Apple will pay $5 million to settle a patent lawsuit with the Taiwan-based firm Elan, a report said Thursday. According to its website, Elan focuses on the research and development of integrated circuits and touchpad module solutions. Concluding an ongoing spat, the two companies have now agreed on a patent sharing relationship, according to Reuters. Elan originally filed a suit against Apple in 2009 alleging that Apple was infringing on two patents related to multitouch technology. Apple countersued in the United States and a judge eventually ruled last year that Apple was not in violation of Elan’s patents, Reuters explained. However, CNET said Elan continued its patent battle with Apple in a California court case that was expected to kick off in February. Apple is currently locked in a number of patent suits around the globe with several firms, including Samsung, and most recently tried to ban Samsung’s tweaked Galaxy Tab 10.1N in Germany.

Read [Reuters] Read [CNET]

AT&T has settled a patent lawsuit with TiVo in which it will pay the DVR vendor $215 million through June 2018, including an initial payment of $51 million. AT&T will also pay “incremental recurring per subscriber monthly license fees” to TiVo through July 2018 if its subscriber base surpasses a certain level, TiVo said in a statement Wednesday. AT&T and TiVo were locked in a patent battle after AT&T began to market its own digital video recorder using a technology patented by TiVo. TiVo also recently settled similar lawsuits with Dish Network and EchoStar Corp. Read on for more.

“We are extremely pleased to reach an agreement with AT&T, which acknowledges the value of our intellectual property,” said Tom Rogers, CEO and President of TiVo. “This settlement, on the heels of our recent operational success that has resulted in the growth of TiVo’s overall subscriber base, is another major accomplishment for TiVo and we believe a great outcome for our shareholders. The combination of guaranteed payments and future additional fees paid to TiVo in the event that AT&T’s pay TV business continues to grow in-line with consensus analyst expectations, represents hard-earned compensation for our IP enforcement efforts.”

Rogers continued, “The settlement also provides us rights to innovate TiVo products and services under license from AT&T and allows us to avoid significant legal expenses that we expect would have been incurred by us during and after trial.” TiVo’s full press release follows below.

TiVo Announces Settlement of Patent Litigation With AT&T; TiVo and AT&T Enter Into a Patent Licensing Arrangement

ALVISO, CA — (Marketwire) — 01/03/2012 — TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO) announced today that it has settled its pending patent litigation with AT&T and that the companies have entered into a mutual patent licensing arrangement. Under the terms of the settlement, AT&T agreed to pay TiVo an initial payment of $51 million, followed by recurring quarterly guaranteed payments through June 2018, totaling $164 million, which together yield minimum payments of $215 million. In addition to these minimum payments, AT&T will pay incremental recurring per subscriber monthly license fees through July 2018 should AT&T’s DVR subscriber base exceed certain levels.

As part of the settlement, TiVo and AT&T agreed to dismiss all pending litigation between the companies with prejudice. The parties also entered into a cross license of their respective patent portfolios in the advanced television field.

“We are extremely pleased to reach an agreement with AT&T, which acknowledges the value of our intellectual property,” said Tom Rogers, CEO and President of TiVo. “This settlement, on the heels of our recent operational success that has resulted in the growth of TiVo’s overall subscriber base, is another major accomplishment for TiVo and we believe a great outcome for our shareholders. The combination of guaranteed payments and future additional fees paid to TiVo in the event that AT&T’s pay TV business continues to grow in-line with consensus analyst expectations, represents hard-earned compensation for our IP enforcement efforts. The settlement also provides us rights to innovate TiVo products and services under license from AT&T and allows us to avoid significant legal expenses that we expect would have been incurred by us during and after trial.”

Sony and LG have reached an agreement over a patent battle that involved several consumer electronics devices including televisions, the PlayStation 3 and phones, Reuters reported on Thursday. The two companies have agreed to enter a cross-licensing deal. “LG and Sony recently agreed to drop patent infringement lawsuits against each other,” an LG spokeswoman confirmed. Sony originally filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission in an attempt to block the sale of several LG phones, including the Rumor Touch. LG fired back and argued that Sony was using its patented Blu-ray technology inside the PlayStation 3.

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Samsung on Monday denied Apple attorney Harold McElhinny’s claim that the two companies are currently holding high-level talks in an attempt to settle ongoing patent disputes. U.S. district judge Lucy Koh told the companies last week to meet and discuss possible amicable solutions to their disputes. McElhinny responded by saying executives from the two companies are “meeting and talking,” but Samsung is singing a different tune. “We are unaware of any meetings or discussions between the two sides over this matter,” a Samsung spokesperson said in a statement. It’s odd that Apple’s counsel would falsely claim the two companies are holding meetings if they are not, but we’re sure judge Koh will have a few choice words for McElhinny if it turns out his statement was not accurate.

