GNOME Foundation to Battle a Patent Troll in Court

The GNOME Foundation, a maker of the eponymous Linux desktops, has been hit with a sueball by Rothschild Patent Imaging LLC over how its Shotwell photo manager manages photos.

The plaintiff has alleged in a complaint filed at the United States District Court Northern California that the defendant has infringed its patent for a “Wireless Image Distribution System and Method.”

The Patent Application, 9,936,086, filed at the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on 2 June 2017, is dated 3 April 2018. And in a nutshell, it is related to flinging digital photos from one device to another wirelessly.

The GNOME Foundation is not the only firm being sued by the plaintiff; instead, there are many other companies. As per the Patent Litigation Website RPX Insight, there are six active and forty-two inactive cases involving Rothschild Patent Imaging. For instance, Rothschild has also sued Magix in a complaint associated with the same patent. In Magix’s case, it is the firm’s photo manager who has grabbed the attention of the plaintiff’s Patent Attorney.

Unlike Magix, the GNOME Foundation is a non-profit outfit. Neil McGovern, Executive Director for the GNOME Foundation, said that the suit is baseless, and they would vigorously defend against it. He added that due to the ongoing litigation, they, unfortunately, cannot make any further comments at this time.

While Neil, cannot speak more about this issue, we can imagine the lively shade of blue the air is running within GNOME towers.

The patent itself is the broad beast, emphasizing hardware and software and, importantly in the case of GNOME or Shotwell a method that involves capturing images, filtering them based on a theme, topic or individual, and then transmitting the filtered ones to another device wirelessly. Since the patent deals with wireless image distribution, it appears to be ridiculous because it means any software that transfers images from one device to another could be violating this patent.

Rothschild Patent Imaging LLC is owned by Leigh Rothschild whose modus operandi is to obtain patents on general ideas, which would be so broad that they could sue an enormous number of organizations. Defendants have only two choices, either pay Rothschild to settle the dispute or pay IP Lawyers to fight the court battle.

Apart from Magix and GNOME, Cyberlink’s FaceMe has also been on the receiving end of a complaint revolving around the pesky patent 9,936,086. Because the plaintiff was demanding $75,000 from each defendant for settling the lawsuits, it seems as if it is formed to make profits by suing other firms.

Unfortunately, patent trolling that enables an individual or company to enforce its patent rights against accused infringers far beyond the patent’s actual value or contribution to the prior art, usually through hardball legal tactics is the big business in many countries. There are many firms with the sole business model of gaining monetary benefits by using other companies. Well, this becomes possible because of the law that favors such patent trolls and defendants who pay the plaintiff to settle to the dispute. Nevertheless, this time, the GNOME Foundation has decided to fight the present lawsuit vigorously. If the Foundation wins, it would be an excellent example that prevents companies like Rothschild from making profits with the help of patent trolls in the future. For view source: https://www.kashishipr.com/blog/gnome-foundation-to-battle-a-patent-troll-in-court/

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How Permanent Patent differs from Provisional Patent?

Patent Registration is of paramount importance whenever you come up with a new and unique idea or product in today’s era, where unauthorized people hardly hesitate to steal your Intellectual Property (IP). In the present world, there are many individuals, companies, etc., that seek to make profits by taking away and using someone else’s assets.A Registered Patent gives you the legal authority to prohibit others from making, utilizing, or offering the creation without your approval. Apart from protecting the unlawful use of your IP, patent registration serves you with several other benefits, like goodwill, reputation, etc. Nevertheless, to enjoy the advantages of registering a patent, you must be aware of some useful aspects, especially the permanent patent and the provisional patent.

Permanent Patent

A permanent patent confirms the comprehensive protection of the patented invention. A permanent patent application refers to a complete portrayal of the inventor’s invention, along with the point-to-point strategy for carrying it out, assertions to explain its scope, and the claims to secure it under Patent Protection. The Intellectual Property Rights(IPRs) evolved through a patent with this application means no one can use the invention without its owner permission.

Provisional Patent

The first thing you should consider under this section is that there is no such thing as a provisional patent. However, a Provisional Patent Application is a preliminary step, before the filing of the regular patent to obtain a type of interim protection. It is a legal document that sets an early filing date and enables you to market your invention without any fear of losing it in the hands of others as well as procure cash for proceeding with further patent operations. Note that the provisional patent application does not mature into a granted patent unless you filea regular non-provisional patent application. Besides, if a permanent patent application claims that the invention disclosed in the provisional one is never filed, the same will ultimately become non-patentable.

