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  • Patent Holder Pursues IP Grab on TCP/IP

    A networking hardware vendor based in Austin, Texas says it's going to pursue royalties on the implementation of the TCP/IP set of protocols. Formerly known as Dellor, KCIR Networks acquired Nett Labs in 1997, acquiring this patent into the bargain. The patent claim was filed in 1975, but Nett Labs never pursued royalties.

  • Google Promises Not to Sue for Using Their Pledged Patents [Updated]

    Google is promising not to take legal action against any party using pledged patents for open source or free software “unless first attacked.”

  • Google and MPEG LA End All Disputes on VP8

    Google has obtained a license for any algorithm that may be essential to VP8 and MPEG LA has a patent for it. Google has the option to sublicense VP8 royalty-free to third party implementers, opening the way for wide adoption of the VP8 codec.

  • H.265 Codec Standard Has Been Approved

    The H.265 codec standard, the successor of H.264, has been approved, promising support for 8k UHD and lower bandwidth, but the patent issues plaguing H.264 remain.

  • Cross Blog Debates Rage as California Attorney General turns heat up on Mobile Dev’s

    Kamala Harris sent shock waves through the mobile app developer community with her authoritarian ultimatum.Time is ticking on her recent 30-day warning of steep fines for mobile software developers selling mobile applications in the State of California that do not issue privacy warnings before their app is downloaded.

  • Oracle and Google Plan Appeals of Verdict in Java-Android Trial

    Oracle and Google will both appeal a jury's findings that Google infringed copyrights but didn't steal patents when it used Java as the basis for Android, its mobile operating system.

  • Oracle Accepts $0 From Google, But Plans Appeal

    Oracle has agreed to accept $0 worth of damages from Google, after Oracle's legal team agreed in court yesterday to forego any statutory damages in connection with its infringement case against Google.

  • APIs Cannot be Copyrighted

    The judge in the ongoing Oracle vs Google case has set out an order that the structure, sequence and organisation of APIs cannot be copyrightable. The case is effectively over, with Oracle having lost on all counts, and the only copying found to be nine lines of code. Read on to find out more.

  • Jury Denies Patent Infringement by Google

    After days of deliberation, the Jury has returned in the Oracle versus Google case, delivering a resounding victory for Google by agreeing that there was no patent infringement.

  • Oracle vs. Google: Judge Alsup Reveals he is a Developer as Jury Considers Patent Claims

    The jury in the Oracle vs. Google case is considering its verdict on the two patents. With the mixed verdict they delivered in the copyright phase, where they were unable to agree on whether Google's use of Java constituted fair use, a great deal for Oracle now hinges on the outcome of the patent phase.

  • Google Would Have Paid up to $50 Million to License Java, Schmidt Reveals in Oracle vs. Google Trial

    Google would have paid Sun's asking price of $30-$50 million to license Java, Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt stated at the Oracle vs. Google trial. Google didn't object to the amount of money Sun wanted, but it didn't want to give up too much control over Android. J

  • Oracle Sues Google over Google Copyrighted Code

    The Oracle case against Google focusses on a 9-line piece of code, called 'rangeSort' which appears identical in Android and in OpenJDK. Unfortunately for Oracle, the code was initially written by Joshua Bloch when he was employed at Google, and was subsequently contributed to the OpenJDK by Google. Read on to find out these developments and more.

  • Can APIs be Copyrighted?

    Whilst the Oracle/Google case was initially based on the assumption that Oracle's patents were valid – now all but demolished – Oracle has switched tack to claim that it is a copyright violation. At heart is the question of whether an API or even a computer language can be copyrightable.

  • Java APIs Take Centre Stage in Oracle vs. Google Trial

    Last week saw the beginning of the Oracle vs. Google trial. Oracle's main complaint, involving a damages claim of $1bn, is that Android's use of 37 Java APIs infringes its copyright in the Java programming language. Google maintains APIs cannot be copyrighted, and has tried to frame the case as Oracle's response to its own failure to build a Java-based smartphone platform.

  • Oracle and Google go to Court

    Last month, Judge Paul Grewal ordered the Oracle and Google to attempt to negotiate a settlement. Google offered a $2.8 million settlement on condition that Oracle can prove patent infringement. However, Oracle rejected that offer as too low, so the case will go to court on the 16th April.

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