Scientists develop rapidly charging E-cycle with Sodium-ion batteries and supercapacitors

Scientists at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur have used nano-materials to develop Sodium-ion batteries and supercapacitors, which can be rapidly charged and have integrated them in e-cycles. The low-cost Sodium-ion (Na-ion)-based technologies would be cheap and are expected to reduce the cost of e-cycles significantly. Na-ion batteries have triggered academic and commercial interest as a possible complementary technology to lithium-ion batteries because of the high natural abundance of sodium and the consequent low costs of Na-ion batteries. Amreesh Chandra, professor in the Department of Physics at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, has been researching to develop energy storage technologies, which are based on Na-ion, and his team has developed a large number of nanomaterials. The team has used sodium iron phosphates and sodium manganese phosphates which they synthesised to obtain Na-ion-based batteries and supercapacitors with support from the Technology Mission Division (TMD) of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India. These sodium materials were combined with various novel architectures of carbon to develop a battery. These sodium materials are cheaper than Li-based materials, high performing, and can be scaled up to industrial-level production. The Na-ion cell can also be totally discharged to zero volt, similar to a capacitor, making it a safer option in comparison to many other storage technologies. Taking advantage of the fact that Na-ion batteries can be charged rapidly, Amreesh has integrated it in e-cycles – an easy, affordable option for the general public. With further development, the price of these vehicles can be brought down to the range of Rs10,000-15,000, making them nearly 25 per cent cheaper than Li-ion storage technologies-based e-cycles. As disposal strategies of Na-ion-based batteries would be simpler, it can also help in addressing the climate mitigation issue. The research on the Supercapacitors was published in the Journal of Power Sources, and a few patents are in the pipeline on the use of these Na-ion-based batteries in e-cycles. The research activity was funded under the DST’s Materials for Energy Storage scheme. Source: https://www.domain-b.com/

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WTO agrees fishing, food and Covid vaccine deals

The World Trade Organization (WTO) concluded deals Friday on tackling food insecurity, curbing harmful fishing subsidies and temporarily waiving Covid-19 vaccine patents after days of round-the-clock talks.

WTO director-general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said the trade ministers' conference had struck an "unprecedented package of deliverables" after the global trade body's 164 members passed the deals just before 5:00 am (0300 GMT) at the organisation's headquarters in Geneva.

"Not in a long while has the WTO seen such a significant number of multilateral outcomes," she said.

"The package of agreements you have reached will make a difference to the lives of people around the world. The outcomes demonstrate that the WTO is in fact capable of responding to the emergencies of our time."

The talks began Sunday and were due to wrap up on Wednesday - but instead went straight through two nights and on into Friday.

The ministerial conference also agreed on deals on e-commerce, responding to pandemics and reforming the organisation itself.

Negotiations towards banning subsidies that encourage overfishing and threaten the sustainability of the planet's fish stocks have been going on at the WTO for more than two decades.

Okonjo-Iweala, who took over in March 2021, hinged her leadership on breathing new life into the sclerotic organisation.

The former foreign and finance minister of Nigeria positioned herself as someone who can bang heads together and get business done.

The last ministerial conference in Buenos Aires in December 2017 was seen as a flop after failing to strike any heavyweight deals.

"We have more work to do and now I can see that we are capable of doing it," said Okonjo-Iweala. - AFPDailyBangladesh/AN Source: https://www.daily-bangladesh.com/

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TCS Q4 net rises to Rs9,246 cr, revenue at Rs43,705 cr