Difference between Permanent and Provisional Patent

• One of the main aspects that differentiate these two vital patent types is the cost of filing them. Filing a Provisional Patent application is quite cheaper as compared to applying for a permanent patent and thus, appears beneficial for small entities like individuals, universities, and companies having 500 or fewer employees. Furthermore, filing of provisional application demands no legal formalities, which are necessary in case of permanent patent registration.Many times, the inventors don’t have enough money to safeguard everything they invent; provisional patent registration is a tool that proves valuable for those having a limited budget.
• Filing a provisional patent application facilitates you to conserve your invention immediately after the creation along with to continue maintaining, supplementing, and perfecting that invention. Once made improvements, you can either file another Provisional Patent Application or if wish, move to the permanent patent application. On the other side, once you filed a permanent provisional application, there will be no option to add a new subject matter or modify the invention. Hence, if you are working on your invention but want to secure the created part, then the provisional patent application is an ideal selection.
• Another aspect that not just differs but makes the provisional patent application better than the permanent one is the role of the Patent Office. Patent Office never involves itself with the provisional application until and unless the inventorfiles a permanent patent application claiming benefits and privileges of the priority under the provisional patent application filing. It means no additional fee, whether in regards to the Patent Attorneys or office is required until you want to step forward to permanent patent registration. With the provisional patent application, you can lay the foundation for obtaining the patent, have benefits of patent-pending, and secure funds in the process.

Although provisional and permanent patents are two different tools, they, if used together, can act as the best way to secure your invention under robust patent protection as soon as possible. However, if you prefer filing a provisional patent application, then it is essential to understand that it remains unresolved at the Patent Office for just twelve months from the date of filing. Hence, to extract comprehensive benefits of patenting your invention, you must file a corresponding permanent application also during the twelve-month unresolved period of the provisional application. Patent registration, including filing for provisional and permanent patents, is significant as well as beneficial when you come up with new inventions. Assuredly, it may not be as easy as said and demand professional aid, but the differences given-above can provide remarkable help. For view source: https://www.kashishipr.com/blog/how-permanent-patent-differs-from-provisional-patent/

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Indian Government Incentivizes Companies to File Patents Abroad

The government of India recently has simplified the rules for patents filed by women, small entities, and government agencies, and also incentivized Indian firms to file patents abroad.

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has notified the additional rules to amend the Patents Rules, 2003. It has also expedited the examination of patents if the applicant is a small entity, startup, or an institution established by a Provincial, Central, or State Act, which is controlled or owned by the government as well as the institutions that are wholly or substantially financed by the government.

A maestro on the Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) revealed that they have focused on expediting the examination of patents to encourage creativity in startups, small companies, and women. He further added that this step would help the nation’s government to commercialize its patents by charging a royalty.

Besides, the government has incentivized Indian firms to file patents abroad. It has done this by putting an end to the fees required as payment for the electronic international application under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) and the transmission through the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), created in 1967 to foster creative activities and promote the protection of Intellectual Property (IP) throughout the world.

The department has also floated draft guidelines for the protection of IPRs in academic institutions, including schools, colleges, universities, etc. As per these guidelines, the patent rights would rest with an educational institution if a student, faculty member, or researcher therein has used the resources and funds associated with it for developing a useful product.

This move by the government and legal authorities is expected to benefit the companies, women, entrepreneurs, and all those who are facing challenging times and stiff competition in today’s highly competitive market. Although it would take Indians sometime to plan their way according to the new amendments in filing a Patent Application to obtain Patent Protection within the nation and abroad, they will soon welcome new opportunities and benefits. For view source: https://www.kashishipr.com/blog/indian-government-incentivizes-companies-to-file-patents-abroad/

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TSMC Responds to Patent Infringement Lawsuit by GlobalFoundries

TSMC, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, took a day to digest claims of the Patent Infringement lawsuit filed against it by GlobalFoundries (GF), one of the largest semiconductor fabrication companies worldwide, and then responded by saying that the allegations of this Intellectual Property infringement are baseless. It also proposed that the GlobalFoundries is acting like a patent troll.

TSMC added that with 37,000 granted patents globally, it has been established as one of the largest semiconductor portfolios in the industry and attained a top 10 ranking for US patent grants for 3 consecutive years since 2016. The world’s largest foundry continued that it is disappointed to see a peer opting for a meritless lawsuit rather than competing in the marketplace.

The complaint filed on 26th August 2019 by GlobalFoundaries claims that TSMC along with a number of its customers and makers of various products have infringed 16 of the GF’s patents covering several aspects of chip manufacturing. The plaintiff claimed that TSMC’s 7nm, 10 nm, 12 nm, 16 nm, and 28 nm nodes allegedly use its Intellectual Property (IP). Among defendants, the firm named Apple, MediaTek, Broadcom, NVIDIA, Xilinx, Qualcomm, and some others.

