Apple has been defending itself against a patent
infringement suit file by Google. The bone of contention was Google’s
patent to make the popular iPhones. The matter was pending before the
US International Trade Commission that ruled that Apple did not
violate Google’s patent.
Google alleged that apple has violated six patents
for iPhone-related technology that range from reducing signal noise
to programming the device's touchscreen so that a user does not
accidentally activate it while talking on the phone.
If Apple had been found guilty of violating Google’s
patent, its devices could have been banned from being imported into
the United States. Google has now the option to appeal against this
decision to the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. As on
date, Google is exploring all available options in this regard.
It seems Google would not be able to successfully
pursue Android's wide-scale patent infringement issues through
litigation over Motorola's patents, which have given it no real
leverage so far. Google has been unable to deter third-party patent
holders such as Apple, Microsoft and Nokia from enforcing their
rights.
Recently the Mannheim Regional Court decided that
Google's Motorola Mobility is not entitled to an injunction against
Microsoft over its push notification patent because Google owes
Microsoft a license under an ActiveSync license agreement.
It seems Google has to revisit its intellectual
property rights protection and licensing arrangement so that it may
not face any more defeats in the patent infringement suits.
Apple has been very active in protecting its
intellectual property rights. Recently, USPTO
granted Apple trademarks for its retail outlets designs and layout.
However, Apple is also on the receiving end via-a-vis other’s
intellectual property violations. For instance, Apple
was recently fined in Beijing Court for unauthorised e-book sales.
Patent litigations are on rise around the world.
Japanese
company Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) accused Chinese company CSR
Sifang of stealing its Shinkansen bullet trains.
Similarly, Novartis
lost the patent claims of Novartis AG's cancer treatment drug Glivec
in Supreme Court of India.
Intellectual property has become a policy matter as
well. A proposed
U.S. legislation would target companies using stolen intellectual
property of U.S. The Copyright Amendment Act, 2012 of
India has strengthened digital rights protection of copyrighted works
in India. Similarly, the idea of conferring utility
models protection in India is also under consideration.
The coming time would be really tough for those who
wish to enforce their intellectual property rights around the world.
