So it’s another week in the world of patents and—you guessed it—we’re bringing you more of the latest news from companies (and inventors) from around the world.
Inventors are always tinkering, creating and submitting patent applications. If those applications are revolutionary (or confusing) enough, they usually make the news—and we document them here.
This week, there were some shakeups in Samsung’s planned product roll-outs, and Nokia made a big decision concerning the future of their innovations and products. Keep reading for the details of these (and more) important news items in the world of patents.
Nokia Signs Agreement with Chinese Smartphone Maker
Nokia, the former largest vendor of mobile phones in the world, took a break from the mobile game in recent years, focusing instead on its multinational communications.
In fact, Nokia was one of the leaders in developing many mobile industry standards that are still in use today. The company still makes a decent amount of money from patent licensing.
This week, the Finnish company signed an agreement for cross-licensing patents with Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi.
The agreement will allow the two tech companies to develop more new and innovative products, using what are known as standard essential patents. The agreement also included plans for the two companies to innovate in several areas, including the Internet of things, Artificial Intelligence, and even virtual reality.
Cross-licensing of patents can allow companies to innovate into different areas without risking legal trouble or action. Both Nokia and Xiaomi have their eye on global expansion, with India holding particular allure for Xiaomi.
The Chinese smartphone maker has been fairly aggressive in its innovation in the past few years, applying for around 16,000 patents since 2010, with 4,000 of those already granted.
Meanwhile, Nokia is back in the smartphone game, having partnered with HMD mobile. They are slated to release new smartphones this summer.
Samsung Will Launch Their New Smart Speaker Device at CES 2018
According to Patently Apple, Samsung is in a rush to debut a smart speaker device that features their own digital assistant, Bixby. Apparently, the Korean smartphone company intends to debut the new device this coming January, at CES 2018.
The rush to get the device out seems to be a response to Apple’s own plans to unveil their new HomePod system this fall, per a report that was published this week.
The competitive rush is not surprising, considering Samsung and Apple have been involved in several battles for patents, innovations and shares of the smartphone market through the years. Just last December, the Supreme Court sided with Samsung in a patent infringement case brought against them by Apple—before the verdict, Samsung was at risk of being forced to pay Apple nearly $400 million.
Samsung’s digital assistant Bixby has not had a smooth road to launch so far. USA Today reported that the digital assistant faced several setbacks on its road to completion, including failure to adapt to the English language in English-speaking markets.
Following Samsung’s disastrous (is that even a strong enough word?) Galaxy Note 7 launch last fall—which included many of the devices catching fire in users’ pockets—it was clear that the company needed a big win.
It doesn’t appear that Bixby is that win.
Samsung Patents a Case for Wireless Charging of Gear S3
Samsung was all over the patents news outlets this week, as they also submitted a patent for a wireless charging case for the Gear S3 smartwatch.
The patent included specific information for both the charging case’s form and its function, with a USB connector on one side and a direct current alternating converter on the other side.
According to observers, the phone will likely use millimeter wave technology and will probably charge other devices in addition to the S3—something that many users are very excited about.
We’ll keep you posted on whether or not this (admittedly useful) product makes it to the market.
Canadian Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Patent Owners in Recent Court Case
Canada’s Promise Doctrine, which surfaced in 1985 as part of its Patent Act, has long caused issue for patent seekers (especially those in the pharmaceutical industry).
In the Promise Doctrine, it states that inventions must be “new and useful,” and are required to display utility—in all aspects recorded in their patent texts.
Since 2005, Canadian courts have invalidated more than 25 patents under the Promise Doctrine. Most of those patents belonged to pharmaceutical companies who provided much-used medicines.
On June 30, the Canadian Supreme Court issued a ruling on a court case involving English pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca and Apotex, Inc., a Canadian pharmaceutical corporation, and surprisingly, the Court ruled in favor of the original patent holder, AstraZeneca.
In 2014, AstraZeneca was stripped of its patent for the acid reflux medication Nexium, after generic drugmaker Apotex asserted that the drug’s patent made a “promise” of an improved therapeutic profile to users, without any evidence that the drug actually provided that improved therapeutic outcome.
This year, seeking to regain their patent for Nexium, AstraZeneca filed an appeal on the decision with the Canadian Supreme Court.
The nine judges on the Court voted unanimously to uphold the appeal, stating: “The Promise Doctrine is incongruent with both the words and the scheme of the Patent Act…The Promise Doctrine risks, as was the case here, for an otherwise useful invention to be deprived of patent protection because not every promised use was sufficiently demonstrated or soundly predicted by the filing date.”
Companies and corporations who are passionate about innovation applauded the ruling, in a consensus that decried the Promise Doctrine as an impossible measuring stick for inventors—one that forced them to predict every single use for their product at the time of filing…and be right about it.
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