• Tata Consultancy Services, a leader in providing IT services, consulting and business solutions globally, reported consolidated profit of Rs9,246 crore for fiscal fourth quarter ended 31 March 2021 a 6.3 per cent sequential growth.
• Consolidated revenue for the quarter grew 4 per cent to Rs43,705 crore on the back of large deals, a weak rupee, and recovery in demand.
• Revenue in dollar terms grew by 5 per cent sequentially to $5,989 million in the quarter ended 31 March 2021, against 5.1 per cent growth seen in previous quarter.
• Revenue growth in constant currency terms was higher at 4.2 per cent QoQ against 4.1 per cent in the previos quarter.
• “The investments over the last decade in building newer capabilities, and in research and innovation, position us well for the multi-year technology services opportunity ahead. While we continue to dominate in our traditional areas of strength, we are making good progress in gaining share in the growth and transformation opportunity,” Rajesh Gopinathan, chief executive officer and managing director, said.
• The company’s board proposed a final dividend per share of Rs15 per share
• “I am pleased to note that in FY 21, leading organizations partnered with TCS in their growth and transformation journeys. Many of them benefited from our refreshingly different consultative approach to shaping, contracting, executing, and measuring the success of transformation programs, always holding ourselves accountable for the results,” N Ganapathy Subramaniam, chief operating officer and executive director, said.
• “I am very pleased with our performance in Q4. This caps three quarters of consistently robust performance in a pandemic year, and gives us a strong exit from FY 21. Our Q4 margins are a validation of our strong belief that it is possible to win mega-deals, post industry-leading growth, continue to invest in our people and in newer capabilities, and still deliver industry-leading profitability. All the investments that we have been making over the years position us strongly to expand our footprint in the large growth and transformation opportunity,” V Ramakrishnan, chief financial officer, said.
• TCS said all its business verticals showed good sequential growth, while a a couple of these continued to lag prior year level – BFSI (+7% QoQ, +13.3% YoY), Retail and CPG (+4% QoQ, -0.9% YoY), Life Sciences and Healthcare (+3.8% QoQ, +19.3% YoY), Manufacturing (+3.9% QoQ, +1.3% YoY), Technology & Services (+2.8% QoQ, +3.9% YoY) and Communications & Media (+1.8% QoQ, -4% YoY).
• On a full year basis, Life Sciences and Healthcare (+17.1%), BFSI (+2.4%) and Technology & Services (+0.2%) showed growth while the rest continue to be below prior year levels.
• Growth was led by major markets, including Continental Europe (+8.5% QoQ, +11.7% YoY), North America (+3.9% QoQ, +5.9% YoY), and UK (+3.4% QoQ, +1% YoY). Other markets that grew well included the Middle East & Africa (+4.2% QoQ, +10.6% YoY), India (+2.8% QoQ, +11.2% YoY), Latin America (+2.5% QoQ, +1.5% YoY), and Asia Pacific (+1% QoQ, +1.5% YoY).
• On a full year basis, with the exception of Continental Europe which grew +5.5%, all other markets continue to be in negative territory compared to the prior year.
• TCS said growth and transformation services, driven by clients continuing on their multi-horizon transformation journeys, saw strong demand. Advisory and design services continue to gain traction across business stakeholders. There was robust growth across the board, led by Cloud Platform Services, Enterprise Application services, Cyber Security & Analytics.
• The company said there is a strong rebound in transformation services as companies move from crisis management to adapting to new beginnings.
• As of 31 March 2021, TCS has applied for 5,879 patents, including 245 applied during the quarter, and has been granted 1,850 patents.
• In Q4, TCS added 19,388 employees to its rolls on a net basis, its highest ever net addition in a quarter. The total headcount stood at 488,649, a net addition of 40,185 during the year. The workforce continues to be young and very diverse, comprising 154 nationalities and with women making up 36.5% of the workforce.
• TCS’ organic talent development initiatives continued to deliver industry-leading outcomes. Employees logged 43 million learning hours in FY 2021, resulting in over 379,000 employees getting trained on multiple new technologies, and over 457,000 trained on Agile methods. The company continues to be the employer of choice, with industry-leading talent retention. IT Services attrition rate (LTM) was at 7.2 per cent.“With the second wave of the pandemic upon us, our top priority is once again to secure the health and personal wellbeing of our workforce across the world. We are looking at ways to expedite vaccinations for eligible TCSers wherever local regulations allow it, and in the meantime, urge everyone to stay safe, step out only if necessary, wear masks and practice physical distancing,” said Milind Lakkad, chief HR officer. Source: https://www.domain-b.com/