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Executives at Apple and Samsung are attempting to reconcile their differences and settle the numerous patent disputes each company has filed recently, FierceWireless reports. Despite their partnership, the two companies are locked in an ongoing battle over patents that has drawn tremendous media attention. Apple claims that various recent Samsung products such as the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and the Nexus S are copycat devices that make obvious use of Apple IP without license to do so. Samsung responded by filing a series of suits against Apple claiming that the Cupertino-based firm is infringing on 10 of its patents covering mobile devices. Harold McElhinny, Apple’s attorney, confirmed to the judge presiding over the case that executives from each of the two companies “are in fact meeting and talking.” Samsung did not confirm McElhinny’s statement. Apple is Samsung’s top display panel customer and several analysts have speculated that an ongoing legal dispute could cause tension between the two tech giants.

[Via The Loop]

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Deutsche Bank analyst Kai Korschelt on Tuesday estimated that Nokia stands to make a pretty penny off of royalty payments from Apple moving forward. Nokia announced early on Tuesday that it had reached an agreement with Apple regarding a series of patent disputes filed by each company over the past few years. Based on recent settlements tied to similar cases in the industry, Korschelt estimates that Apple will give Nokia a $608 million lump-sum payment up front. Following that initial payment, Apple will like pay Nokia a 1% royalty on all iPhones sold each quarter as a licensing fee. At Apple’s current pace — which has increased steadily rapidly since the iPhone first launched — that works out to approximately $138 million each quarter, or more than $550 million annually.

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On Tuesday Nokia announced that it has reached an agreement with Apple that “will result in settlement of all patent litigation between the companies,” and that both firms will withdraw all complaints against one another from the U.S. International Trade Commission. The two firms have been fighting over patents for the past few years, filing counter suit after counter suit. The battle was thought to have had some closure when the U.S. ITC ruled that Apple did not infringe on Nokia’s patents, but then last month the government group said it would continue its investigation. Nokia said Tuesday that the agreement “consists of a one-time payment payable by Apple,” and that the Cupertino-based company will continue to pay royalties to Nokia for the remainder of the agreement. “We are very pleased to have Apple join the growing number of Nokia licensees,” said Stephen Elop, Nokia’s president and CEO. “This settlement demonstrates Nokia’s industry leading patent portfolio and enables us to focus on further licensing opportunities in the mobile communications market.” Nokia’s full press release can be found after the break.

Nokia enters into patent license agreement with Apple

Published June 14, 2011

Apple payments to Nokia settle all litigation and have positive financial impact

Nokia Corporation
Stock exchange release
June 14, 2011 at 08:05 (CET +1)

Espoo, Finland – Nokia announced that it has signed a patent license agreement with Apple. The agreement will result in settlement of all patent litigation between the companies, including the withdrawal by Nokia and Apple of their respective complaints to the US International Trade Commission.

The financial structure of the agreement consists of a one-time payment payable by Apple and on-going royalties to be paid by Apple to Nokia for the term of the agreement.  The specific terms of the contract are confidential.

“We are very pleased to have Apple join the growing number of Nokia licensees,” said Stephen Elop, president and chief executive officer of Nokia. “This settlement demonstrates Nokia’s industry leading patent portfolio and enables us to focus on further licensing opportunities in the mobile communications market.”

During the last two decades, Nokia has invested approximately EUR 43 billion in research and development and built one of the wireless industry’s strongest and broadest IPR portfolios, with over 10,000 patent families.  Nokia is a world leader in the development of handheld device and mobile communications technologies, which is also demonstrated by Nokia’s strong patent position.

This agreement is expected to have a positive financial impact on Nokia’s recently revised outlook for the second quarter 2011 of around break-even non-IFRS operating margin for Devices & Services.

According to a report by Citi analyst Walter Pritchard, Microsoft may be making more money off Google’s Android operating system than it makes off its own Windows Phone platform — five times more, in fact. Pritchard states that as a result of a patent settlement, HTC is required to pay Microsoft $5 for every Android phone sold. Analyst Horace Dediu estimates that HTC has sold 30 million Android smartphones to date, which adds up to $150 million in the bank for Microsoft. Dediu notes that Microsoft has reported Windows Phone sales totaling 2 million licenses to date, and he estimates the company’s license fee to be $15 for a total of just $30 million. Pritchart notes that Microsoft is currently suing other Android phone makers for infringements on the company’s intellectual property, and is seeking between $7.50 and $12.50 per device sold. As much money as the company is making on sales of HTC’s Android phones, it’s easy to see why Microsoft is pursuing other cell phone makers with similar suits.