The plaintiff had filed the case in the US International Trade Commission (ITC), the Regional Courts of Dusseldorf, and Mannheim in Germany, and the U.S. Federal District Courts in the Districts of Delaware and the Western District of Texas. It is looking for damages from TSMC and wants the courts to ban the products that use infringing semiconductors in the US and Germany.

On the other side, TSMC has denied the allegations by announcing that it will defend itself in the courts. The firm stresses that it spends billions of dollars on R&D (Research and Development) every year and has been granted 37,000 patents throughout its history.

High-tech companies typically counter-sue one another in IP infringement cases, so it would not at all be surprising if TSMC chooses to sue GlobalFoundries. Although TSMC assumes that the claims are baseless and thus, planning to defend itself against GF, still if any court not necessarily but possibly disagrees, TSMC and its clients would then have to work out a royalty arrangement with GF. For view source: https://www.kashishipr.com/blog/tsmc-responds-to-patent-infringement-lawsuit-by-globalfoundries/

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What are the Benefits of Getting a Patent in India?

What is a patent? What are the benefits of patent registration? Several such questions strike the mind of an inventor when he comes up with new ideas and tries to associate them with patenting. A patent is one of the many exclusive forms of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) granted to an inventor for the unique invention by his nation’s government. Intended to prevent others from copying, trading, modifying, or importing the inventors’ ideas without their consent, patent protection continues for years. Patent Law is territorial bound and thus, different for different countries, for example – the patent granted in India lasts for 20 years from the date of filing. Note that anyone can use the invention after this duration. Once the applicant gets a patent, he can enjoy many benefits.

What are the Advantages of getting a patent?

Patent law develops the inventor’s confidence to generate more ideas by making him the only owner of his invention. Comparatively different from other kinds of Intellectual Property (IP), patent rights can be bought, licensed, or sold. Since these rights are country-specific, the patent law of one nation gives the rights valid within that country only. For instance – the patent granted in India gives rights that prevent unauthorized users from infringing, i.e., importing or using others’ ideas within Indian Territory. Besides inventors, the patent system benefits the nation by growing its economy, as it enables the public to get the desired products and services at affordable prices.

There are a lot of benefits that the owner can enjoy after obtaining a patent, some of which are as follows:        

1. Exclusive access to every right from the time of early filing

Patent registration begins bestowing the inventors with the benefits right from the first step, i.e., the time of filing for the patent. The applicant gets the security and surety that no other person or company could claim the ideas similar to his invention, as soon as he files the Provisional Patent Application. If someone else applies for the same patent, his request will get rejected for the filing period, which is 12 months in India.

2. Freedom to make changes

The patent law entitles the owner to use his ideas in any way for the permitted period. It means that the owner owns full freedom to utilize, sell, or even modify the original invention and to prevent others from making profits from the same ideas without his consent. With the granted patent, the inventor gets the ability to sue the user whom he finds infringing his patent rights. Note that patent infringement is a criminal offense.

3. ROI (Return on Investment)

Sometimes, the owner finds that his invention is not bringing good outcomes for him and therefore, wants to hand it over to any other deserving or successful person. Once obtained, the patent rights allow him to earn a good amount of ROI, i.e., returns on his investments by commercializing the invention.

4. Opportunities to get a good market reputation

Patent rights enable the inventor to get a noticeable market status and improve his portfolio by uncovering the invention publicly. It then helps him in building up a good relationship with consumers and competitors that ultimately add to his revenue.

5. Public disclosure

Patent rights allow public disclosure that helps the inventor in building up his portfolio along with increasing the funds, market value, and business partners. Sharing information that pertains to the invention publicly will demonstrate the inventors’ specialization and good command over the technical subject-matter. All these facts benefit the owner by attracting leading and high-end investors, shareholders, business partners, and consumers.

Why is patenting an invention crucial?    

If the invention is not patented, then it becomes difficult for the owner to prevent others from stealing and using his ideas to obtain all the above-given benefits. After reading the above-provided information, you can easily conclude that for getting a patent, the inventor should be familiar with the IP industry, patent laws, market scenario, competitors, consumers, etc. The inventor needs to remain cautious as well as up-to-date in regards to patent standards and required documents. However, the process of patent registration may appear a bit arduous, but earning protection for your invention for a certain period is worthy. For view source: https://www.kashishipr.com/blog/what-are-the-benefits-of-getting-a-patent-in-india/

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