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Reliance acquires majority stake in US smart mobility firm SkyTran

• Reliance Strategic Business Ventures Limited (RSBVL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited, announced investment of $26.76 million in SkyTran Inc, to increase its shareholding in the a US-based smart mobility solutions company to 54.46 per cent. 
• Incorporated in 2011, Delaware, US-based SkyTran has developed breakthrough passive magnetic levitation and propulsion technology for implementing personal transportation systems aimed at solving the problem of traffic congestion globally. The technology has been developed by SkyTran to create Smart Mobility Solutions.
• The proposed SkyTran transportation systems would consist of computer-controlled passenger pods running on its state-of-the-art, patented Passive Magnetic Levitation technology and would use cutting edge IT, Telecom, loT and Advanced Materials technologies to transport passengers in a fast, safe, green, and economical manner.
• Incubated by Nasa, SkyTran is also supported by notable global venture capital investors such as Innovation Endeavors.
• “Our acquiring majority equity stake in SkyTran reflects our commitment to invest in building futuristic technologies that would transform the world. We are excited by SkyTran’s potential to achieve an order of magnitude impact on highspeed intra and inter-city connectivity and its ability to provide a high speed, highly efficient and economical ‘Transportation-As-A-Service’ platform for India and the rest of the world. We firmly believe that non-polluting high speed personal rapid transportation system will help facilitate environmental sustainability through efficient use of alternative energy and make an impactful reduction in air and noise pollution,” Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries, said.
• RIL is in a transitional phase, expanding its activities from hydrocarbon exploration and production, petroleum refining and marketing, petrochemicals, retail and digital services to new technology enterprises.
• Reliance, through RSBVL, had first invested an undisclosed amount into SkyTran in exchange for a 12.7 per cent stake. In April 2020, Reliance said RSBVL held an aggregate 26.31 per cent investment in the start-up.
• SkyTran is a personal rapid transit system concept, first proposed by inventor Douglas Malewicki in 1990, and under development by Unimodal Inc. A prototype of the skyTran vehicle and a section of track have been constructed.
• SkyTran has developed a patented, high-speed elevated Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) system that accommodates two-person jet-like pods. These transportive pods operate with Magnetic Levitation (Maglev) technology, along SkyTran’s computer-controlled network.Law firms Covington & Burling LLP and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer US LLP acted as legal counsel and IP counsel respectively to Reliance Industries. Source: https://www.domain-b.com/

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EIGHT unveils new solar charging station at BMW Welt

Called Point.One S, the system was eye-catching was specifically design to charge a single electric car at a time. In a related development, ABB, the BMW Group, Deutsche Bahn, EIGHT, RWE, the University of Bamberg, the German Armed Forces University of Munich and Dresden Technical University have activated the first DC fast-charging station which is part of a research project in the context of the showcase region Bavaria-Saxony “ELEKTROMOBILITÄT VERBINDET” initiative. "The first version of Point.One was designed to charge up to four cars at a time and targets big businesses and large institutions," said Christoph B. Rößner, Eight's Managing Director. "Hence the station covers an area of round about 55 sqm. Our new version, Point.One S, is designed to charge one car and is the ideal solution for medium sized organizations and private households.” He added, “The new version offers all the features which people know from the original Point.One. But, as the Point.One S is much smaller, the solar charging station needs less space and integrates even easier with the architecture of its surrounding. Just like Point.One, our new version is designed to integrate different kinds of charging technologies – depending on the needs of the customers.” The demonstrator of Point.One S will be slightly modified by the end of this year and gets a highly intelligent user interface. Currently EIGHT and the University for Design of Schwaebisch Gmuend are working together on a new concept which makes it very easy and convenient to use the solar charging station. The new user interface is meant to back up the philosophy of EIGHT and its solar charging stations. It´s the company´s goal to get people excited about e-mobility and to make them interested in emissions-free mobility. EIGHT aims to connect sustainability with modern urban lifestyle and to facilitate innovative business models in the context of e-mobility. At the same event, EIGHT and the other partners of the DC-charging project have activated a new charging station in front of BMW Welt. The DC-fast-charging station from ABB is based on the new IEC Standard 61851-23 / Combined Charging System (CCS) and can charge a pilot production version of the BMW i3 with almost empty batteries up to 80 percent within less than 30 minutes. As part of the DC fast-charging project EIGHT has developed the new solar charging station Point.One S. “Our patented, impressively sustainable manufacturing system and parametrical planning processes allow the station to be adapted to the location and its surrounding architecture as effectively as possible,” said Christoph B. Roessner, managing director of EIGHT GmbH & Co. KG. “The Point.One solar charging station will provide a groundbreaking interface between people, their vehicles and renewable energy sources. Its design and ease of use allow us to see and experience the potential of sustainable mobility, overcome hurdles along the way and stoke peoples´ enthusiasm for electric mobility," he said. By the end of the year the solar charging station will be ready for use, at BMW Welt. For EIGHT, the development of Point.One S is the beginning of an effort to serve private households and medium sized businesses who want to become independent from energy suppliers and who want to combine unique design with emissions-free e-mobility. Source: Renewable Energy Magazine

