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Nokia transferes 2,000 of its patents to a patent troll firm

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I posted this in the Google-Moto thread, but I think a thread is more appropriate. Lock if old.

Nokia, believing it can capitalise on the strength of its patent portfolio, will see around 2,000 of its patents and applications acquired to Canada-based Mosaid, which will earn both companies additional revenues from settlements and licensing deals.

Nokia’s patents will now be owned by a new company formed by Mosaid, earning a third of the royalties from the patent portfolio. It won’t pay Nokia for the patents, instead it is expected to generate income from lawsuits and settlements from potential patent infringers, which utilise patented ideas and technologies.
http://thenextweb.com/mobile/2011/0...nadian-ip-firm-in-licensing-and-lawsuit-push/

And yes, they're a patent troll.

In March:

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http://www.electronista.com/articles/11/03/17/mosaid.sues.dell.rim.many.over.wi.fi.patents/

May:
May 10 - Canada's Mosaid Technologies Inc , a technology patent licensing firm, said it initiated a lawsuit against DRAM makers Elpida Memory Inc , Buffalo Inc and Axiontech.

Mosaid said the three companies have infringed and continue to infringe about six of its semiconductor memory patents.

Japanese company Elpida, the world's No. 3 maker of DRAM chips, is the only major manufacturer of DRAM that does not have a license to Mosaid's semiconductor patents, Mosaid said.
(to be fair, they developed quite a bit of technology in that sector, before they started suing everyone)

And July:
OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - July 7, 2011) - MOSAID Technologies Inc. (TSX:MSD) today announced that it is suing HTC America, Inc. and Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications (USA), Inc. for infringing three U.S. patents that are essential to all cellular telephones that implement the emergency 911 (E-911) standard, as mandated by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The patent infringement suit was filed on July 7, 2011 in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware.

MOSAID acquired the patent portfolio, which consists of U.S. patents and patent applications, and foreign counterparts, in early 2011. The patents enable cellular telephones to transmit the phone's geographic location when the user makes an emergency 911 call.

In its complaint, MOSAID asserts that HTC and Sony Ericsson manufacture and sell cellular phones in the United States that infringe MOSAID's U.S. patent nos. 5,650,770; 6,198,390; and 6,518,889. The cellular phones that infringe the asserted patents include navigational receivers, radio transmitters, switches, circuits, sensors and other electronic elements that enable cell phones to provide emergency call features, such as a GPS receiver that uses satellite signals to calculate the phone's location, and the ability to make an emergency call using only a voice command to the phone.
http://www.marketwire.com/press-rel...-cellular-handset-patents-tsx-msd-1535569.htm

and Microsoft is obviously totally cool with it

When I asked, Microsoft e-mailed me the following statement, attributable to Horacio Gutierrez, Corporate Vice President and Deputy General Counsel:

“Over the years, Nokia has developed one of the world’s highest-quality patent portfolios in the mobile phone industry, representing decades of innovation as a worldwide leader in the field. We are pleased to have secured a license to the Nokia patents now acquired by MOSAID for Microsoft’s products and services. In return, we have a passive economic interest in the revenue generated from the licensing of those patents to third parties. The marketplace for intellectual property is incredibly dynamic today, and this agreement is an effective way to make these Nokia innovations available to the industry and to unlock the considerable value of this IP portfolio.”​
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/microsoft/microsoft-weighs-in-on-mosaid-nokia-patent-deal/10523

Seeing how Nokia actually had success with their Apple lawsuit, this could change the patent war quite a bit.
 

Spire

Subconscious Brolonging
Fantastic. I have to hope that at least one of these giant tech companies eventually puts their focus into lobbying Washington to change patent law instead of suing everyone under the sun.
 

Nemo

Will Eat Your Children
for infringing three U.S. patents that are essential to all cellular telephones that implement the emergency 911 (E-911) standard
There's a patent for this?

Shaking my fucking head
 
Spire said:
Fantastic. I have to hope that at least one of these giant tech companies eventually puts their focus into lobbying Washington to change patent law instead of suing everyone under the sun.
The people lobbying to keep patent law stricter will ALWAYS be wealthier and more powerful than those lobbying to make it more open. ALWAYS.

