Last week in patent news (August 20-27)

Apple
Apple may invest $1 billion in Sharp LCD plant
HTC Sues Apple Over Patents, Wants Injunction And Lots Of Damages
Apple’s Reexamination Counsel Avoids Deposition in Kodak case: Reexamination Alert™

Kodak Puts Patent Portfolio on Market

22 more "fake" Apple Stores found in China; how many more are there

Patent troll targets Apple's Disk Utility over alleged patent violation

Apple 's #iOS device and OS version stats
iOS devs pay $50,000 for collecting children's info in apps


Apple and Samsung

FOSS Patents: Apple vs. Samsung: list of all 19 lawsuits going on in 12 courts in 9 countries on 4 continents

FOSS Patents: Samsung pleaded unsuccessfully against Apple's motion for preliminary injunction, will try again at hearing on August 25
Infographic: The Samsung iPhone 4?
Apple v. Samsung: Ethics Still Matter in Patent Litigation | TacticalIP.com
GalaxyTab still legal in the Netherlands
Samsung Galaxy Product Sales Halt in EU; Will U.S. Market Be Next
German court suspends EU-wide injunction against Samsung | Science & Technology | Deutsche Welle | 17.08.2011?

More Android, Oracle, Microsoft
FOSS Patents: Oracle v. Google update: summary judgment pressure and Motorola Java license fallacy

FOSS Patents: Oracle to Google: 'Damning facts are still facts.'

Groklaw - Oracle v. Google - Last Minute Discovery Activity

FOSS Patents: Most Android vendors lost their Linux distribution rights, could face shakedown or shutdown
80 dollar Android Phone Sells Like Hotcakes in Kenya, the World Next?

Will Microsoft Attack Google 's Motorola ?
A Motorola lawsuit primer (infographic)
What Google Gets With Motorola Mobility | Techdirt

"Defending Android" | MG Siegler

Miami court deals huge setback to Motorola Mobility's defense against Microsoft

The Man Behind Android 's Rise

Google: S&P Cuts Rating To Sell From Buy; Sees Risks In Deal to buy Motorola

Samsung Could Squeeze Google In Response To Motorola Deal - Forbes

Google: Just In Case

Google is Packing Heat (With Sights on Apple) - Patent Law Blog (Patently-O)
Some law firms to lose out in Google-Motorola deal | Reuters

Nokia CEO issues warning over Google’s Motorola acquisition – News - Know Your Mobile

Musing on the Prospects of a Microsoft Counterbid for Motorola - NYTimes.com
Microsoft starts to talk Windows 8, all but confirms App Store
Shareholder sues Motorola to block sale to Google | Reuters
Apple predicted to 'strike back' at Google with its own #patent purchase

Apple, Qualcomm, others eye InterDigital

Wi-LAN, Mosaid deal would create patent powerhouse - The Globe and Mail

BlackBerry Maker RIM Again Subject of Takeover Talk
Samsung Mobile Buys Steve “Cyanogen” Kondik For An Undisclosed Amount

Other
Social Gaming Giant Zynga Faces New Patent Infringement Litigation

Renesas Patent Complaint Seeks to Bar U.S. Imports of Vizio TVs - Bloomberg
Linux snickers at Microsoft 's victory declaration | ZDNet

Manila Standard Today -- The future of Ubuntu
Amazon is retail king, reaching 1 in 5 Web users

Hewlett-PackardThis winner of this weeks "most ironic in retrospect"prize goes to: HP wants to take webOS everywhere: appliances, cars, you name it

HP stops webOS tablet, phone efforts - San Francisco Business Times

Why HP Is Killing Its Phone, Tablet Businesses
Hewlett-Packard Reexamination Request Of Princeton Digital Patent Among Requests Filed Week of 8/8/11

Trolls and patent reform

Groklaw - Lodsys - DriveTime Says It Suspects Lodsys is an "alter ego" of Intellectual Ventures, Asks to Do Discovery

Groklaw - Google Reexam Requests Devastating to Lodsys

Did Google Request Reexamination of Lodsys Patents? : Reexamination Alert™

Myhrvold throws a party and surprise: the press was invited!
Somehow I can imagine Richard Vines sitting there eating thinking "Must not mention Lodsys, must not mention Lodsys".  After all he wouldn't want to upset Microsoft's "Guru", he might not get invited back to the next party!  Despite Vines groveling Myhrvold can't help but think we're all scum, except him of course.  After all he's a famous inventor...the patent troll "protection" business.

Businesses split on merits of overhauling patent process
The Myth That Software Startups Need Or Want Patents

Eight MILLION Patents! | TacticalIP.com

Groklaw - Post-Bilski: The Federal Circuit Further Refines Patentable Process Claim Subject Matter

Judge’s Mind not Changed by Reexamination Outcome : Reexamination Alert™

Pending Reexamination has Major Effect on Injunction Decision : Reexamination Alert™

First to File in the Unpredictable Arts: Change in Law Requires Balancing of Competing Interests

Leave Patent Licensing To The Professionals « Gametime IP

Warning: Patent Analyst Shouts At The Rain « Gametime IP

So How Do We Fix The Patent System? | Techdirt

The Economist Notices That The Patent System Is Hindering Innovation And Needs To Be Fixed | Techdirt

The Economist Disagrees With The Economist: Argues We Need More Patents, Approved Faster | Techdirt

Specialist Patent Courts Are Part Of The Problem - Forbes

Patent-filing changes may give big firms an advantage - press of AtlanticCity.com: Business

An Overview of the PCT International Patent Process | IPWatchdog.com | Patents & Patent Law

One step closer to a Single European Patent System

Stupidest article I read all week: China’s Innovation Capacities May be Over-hyped. Because you know the best way to judge a country's innovation is to count the number of patents they file! What a ridiculous metric.

China Update 20 August 2011 from IP Think Tank

Censorship

Cisco Sued By Chinese Political Prisoners Over 'Golden Shield'
Baidu may face tougher rules after state media criticism | Reuters

As Governments Get Censorship Happy, New Technologies Popping Up To Route Around That

Oh Look, The Publishing Industry Is Growing In The Digital Age As Well | Techdirt

Pharmaceutically Speaking, Part 5.5: Stem Cell Patent Update | TacticalIP.com

Upcoming training events:

Patent Docs: IPO Program on Compulsory Licensing

Patent Docs: USPTO Announces Agenda for Next BCP Customer Partnership Meeting

Patent Docs: Webinar on AMP v. USPTO

#HP wants to take #webOS everywhere: appliances, cars, you name it

“I happen to believe that WebOS is a uniquely outstanding operating system,” said HP CEO Leo Apotheker during the D9 conference. “It’s not correct to believe that it should only be on HP devices. There are all kinds of other people who want to make whatever kind of hardware they make and would like to connect them to the Internet.”

Ouchpad: Best Buy Sitting on a Pile of HP Tablets

There have been plenty of hints that Hewlett-Packard’s TouchPad isn’t selling well. First there was a $50 discount. Then there werespot discounts of $100 at outlets like Costco. Then the $100 discount became permanent. Adding insult to apparent injury, a deal on Woot for $120 off an entry-level 16-GB TouchPad netted all of 612 takers...

According to one source who’s seen internal HP reports, Best Buy has taken delivery of 270,000 TouchPads and has so far managed to sell only 25,000, or less than 10 percent of the units in its inventory.