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US Supreme Court says human DNA cannot be patented

Human genes may not be patented, but artificially copied DNA can be claimed as intellectual property, the US Supreme Court has ruled unanimously. The court quashed patents held by a Utah-based firm on two genes linked to breast and ovarian cancer. The opinion said DNA came from nature and was not eligible for patenting. The US biotechnology industry had warned any blanket ban on such patents would jeopardise huge investment in gene research and therapies. Source: SAM Daily Times

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Google one-ups Apple, wins face-to-unlock patent

Apple may have a patent on unlocking a smartphone via gestures, but Google just won a patent for unlocking any computing device just by looking at it. U.S. patent #8,261,090 was awarded yesterday. Gaze into the camera, match up with an approved identity, get access to the device. Or, in patentese: A method of logging a first user in to an computing device includes receiving an image of the first user via a camera operably coupled with the computing device and determining an identity of the first user based on the received image. If the determined identity matches a predetermined identity, then, based at least on the identity of the first user matching the predetermined identity, the first user is logged in to the computing device. The patent was filed in late 2011 and is applicable to any generic computing device: laptop, smartphone … anything with a camera. Similar technologies have already been released in apps on Android such as Visidon AppLock Plus, and iPhone such as FaceVault, and Ice Cream Sandwich already included face unlock functionality. It’s a potentially faster and easier way of accessing your phone, depending on how fast the face recognition is. And it certainly could be a faster way of logging into your computer. Security is a big question, however. Would an hacker with a life-size picture of you be able to log into your computer? It turns out that the answer is yes … and a life-size, printed picture is not even necessary: Source: Venture Beat, Image: flickr.com

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Apple, Samsung infringed each other's patents: S Korea court

A South Korean court ruled Friday that US tech giant Apple and Samsung Electronics had infringed on each other's patents, ordering damage payments from both firms. The court ruled that Apple breached two Samsung technology patents, and ordered it to pay 40 million won ($35,242) in damages, court officials said. It also separately ordered Samsung to pay 25 million won for violating one of Apple's patents, Yonhap news agency said. Samsung filed a lawsuit against Apple in Seoul in April last year regarding infringement of patents related to telecommunications standards. Apple responded in June by filing a counter suit claiming Samsung copied its design and user interface of its iPhone and iPad. The ruling comes ahead of a US jury verdict that is expected to signal the future course of their global fight for supremacy in the smartphone market. Source: Hindustan Times

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IBM is granted patent for multitouch floor