And not even companies who'd benefit from a more open patent law will try to take this through the courts with the goal of actually changing the system for fear of a ruling that might completely wreck them.
 

Suairyu

Banned
Wait. If the US federally mandates something, why is someone getting rich off that? Other than "its USA" of course.
 

Servbot #42

Unconfirmed Member
Teetris said:
There's a patent for this?

Shaking my fucking head

There's a patent for all kinds of retarded shit in the US, that's why the patent system is fucked and we have companies that specialize on using patents a quick way of making cash. The patent system is in dire need of reform.
 

Chichikov

Member
Spire said:
Fantastic. I have to hope that at least one of these giant tech companies eventually puts their focus into lobbying Washington to change patent law instead of suing everyone under the sun.
Patent trolls don't go that much after big companies.
I mean, from time to time they do, but big companies can for the most part handle themselves.
The main issue is the small companies and start-ups who are getting killed by those assholes.
Mainly because they can't afford the legal costs.
 

Cyrillus

Member
Not like they are selling any phones. I mean, it's sad that this is considered a legitimate source of income, and it's deplorable that they are doing it, but until the patent system is changed, this will keep happening.
 
It's crazy how Nokia has no idea what it is doing or trying to do these days, like when they tried to relaunch N-Gage as their gaming brand some time ago. And their answer for the rest of the year is WORLDS SMALLEST SMARTPHONE shipping with Symbian Belle, because, you know, it's what the market clearly wants.

Microsoft trying to bring Nokia down for the future isn't even a conspiracy theory anymore.
 

Igo

Member
Teetris said:
There's a patent for this?

Shaking my fucking head
If this is what allows all phones to access cells towers for emergency calls without a sim then it's probably the result of some talented engineering and a valid patent in my eyes. Certainly more legitimate than the bs UI software patent lawsuits that seem to be flying around these days. If it's just the phones location with sim included then I would agree that it's ridiculous.
 
Igo said:
If this is what allows all phones to access cells towers for emergency calls without a sim then it's probably the result of some talented engineering and a valid patent in my eyes. Certainly more legitimate than the bs UI software patent lawsuits that seem to be flying around these days. If it's just the phones location with sim included then I would agree that it's ridiculous.

I understand what you're saying but it's such a public good that it seems absolutely absurd that someone patents that and you're forced to pay money for it. I think it would be less weird if the government subsidized for the cost of that patent though since it's used for a public good.
 

Noshino

Member
This is just fantastic

Elop keeps revolutionizing Nokia, first by dropping their own OSs and adopting the yet to prove successful WP7, and now this.

Someone give this guy a raise, better yet, a medal.
 

Akkad

Banned
How the mighty have fallen. At one point I wouldn't buy a phone if it wasn't a Nokia, now they are not even on my fucking radar.
 

milanbaros

Member?
Can someone fill me in?

Would the patents actually prevent competitors from using the technology or would it just force them to license it? If its the former then its ridiculous but if its the latter then surely thats fair enough if they spent the R&D to come up with the idea.
 
milanbaros said:
Can someone fill me in?

Would the patents actually prevent competitors from using the technology or would it just force them to license it? If its the former then its ridiculous but if its the latter then surely thats fair enough if they spent the R&D to come up with the idea.

Patent trolls watch other companies develop innovations, then run out and patent it. Because in the world of software it's impossible to patent every single aspect of how the software behaves, there is endless room to make a patent for someone else's invention, and then hold a gun to their head to pay you millions of dollars to use "your" invention.

Patent trolls don't invent anything, they just apply for patents and sue other companies. It's the single biggest thing holding back innovation in America - the big boys can afford to buy off patent trolls, but start-ups who invent something new will immediately find themselves under an avalanche of patent troll lawsuits, driving them out of business. They've pretty much made it impossible to succeed as a startup.
 
Suairyu said:
Wait. If the US federally mandates something, why is someone getting rich off that? Other than "its USA" of course.
It could've been developed and patented before it became mandatory.
 
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