If the ammunition you're using to try and take down your prey isn't getting the job done, you can either hunt different game or try different ammo. Apple has chosen the latter as it continues to chase Samsung through various courts around the world. According to reports, Apple added a pair of patents to its portfolio, which it's using to try and convince a California judge to ban sales of Samsung's smartphones and tablets.
Would you have guessed that it would be Microsoft who stands up and yells, "Enough already!," in response to all the silly patent squabbles, many of which only end up hurting the consumer? Believe it or not, that's what the Redmond software giant did, in a roundabout sort of way. Microsoft is taking a public stand in support for industry standards and vowed it would not seek injunctions against any firm that runs afoul of so-called "standard essential" patents, all for the greater good of mankind.
While Apple's been busy trying to chase Samsung's Galaxy line out of the Milky Way, Android device makers have ganged up on the Cupertino outfit and experienced a spattering of success. The latest setback for Apple comes from a second German patent ruling against the company over its iCloud service that was brought about by Motorola Mobility, which is currently being acquired by Google.
It sort of stands to reason that a company which makes photography equipment would be all smiles, especially one that's been around for over a century. The Eastman Kodak Company, founded in 1892, hasn't had a whole lot to smile about this week. Kodak on Wednesday announced it was filing a lawsuit against Samsung for allegedly infringing on certain patents related to its digital imaging technology, and just a day later the company is filling out more paperwork as it files for Chapter 11.
I’m just going to be blunt: Our patent system sucks. It’s terrible to deal with, protects ridiculous things, and encourages frivolous litigation. It’s about as popular as a leper in a nudist colony.
The patent battle between Apple and Samsung rages on around the world. Just as Samsung announced that it was going to begin selling modified smartphones in Netherlands in order to avoid a sales ban there, it suffered yet another setback, this time in Australia. Details await you after the jump.
Rambus found itself on the hot seat when a judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Court drilled into the company for destroying documents that could have weakened its patent infringement case against Nvidia. Rambus admitted to shredding documents, but chalked it up to business as usual. Furthermore, an attorney for Rambus said they provided all the documents that were requested of them. That's when Judge Kathleen O'Malley, one of three presiding over the case, tore into Rambus.
If you’ve never heard of Intellectual Ventures, get your confused face ready. This patent holding firm, which makes nothing but does hold about 35,000 patents, has filed suit against Motorola Mobility for 
While we’re talking patent trolling, let’s talk about the global Apple-Samsung battle. Apple has been suing Samsung in courts around the world, claiming that the design of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 rips Apple’s patented design of the iPad, which consists of, um, a rectangle with a screen on one face. How they got a patent for that is beyond us, but that template has prompted judges in Australia and other countries to block sales of the Galaxy Tab until the case is decided. Samsung’s getting pretty fed up with it all, and it today, it threatened to withdraw from Australia altogether if the injunction wasn’t lifted soon.
Think Apple’s patent war against Samsung is ballsy and ridiculous? You’re right – it is. But there’s an even worse patent troll sculking around, and it’s much more sinister; while Apple and Microsoft are busy targeting other megacorporations, the Deleware-based Innovatio IP Ventures, LLC, is busy suing any mom-and-pop restaurant or hotel franchisee that offers Wi-Fi to its customers.Connect with MaximumPC
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