InAVate: Is nothing safe from the multitouch phenomenon? IBM has been granted a patent in the USA for a security system that would turn a floor into a multitouch surface that recognises who's standing on it. Once it senses an unauthorised person standing on it, it can sound alarms or call the police, just like traditional house alarms.IBM also says that the system could be used to recognise if a person was lying down on the floor in an unexpected location for a period time and automatically trigger a call to the emergency services. Source: InAVate

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Facebook acquires 750 patents from IBM to bolster defence against lawsuits

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Domain - B,  Facebook,  the  world's  biggest social- networking service, has
acquired 750 patents from IBM as the eight year-old company beefs up its intellectual property portfolio to bolster its defences against rivals from patent infringement lawsuits. Citing a person with knowledge of the transaction, Bloomberg yesterday reported that Facebook acquired 750 patents from IBM covering various technologies such as software and networking. A Facebook spokesperson has reportedly confirmed the purchase, but did not disclose how much it paid for the patents. The purchase comes after Yahoo last week sued Facebook for infringing on 10 of its patents covering advertising, privacy controls and social networking. The acquisition would boost Facebook's patent portfolio, which includes at least 56 issued patents and 503 filed US patent applications. The Menlo Park, California-based company has also at least 33 corresponding patents and 149 filed applications in foreign countries. Facebook had earlier purchased patents from social-networking site Friendster and personal computer giant Hewlett-Packard, according to the US Patent & Trademark Office.Source: Domain-B

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Here are the 10 patents Yahoo is using to sue Facebook (and what they really mean)

