NEWS
Article One Partners reaches $2 million research payment milestone based on the quality of their findings.
Patent research company Article One Partners (AOP) has paid $2 million to its global network of researchers since its inception.
Tis network consists of experts, patent researchers, scientists and technologists who source IP intelligence such as prior art for AOP’s clients. Researchers are financially rewarded
On average, AOP researchers receive between $5000 and $10,000 per award. One researcher has been paid more than $75,000 for her work.
Cheryl Milone, chief executive officer and founder of AOP, described the researcher network as a “virtuous circle”.
“Our crowd-sourced community of researchers takes the complications out of the patent system and is compensated for it based on merit,” she added. “Many researchers’ lives are being changed in the process. Te level of trust in the AOP community mirrors the optimism represented by the act of invention itself.” n
Apple v Motorola patent battle hots up in Europe and the US
iPhone maker Apple has asked the European Commission to intervene in its long-running patent dispute with smartphone manufacturer Motorola Mobility.
Apple asked the commission to step in as it believes that Motorola Mobility is enforcing standards-essential patents against it.
Te complaint was revealed in Motorola Mobility’s Form 10-K annual report, which was filed on February 17. Apple alleges that Motorola Mobility is in breach of its Fair, Reasonable and Non- Discriminatory commitments by enforcing patents that are essential to the smartphone industry.
Apple has presented similar arguments in other jurisdictions. In the US District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, Apple is seeking declaratory judgments that Motorola Mobility’s licence offers, which are reported to be at a 2.25 percent royalty rate, involve standards-essential patents and have not been on reasonable and non-discriminatory terms and conditions.
Apple has recently achieved a victory over Motorola Mobility in Germany. A court ruled that a ‘slide-to-unlock’ feature in certain Motorola Mobility smartphones that are sold in
Germany infringed Apple’s European patent for a similar feature in its iPhones.
Motorola Mobility said that it has already implemented a new design for the feature and that the ruling will not affect its current supply of smartphones and future sales in Germany.
Google’s acquisition of Motorola Mobility has been given regulatory approval in the US and the EU. Te US Department of Justice (US DoJ) and the European Commission both approved the deal. Te US DoJ said that it will be ensuring that essential patents are licensed fairly. n
10 World Intellectual Property Review January/February 2012
www.worldipreview.com
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