over who owns what. The release on the matter states that Sony "has become a licensee under VIZIO's patent portfolio," and that "VIZIO now is a licensee under Sony's color television patent portfolio." Who knows how much under-the-table cash and shaky promises had to be passed along in order to make everyone happy, but hey, a problem solved is a problem solved.

[Image courtesy of TooMuchNick / WireImage]

Update: Sony's response to all of this is after the break, courtesy of a company spokesperson who pinged us directly.

Continue reading Sony and VIZIO ditch the courtroom, clear up licensing issues

U.S. Customs sees it VIZIO's way, TVs to keep flowing in

by Steven Kim posted Jul 10th 2009 at 10:09AM

VIZIO punches Funai
It looks like at least one round of the battle between Funai and VIZIO is drawing to a close, and it's a big win for VIZIO. U.S. Customs has ruled that all current VIZIO TVs do not infringe on Funai's Patent 6,115,074 -- which was rejected by the Patent Office a few months ago. With the USPTO and US Customs now on the same page, all the bureaucratic checkmarks are in place and VIZIO TVs can freely enter the US on their immigrant-inspired journey to homes all across this fair land. Next up is VIZIO's countersuit against Funai -- with drama like this unfolding between TV manufacturers, who needs an actual TV for entertainment?

Ruling lets DISH customers keep their DVRs for now, TiVo says it's just a matter of time

by Richard Lawler posted Jul 2nd 2009 at 11:19AM

News of another delay should be absolutely no surprise to anyone that's followed the details of this case, as DISH was granted a stay by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit pending its appeal of a $190 million ruling in favor of TiVo which will allow its customers to continue using their DVRs, at least for now. For its part, TiVo repeated its praise of the "thorough and well-reasoned decision finding EchoStar in contempt of court for violating the injunction and awarding further damages" and is confident the ruling will be upheld, again. Did anyone really think this one would just end so easily?

Read - DISH Network and EchoStar Statement Regarding Tivo
Read - TiVo Statement on Decision by U.S. Court of Appeals to Stay Permanent Injunction Issued by District Court in Lawsuit Against EchoStar

Funai wins order blocking Vizio imports, Vizio maintains business as usual

by Richard Lawler posted Apr 10th 2009 at 5:14PM Breaking News

Just when it looked like the long-running patent dispute was tipping Vizio's way, the U.S. International Trade Commission has ruled in favor of Funai, issuing an order to block imports of Vizio HDTVs. According to Bloomberg the ban is still eligible to be reviewed by President Obama while the patent case itself is still being reviewed by an appeals court, but if Vizio wants to keep its shipments flowing it will have to post a bond of $2.50 per television. We've put a call in to Vizio to find out what this means for its immediate future -- and that sweet LED backlit display from CES -- and confirmed that while this order goes into effect immediately, you should still be able to find sets on shelves and they will continue to do business as usual during the presidential review period, but feel free to read its press release in response after the break for more details.

Continue reading Funai wins order blocking Vizio imports, Vizio maintains business as usual

USPTO issues final rejection of Funai's patent, VIZIO celebrates

by Darren Murph posted Mar 15th 2009 at 8:31PM


One has to wonder: is this cat fight finally nearing the end? Shortly after VIZIO hit Funai with an antitrust and unfair lawsuit (not to mention pleading with the FCC to expedite the hand slapping), said outfit has just announced the "final rejection" of all claims in Funai's controversial patent. As the story goes, the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) has "issued a second rejection of all claims in Funai Electric Co.'s United States Patent No. 6,115,074," leading Rob L. Brinkman, VIZIO's VP Operations and Administration, to say the following: "Based on this final rejection by the USPTO, we believe that Funai's '074 patent will ultimately be deemed invalid." We've seen no reaction from Funai thus far, but it seems like sneaking away to the nearest corner may actually be best considering the circumstances.

Pioneer wins plasma patent case over Samsung, awarded $59.3 million

by Darren Murph posted Nov 4th 2008 at 2:32AM


Pioneer may be licking its wounds, but at least there's one bright spot on an otherwise dark end-of-year. The US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in Marshall (read: patent troll heaven) recently found that "Samsung willfully infringed two Pioneer patents covering plasma display technology," leading to a settlement which involves Samsung handing Pioneer a check for $59,351,480. Samsung has yet to comment on the ruling, but it's pretty easy to imagine what it's probably thinking, wouldn't you say?