VentureBeat, By Ben Popper: With Facebook getting ready for its IPO, Yahoo 

has decided to sue over patent infringement. Yahoo used the same tactic against Google in the run up to their IPO, pocketing a helping of the search engine’s pre-IPO shares. Yahoo’s new CEO, Scott Thompson, is reportedly the one driving this aggressive strategy, with many of the company’s long time tech staff opposed to this aggressive use of Yahoo’s patent portfolio. Prominent thought leaders in the tech world are also upset. Venture capitalist Fred Wilson wrote on his blog this morning, “The patents that Yahoo! is suing Facebook over are a crock of shit. None of them represent unique and new ideas at the time of the filing. I suspect they all can be thrown out over prior art if Facebook takes the time and effort to do that.” We’ve broken out the 10 patents at issue in the lawsuit below, along with our best efforts at a translation into plain english. Lawyers and IP folks, let us know in the comments if we’ve got anything wrong. * US Patent 7599935 Control for enabling a user to preview display of selected content based on another user’s authorization level (Filed 2005, Issued 2009) Translation: A way to preview the stuff you will be sharing with friends. Enabling a first user to preview content as it would be seen by a second user, if the second user had a selected user relationship with the first user. The selected user relationship may include a relationship degree, a relationship category, a relationship rating, and/or other form of relationship. In one embodiment, a user interface enables the first user to assign user relationships to portions of content and to other users. The first user selects a user relationship, which is used to access those portions of content that are associated with the first user and assigned the selected user relationship. The corresponding portions of content are used to generate a preview display for the first user, illustrating the portions of content that would be accessible to other users assigned the same user relationship or assigned a closer user relationship. Preview may be generated by a server or a local client. * US Patent 5983227 Dynamic Page Generator (Filed 1997, Issued 1999) Translation: A way to produce a customized homepage without to much strain on your servers. An custom page server is provided with user preferences organized into templates stored in compact data structures and the live data used to fill the templates stored local to the page server which is handing user requests for custom pages. One process is executed on the page server for every request. The process is provided a user template for the user making the request, where the user template is either generated from user preferences or retrieved from a cache of recently used user templates. Each user process is provided access to a large region of shared memory which contains all of the live data needed to fill any user template. Typically, the pages served are news pages, giving the user a custom selection of stock quotes, news headlines, sports scores, weather, and the like. With the live data stored in a local, shared memory, any custom page can be built within the page server, eliminating the need to make requests from other servers for portions of the live data. * US Patent 7454509 Online playback system with community bias (Filed 2001, Issued 2008) Translation: A web radio station that learns your friends tastes.A method for entertaining individuals according to a community having similar tastes. Information derived from user accounts form the basis of a community and collateral preferences allow other subscribing individuals to enjoy the benefit of wider-ranging tastes according to the preferences expressed by the other members of the community. Additionally, assuming that individuals sharing one preference in common may be likely to share others, the present method allows those who choose to listen to the “fan station” the ability to enjoy similar music or other data streams according to preferences expressed by the fan community as a whole. * US Patent 7747648 World modeling using a relationship network with communication channels to entities (Filed 2005, Issued 2010) Translation: A way to connect different kinds of pages (events, friends, fans) and allow them all to message one another. Systems and methods for information retrieval and communication employ a world model. The world model is made up of interrelated entity models, each of which corresponds to an entity in the real world, such as a person, place, business, other tangible thing, community, event, or thought. Each entity model provides a communication channel via which a user can contact a real-world person responsible for that entity model. Entity models also provide feedback information, enabling users to easily share their experiences and opinions of the corresponding real-world entity. * US Patent 7406501 System and method for instant messaging using an e-mail protocol (Filed 2003, Issued 2008) Translation: Sending an instant message. No seriously, that’s it. Systems and methods allowing an instant messaging user to exchange messages with an e-mail user. To the instant messaging user, the experience is a seamless exchange of instant messages; to the e-mail user, the experience is a seamless exchange of e-mail messages. Conversion of an instant message to an e-mail message includes insertion of a token into the e-mail message, and conversion of an e-mail message to an instant message includes validating a token extracted from the e-mail message. * US Patent 6907566 US Patent 7100111 and US Patent 7373599 Method and system for optimum placement of advertisements on a webpage (Filed 1999, Issued 2005) Translation: Customizing the placement of ads based on users behavior. A method and system for placement of graphical objects on a page to optimize the occurrence of an event associated with such objects. The graphical objects might include, for instance, advertisements on a webpage, and the event would include a user clicking on that ad. The page includes positions for receipt of the object material. Data regarding the past performance of the objects is stored and updated as new data is received. A user requests a page from a server associated with system. The server uses the performance data to derive a prioritized arrangement of the objects on the page. The server performs a calculation regarding the likelihood that an event will occur for a given object, as displayed to a particular user. The objects are arranged according to this calculation and returned to the user on the requested page. The likelihood can also be multiplied by a weighting factor and the objects arranged according to this product * US Patent 7668861 System and method to determine the validity of an interaction on a network (Filed 2007, Issued 2010) Translation: A way to assign a value in order to screen for bad behavior or spam. A system and method are disclosed for classifying a user interaction on a network. A user interaction is identified on a network and user interaction data is collected relating to the user interaction on the network. The user interaction data includes an aggregate measure data and a unique feature data. The user interaction data is processed to generate a value score for the interaction. A classification of the user interaction is determined based on the value score. * US Patent 7269590 Method and system for customizing views of information associated with a social network user (Filed 2004, Issued 2007) Translation: Setting your profile so that is displays on certain info to certain friends. A method, apparatus, and system are directed towards managing a view of a social network user’s personal information based, in part, on user-defined criteria. The user-defined criteria may be applied towards a user’s relationship with each prospective viewer. The user-defined criteria may include degrees of separation between members of the social network, a relationship to the prospective viewer, as well as criteria based, in part, on activities, such as dating, employment, hobbies, and the like. The user-defined criteria may also be based on a group membership, a strength of a relationship, and the like. Such user-defined relationship criteria may then be mapped against various categories of information associated with social network user to provide customized views of the social network user. Source: VentureBeat

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Infiniti's Emerge-E Pure Electric Supercar Concept Uncovered in Patent Designs