[Via Asymco]

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According to a report filed by The Wall Street Journal, peer-to-peer networking site LimeWire and several major record labels may be working on an out-of-court settlement in a copyright infringement case from 2006. “Lawyers for several major record labels have held at least three settlement conferences with representatives of a file-sharing service that they sued for copyright infringement, according to a federal court docket entry, indicating that the two sides may reach an agreement on a financial penalty instead of waiting for a jury award,” reads the report. LimeWire was found guilty of allowing users to upload and share unlicensed, copyrighted materials over its network. Arista Records, Warner Music Group, Universal Music Group, and EMI Group are all named plaintiffs — LimeWire and its founder, Mark Gorton, are named as defendants. Representatives from the two camps did not respond to the WSJ’s request for comment.

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Sprint, which owns the majority stake of Clearwire, has agreed to pay the company at least $1 billion through 2012 for fees associated with the use of its 4G WiMAX network. Sprint and Clearwire entered arbitration late last year after Sprint argued that it shouldn’t have to pay a fee for 4G handsets that exist where Clearwire’s 4G WiMAX network isn’t available. Sprint charges its customers an extra $10 monthly for the option to run on 4G networks and Clearwire charges an estimated $4.46 per 4G-handset owner. According to the Associated Press, Sprint will pay Clearwire $300 million this year and $550 million in 2012. Sprint will also reportedly pay an additional $175 million in a prepaid agreement to use the 4G WiMAX network this year and in the future. Sprint’s CEO, Dan Hesse, told the AP that his company is pleased to have reached a settlement.

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In a joint statement issued on Tuesday, Motorola Solutions and Huawei have announced an agreement to settle all pending litigation between the two companies. Motorola filed a suit against Huawei in July 2010 alleging theft of trade secrets, and Huawei responded in January of this year with a suit alleging Motorola was illegally transferring Huawei’s intellectual property to Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN). Motorola solutions has now agreed to withdraw all claims related to Motorola v. Lemko, et al., and Huawei will withdraw its claims against Motorola Solutions and NSN. In addition, Huawei has agreed to allow Motorola to transfer intellectual property and other agreements with Huawei to NSN for an undisclosed sum. “We regret that these disputes have occurred between our two companies,” Motorola Solutions CEO Greg Brown said in a statement. “Motorola Solutions values the long-standing relationship we have had with Huawei. After reviewing the facts, we decided to resolve these matters and return to our traditional relationship of confidence and trust. I am pleased that we can again focus on having a cooperative and productive relationship.” Hit the jump for the full pres release.

Motorola Solutions and Huawei Issue Joint Statement

CHICAGO, Ill. – April 13, 2011 Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: MSI) and Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. announced today that they have entered into an agreement to settle all pending litigation between the two parties pending the satisfaction of certain conditions. For its part, after further review of the matter, Motorola Solutions has agreed to withdraw its claims and dismiss, with prejudice, Huawei as a defendant in the Motorola v. Lemko, et al. litigation pending in the Chicago federal district court. For its part, Huawei has agreed to withdraw its claims and dismiss, with prejudice, its lawsuit against Motorola Solutions and Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) in the Chicago federal district court and to resolve its claims against Motorola Solutions and NSN by entering into an agreement that allows Motorola Solutions to transfer its commercial agreements with Huawei to NSN for a fee, and allows NSN to receive and use Huawei confidential information to service the networks Motorola deployed worldwide using Huawei’s products and technologies.

In 2000, Motorola and Huawei entered into an important, successful commercial relationship during which Motorola resold certain Huawei products under the Motorola name. Over the next ten years, Motorola purchased $880 million in technology from Huawei that covered core networks and radio access networks.

“We regret that these disputes have occurred between our two companies. Motorola Solutions values the long-standing relationship we have had with Huawei. After reviewing the facts, we decided to resolve these matters and return to our traditional relationship of confidence and trust. I am pleased that we can again focus on having a cooperative and productive relationship,” said Greg Brown, President & CEO of Motorola Solutions.

“Throughout our decade long relationship with Motorola Solutions, Huawei has contributed cutting edge technology to Motorola Solutions for use around the globe. Huawei provided Motorola’s experts and counsel with source code and millions of documents. Huawei acted properly and above board at all times and developed its products independently and without the use of any Motorola trade secrets. With the resolution of these cases, and the misunderstandings put to rest, Huawei is pleased to move forward with its efforts to provide innovative solutions to its customers,” said Guo Ping, Vice Chairman of the Board and Executive Vice President of Huawei.

