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Dr. Tal Lavian http://cs.berkeley.edu/~tlavian tlavian@cs.berkeley.edu UC Berkeley Engineering, CET Wireless Mobile Devices Patents
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2 What is a patent? Invention that is new and useful What is an wireless mobile device? – any device that transmits wirelessly for communication purposes Patents for Wireless Mobile Devices
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About this course 3 This course focuses on the engineering aspects of patents NOT the legal aspects. For the purposes of our class, we will pay special attention to various aspects of the ongoing patent litigation in wireless and mobile devices technologies. The course material will focus on high technology issues and patentable subject matter in the fields of Wireless Mobile Devices. Note this covers electrical engineering, software, communications systems, and Internet technologies.
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About this course (cont.) 4 This course provides students with the knowledge necessary to understand intellectual property from engineering and business perspectives. The course examines several patent litigation case studies in Wireless Mobile Devices. Technical analysis of these cases will be carried out with an aim of developing the skills necessary to quickly ascertain the protected technical content of patents, and recognizing what intellectual property can do and why it should be protected.
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What Will This Class Teach You? The basics of intellectual property (IP) How to recognize IP in your own inventions and other products How to determine the patentability of an invention How to avoid infringement of another’s patent How to use patents to make money How to contribute to your organization’s innovations and patents and grow professionally
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Other Things You Will Learn About Relevant legal jargon e.g., “claims”, “read on”, “prior art” The Peer To Patent Program The Recent Patent Reform e.g., what a first-to-file system is and what the U.S. moving to it means for inventors like YOU The ongoing wireless and mobile device litigation Excellent example of how businesses leverage their IP against one another in the real world
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Grading All students starts with A+, Every week, you can keep it, or reduce it a bit. Students will be graded on Weekly blogs– 50% Weekly blog comments comments – 10% Class participation – 25% TBD – 15% Participation is required in all classes You can miss one class for a justified reason – please let me know in advance Emphasis is on learning and exploration of new and interesting topics You will be fine
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Units Class is designed for 2 units. 3 units – with approval If you registered as 1 or 4 units – please change
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Field Trip This year’s class will also include an actual visit to a patent litigation trial to witness firsthand patent litigation in court
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Class Projects Class projects will utilize social media applications, including Weekly blogging and comments YouTube clips (for 3-unit students) By Friday, open a blog, and create a profile Update the info on the Google Doc spreadsheet. Blog posts – twice per week Blog comments – four per week
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What does a Patent do? 11 Patents protects intellectual capital for any technological innovation. Businesses use patents as a business tool not only for maintaining technology leadership but also for nurturing economic growth. In a rapidly growing industries, intellectual property (IP) can make the difference between survival and failure.
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What does a Patent do? (Cont.) 12 Inventors and entrepreneurs need patents (and patent laws) for: protecting their inventions in the very early stages of product development determining the patentability of their invention avoiding infringement of a competitor’s patent and leveraging their patent as a business asset.
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Learn to view things within an IP framework: Recognize inventions Be able to detect and avoid infringement Distinguish confidential information from general knowledge Preserve confidentiality 13 Recognizing Intellectual Property
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Trademarks Logos & symbols Copyrights Right to reproduce an idea or information Includes software Patents Invention that is new and useful Trade Secrets Non-disclosed information that is valuable
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Recognizing Intellectual Property Learn to view things within an IP framework: Recognize inventions in your own work Be able to detect and avoid infringement Distinguish confidential information from general knowledge Preserve confidentiality
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Trademarks What is a mark? A word, name, symbol or device used to identify the source of a product or service
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Trade Secrets Trade secrets are generally any info that is confidential and valuable, such as: Customer lists Sales or profit data Product weaknesses Internal designs, processes and procedures Formula for Coke or processing algorithms Is “supposed” to be marked or identified as confidential, but does not necessarily need to be Can be generally known and used by others – the fact that the company uses it also may also be a trade secret A trade secret is anything a company says it is. Must have some benefit (i.e. competitive advantage)
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Trade Secrets Example trade secrets: Products Formulation, algorithms, database schema Data (e.g., translation tables) Manufacturing processes Business Practices: Schedules Suppliers & partners Engineering processes: Tools and how they are used Development cycles Testing processes and results
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Wireless Mobile Device Patent Areas Software Electronics, display (touch screen), Qwerty keyboard Java Transmission over wireless channels Data and speech coding Infrastructure: 2G, 3G and Wi-Fi technology Obviously, the above list is not exhaustive 19
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Smartphone Patent War We will take an in-depth look at the many different skirmishes comprising the patent war, including Who’s suing who Over what technology And for what possible reasons We will also discuss alternatives to litigation, such as licensing IP
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Smartphone Patent War Initial understanding of the Smartphone Patent war Smartphone is a radical technology change with a lot of money at stake and growing. Patent war is a major tool to slow down the competition and get better market share Very large business…and growing Apple, Google, Motorola, LG, HTC, Microsoft, Nokia…. Extremely expansive litigation, with a lot of risk Time is critical - slowing down the competitors
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Smartphone Patent War Overview Similar to the GSM patent war of the 1990s, there is currently a patent war stirring up the mobile telecommunications market Major actors include Apple, Microsoft, Google, HTC, LG, Samsung, Motorola, Nokia, (Oracle,) and others Great example of companies leveraging their IP to obtain a competitive edge
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Smartphone is a radical technology change with a lot of money at stake and growing. See the headline below: Source: http://www.project-disco.org/intellectual-property/one-in-six-active-u-s-patents-pertain-to-the-smartphone / 23 Smartphone Patents
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Major actors include Apple, Microsoft, Google, HTC, LG, Samsung, Motorola, Nokia, (Oracle,) and others. Companies are leveraging their IP to obtain a competitive edge. 24 Smartphone Patent Overview
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Smartphone Patents – Who’s Involved At This Point (contd.) 25 Smartphone patents also includes actors not directly involved with the smartphone industry Kodak First attempted to assert patent rights in court in order to raise capital from licensing to smartphone manufacturers Non-Practicing Entities (NPE) i.e., companies that assert patent rights but do not make the inventions they own the patents for themselves
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Smartphone Patent Relevant Technologies 26 Smartphone designs e.g., Tab
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Smartphone Relevant Technologies (contd.) 27 Operating systems e.g., Microsoft Patents involved: #5, 778, 372 – “Remote retrieval and display management of electronic document with incorporated images.” #6, 339, 780 – “Loading status in a hypermedia browser having a limited available display area.” #5, 889, 522 – “System provided child window controls.”