Carscoop: Looks like we won't have to wait for Infiniti to stop the teasing and drop the full blown pictures of its all-new Emerge E sports car concept to get out first view of the electric-powered model after all as the patent designs made their way onto the internet today. Though rough around the edges and lacking certain details

such as the wheel designs, the greyscale computer generated images outline the shape of the Japanese carmaker's concept for a high-end performance model with the unique characteristic of featuring a range-extender drivetrain mounted in a mid-ship position. Infiniti has not made it clear yet if the Emerge E is a pure conceptual study or if there are plans to build a production version. In a recent promo video, Nissan vice president, Andy Palmer, commented about the Emerge E: "Infiniti already has hybrid and clean diesel models on sale. And with an all-electric sedan on the way, the natural next step was to push the boundaries where performance and the environment intersect." Hopefully, Infiniti will provide more details on the Emerge E at its world premiere at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show next month.Source: Carscoop

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Apple files patent complaint against Motorola, asks for EU investigation

VentureBeat, By: Heather Kelly: Here’s the latest punch in the ongoing mobile-device patent brawl: Apple has filed an official complaint with the European Commission against Motorola Mobility for violating agreements to fairly license standards-essential patents. The action comes just days after the U.S. and E.U. approved Google’s purchase of Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion. Motorola revealed the complaint Friday in its annual report with the SEC, which reads: “On

February 17, 2012, the Company received a letter from the European Commission, Competition Directorate-General, (the “Commission”) notifying it that the Commission has received a complaint against Motorola Mobility, Inc. (“MMI”) by Apple, Inc. (“Apple”) regarding the enforcement of MMI’s standards-essential patents against Apple allegedly in breach of MMI’s FRAND commitments. Apple’s complaint seeks the Commission’s intervention with respect to standards-essential patents. Apple’s complaint seeks the Commission’s intervention with respect to standards-essential patents.” The Motorola patents in question are included in the 17,000 patents Google will get its hands on when its purchase of Motorola Mobility is complete. The patents are to be licensed on fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms. When a technology is classified as FRAND, the owner of the patent must license it to other companies for a fee, since the technology is considered essential to an industry. Two days ago, Apple won a dispute with Motorola in German courts over its “Slide to unlock” feature. The courts said two Motorola phones were violating Apple’s patent and now Apple can push to have the devices removed from the market.Source: VentureBeat

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Patent wars between tech, pharma giants

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By: Carmen Russell- Sluchansky, 6.12.2011, 14:04, Apple has claimed that Simpson has been infringing on their technology, coping its iPhone and iPad devices with their new smartphones and tablets and demanded that Simpson stopped producing these gadgets. However, a US court yesterday denied Apple’s request for a preliminary injunction against Simpson Electronics. Apple has claimed that Simpson has been infringing on their technology, coping its iPhone and iPad devices with their new smartphones and tablets and demanded that Simpson stopped producing these gadgets.However, a US court yesterday denied Apple’s request for a preliminary injunction against Simpson Electronics. Last week, Simpson won an appeal in a similar case against Apple, where the latter tried to file for injunction on Simpsons’ Australian Galaxy Tab 10.1. Meanwhile, the US Supreme Court has just heard a case between band and generic drugs on whether a generic drug-maker can amend the patent followed by the manufacturer of a brandname of the drug. Source: Voice of Russia.

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Patents get $4.5billion at auction

PATENTS rarely make headlines, but they did this month when Nortel Networks, the defunct Canadian telecoms giant, auctioned off its patent portfolio and drew an astonishing winning bid of $4,5bn from a group of companies that includes both Apple and Microsoft. The sale marks a watershed in the maturity of intellectual property markets and a dramatic shift in strategy for technology companies. Suddenly these companies are acknowledging that patents are a strategic asset worth billions. Here’s an inside look at what happened — and what’s at stake — and remember, as you read this, that my company buys and licenses hi-tech patents.Most big tech companies inhabit winner-takes-most markets, in which any company that gets out in front can develop an enormous lead. This is how Microsoft came to dominate in software, Intel in processors, Google in web search and Oracle in databases. As a result, the tech world has seen a series of mad scrambles by companies wanting to be king of the hill. Read Full : BusinessDay - Patents get $4.5billion at auction

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