[Via SmartHouse, thanks Anthony]

Sharp hits Samsung with another LCD patent suit

by Darren Murph posted Dec 13th 2007 at 4:13PM


Apparently, slapping your rival with one lawsuit per year just isn't enough for Sharp, who is tossing yet another case Samsung's way over -- surprise, surprise -- LCD patent infringement. This complaint, which was filed in the Seoul Central District Court in South Korea, claims that Samsung has infringed on three patents relating to brightness, response times and viewing angles of LCD panels. As expected, Samsung spokesman James Chung noted that the firm would be "responding actively to the lawsuit," and Sharp is asking the court to "award it compensatory damages and prohibit the production and sale in South Korea of the products concerned." C'mon guys, can't we just all get along?

[Via EETimes]

Samsung and Matsushita close to settling PDP patent dispute

by Darren Murph posted Nov 29th 2007 at 9:12AM

It takes some serious swallowing of pride -- or a rather large check -- for a company to put aside its legal beef with another and agree to move forward, but that's about to happen in the nearly two year-old dispute between Samsung and Matsushita. Reportedly, the two have "entered into a memorandum of understanding in which they have agreed in principle on terms and conditions of a formal settlement and cross-license agreement," which would finally conclude the bickering surrounding patents for plasma screens. Essentially, the two have accused each other of infringing on PDP-related patents for years, but it seems that all this holiday cheer has gotten the best of 'em. Notably, no terms of the (potential) agreement were loosed, but we're expecting some serious coin to change hands, regardless.

Sharp slaps Samsung with LCD patent infringement lawsuit

by Darren Murph posted Aug 7th 2007 at 11:27AM


As if the cutthroat price wars in the LCD space weren't demanding enough, Samsung is now being forced to attend to a lawsuit that Sharp just filed over LCD patent infringement. Reportedly, Sharp is seeking "compensation as well as the prohibition of sales of products that it alleges infringe five of its LCD patents, including one that relates to technology used to enhance display quality." The products in question include Samsung televisions and monitors as well as mobile handsets that feature Samsung's LCD modules. Unsurprisingly, Samsung refused to comment on pending litigation, but a Sharp spokeswoman went so far as to say that it had "been in talks with Samsung, but it appeared difficult to solve the matter through negotiations," which apparently led to a lawsuit being filed. So much for talking things out, eh?

LG countersues Hitachi for PDP patent infringement... sigh

by Thomas Ricker posted Jun 18th 2007 at 4:14AM


Just two months after Hitachi sued LG for PDP patent infringement in the litigious-playgrounds of Texas, LG has countersued Hitachi of course. LG's suit seeks monetary compensation and an injunction prohibiting Hitachi from violating its seven plasma display panel patents. Exactly the same claim Hitachi made earlier give-or-take a few patents. While we're fine with the plausible defense of intellectual property, LG's comment on the maneuver has us worried about a bleak future for consumer electronics litigation, "Japanese firms are filing more and more lawsuits as competition in the global display market has increased dramatically. We will proactively deal with the situation based on our patented and patent-applied-for technologies." In other words, firms must sue to compensate their dwindling margins. To make matters worse, LG and Hitachi are (or were) close business partners in areas which include consulting and data storage. A partnership with a Vision statement based on "mutual trust." Riiight.

Hitachi sues LG over plasma patent infringement, tries to halt US sales

by Darren Murph posted Apr 24th 2007 at 1:09PM


Just when Hitachi had us all believing that it was planning on reaching new heights in the plasma market thanks to a ginormous PDP set and a thirsty overseas crowd, now we're seeing the fallback plan. Of course, we can't really suggest that Hitachi's latest lawsuit on LG's (surprise, surprise) plasma displays have anything to do with the firm's dreary numbers, but it has nevertheless filed a lawsuit in the ill famed "district court in Texas" (read: patent troll heaven) saying that "the South Korean company infringed its plasma display-related patents." The suit seeks the obligatory "monetary compensation for damages," but more interesting is the tidbit that requests a "permanent injunction prohibiting LG's plasma display panel product sales in the United States." According to a Hitachi spokesperson, the two outfits had "been in talks regarding the appropriate licenses for these seven patents," but apparently, neither side is backing down anytime soon.




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