Following a very, very rocky start for Google’s latest social networking effort, Google Buzz, the Internet giant has settled a class action lawsuit related to the service. When Buzz launched earlier this year, Google found itself at the center of a media frenzy. The company decided it would forgo an opt-in process and share users’ locations with each Google account holder in their address books by default. The decision turned out to be a PR nightmare — and now it carries a financial burden with it as well. As a result of a class action settlement, Google has agreed to put in place an $8.5 million fund dedicated to “promoting privacy education on the web,” and it is now in the process of informing its users. Hit the break for the email Google is currently sending to all account holders.

Google rarely contacts Gmail users via email, but we are making an
exception to let you know that we’ve reached a settlement in a lawsuit
regarding Google Buzz (http://buzz.google.com), a service we launched
within Gmail in February of this year.

Shortly after its launch, we heard from a number of people who were
concerned about privacy. In addition, we were sued by a group of Buzz users
and recently reached a settlement in this case.

The settlement acknowledges that we quickly changed the service to address
users’ concerns. In addition, Google has committed $8.5 million to an
independent fund, most of which will support organizations promoting
privacy education and policy on the web. We will also do more to educate
people about privacy controls specific to Buzz. The more people know about
privacy online, the better their online experience will be.

Just to be clear, this is not a settlement in which people who use Gmail
can file to receive compensation. Everyone in the U.S. who uses Gmail is
included in the settlement, unless you personally decide to opt out before
December 6, 2010. The Court will consider final approval of the agreement
on January 31, 2011. This email is a summary of the settlement, and more
detailed information and instructions approved by the court, including
instructions about how to opt out, object, or comment, are available at

http://www.BuzzClassAction.com.

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Well, we might as well close the loop on this one. Last month, we told you how former HP CEO Mark Hurd was ousted by HP, complimented by Larry Ellison, and then hired by Oracle. We also told you how the Oracle hiring prompted a lawsuit from Mr. Hurd’s former employer. Now, the New York Times is reporting that the two sides have reached an agreement on the embattled executive’s future. In exchange for dropping the lawsuit, Hurd will forfeit nearly half of the $28 million compensation package he was given by HP. The former HP chief, and now Oracle President, will give up 330,177 shares of performance-based restricted stock and 15,853 shares of time-base restricted stock (that’s about $13.34 million using today’s stock price). Oracle and HP, who do quite a bit of business together, did their best to reassure stock holders that the two companies are on the mend. “Oracle and HP will continue to build and expand a partnership that has already lasted for over 25 years,” said Oracle CEO Larry Ellison. “HP and Oracle have been important partners for more than 20 years and are committed to working together to provide exceptional products and service to our customers,” said Cathie Lesjak, the CFO and interim CEO of HP. So ends this chapter of the Mark Hurd Chronicles.

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A California appeals court has ruled that Verizon Wireless is to pay some 175,000 customers current and former customers $21 million as a settlement in a class action lawsuit over early termination fees. The class action suit was filed in California on the behalf of customers who were upset that Verizon asked they pay a flat ETF of $175 regardless of how many months were left on their contract. Each customer is expected to receive $87.50 as a result of the ruling. Too bad history is bound to repeat itself now that Verizon’s ETF for “advanced devices” (i.e. smartphones) is set at $350.

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MagicJack, creator and distributor of the popular dongle-based PC VoIP solution, has some problems with its credibility. Back in 2008, BoingBoing revealed some of the companies disingenuous business practices which include but are not limited to: a fake visitor counter on its website that increased automatically on its own, a bogus MagicJack detection page that claims a functioning MagicJack device is connected when none is present, and serious problems with its EULA that allows the service to screen calls and send targeted ads to users while also forcing users to waive their rights to sue in court. Rather than acknowledge its culpability and change its practices, MagicJack dragged BoingBoing into court with a charge of defamation. When it was shown that the BoingBoing article was not defaming, the case was dismissed and MagicJack was ordered to pay $50,000 in legal costs to BoingBoing. Rather than accept the penalty and move on, MagicJack CEO Dan Borislow blamed the incompetence of his lawyers for the loss and tried to buy BoingBoing’s silence by offering the online news site a settlement if the contents of the lawsuit and settlement were kept private. BoingBoing refused to be silenced and now the lawsuit, its outcome, and MagicJack’s futile attempt to cover its tracks are exposed for the world to see.

[Via TechDirt]

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