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Smartphone Patent War – Relevant Technologies (cont.) Operating systems e.g., Microsoft Barnes and Noble over Android in Nook ebook reader Patents involved: #5, 778, 372 – “Remote retrieval and display management of electronic document with incorporated images.” #6, 339, 780 – “Loading status in a hypermedia browser having a limited available display area.” #5, 889, 522 – “System provided child window controls.” Microsoft also involved in many licensing deals with OEMs Means of avoiding litigation for both parties (otherwise Microsoft would assert software patent rights in court)
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Smartphone Patent War – When Did It Begin? Patent litigation concerning smartphone technology began in late 2009 Nokia sued Apple over 10 patents Apple countersued Nokia for infringement of 13 patents Notice the “eye for an eye” mentality in patent litigation Nokia-Apple litigation quickly expanded from district courts to the International Trade Commission Also opened the door for other companies to sue competitors for smartphone patent infringement “Opening salvo”
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Smartphone Patent War – Who’s Involved At This Point Apple vs. HTC: 20 software patents ELAN vs. Apple: touchscreen patents Oracle vs. Google: Java patents Qualcomm vs. Nokia: 3G tech. Apple vs. Nokia: data and speech coding Nokia vs. Apple: 2G, 3G and Wi-Fi tech. This list is not exhaustive
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Smartphone Patent War – Who’s Involved At This Point (cont.) Smartphone patent war also includes actors not directly involved with the smartphone industry Kodak First attempted to assert patent rights in court in order to raise capital from licensing to smartphone manufacturers Eventually sought to sell patents to avoid bankruptcy Some think litigation was actually a means of marketing their patent portfolio Non-Practicing Entities (NPE) i.e., companies that assert patent rights but do not make the inventions they own the patents for themselves
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Smartphone Patent War – Different Actors, Different Motivations Motivations for resorting to patent litigation are often multi-pronged: Principle – patents rights have been infringed, not going to tolerate it e.g., Apple suing Samsung over iPad design infringement Damages – plaintiffs in patent cases can recoup profits lost due to infringement, sometimes treble (3x) damages if judge finds willful infringement
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Smartphone Patent War – Different Actors, Different Motivations (cont.) Injunction – if product found to infringe, court can order injunction against manufacturer Essentially, a mandate to stop producing the infringing product e.g., Apple sued Samsung over Galaxy Tab in Germany, won an injunction that forbade Samsung marketing it Licensing – sometimes if a competitor wants to use your IP, you let them pay you to do it This has largely been Microsoft’s strategy throughout the patent war Arguably mutually beneficial: one side gets access to competitor’s IP, while competitor need not manufacturer from IP to make money off of it
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Smartphone Patent War – Jurisdictions The smartphone patent war is a global span of litigation taking place in various courts, including: U.S. district courts Most patent cases in the United States are heard in Eastern district of Texas Delaware Northern district of California European and Asian courts Most often with the aim to win an injunction in a foreign market
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Smartphone Patent War – Jurisdictions (cont.) International Trade Commission (ITC) Quasi-legal venue where many patent cases are heard Two reasons plaintiffs often file complaints to the ITC: While not having the ability to award damages, it can grant injunctions Speed – proceedings are usually much faster than in district or appellate courts
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Smartphone Patent War – Questions To Ask Are there more mutually profitable alternatives to “patent wars”? Cross-licensing? Patent pools? What effect does such litigations have on consumers? the market? innovation? When will it be “over”? Bankruptcy? Product bans?
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Homework for Next Week Assignments: Start a Blog and set your profile Add two blog posts per week The first is about yourself and the second is about the class 3-unit students – get approval Go over the class Blogs and do the same on YouTube
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