Circuit City puts DIVX #patents up for sale, anyone in need of a failed disc format? -- Engadget

Circuit City's ill-fated video rental alternative, DIVX (not DivX), went belly up over a decade ago but just like Nortel, now that its parent company is belly-up its patents may still have some value. In case you've forgotten, the DIVX scheme offered discs similar to DVDs that were initially viewable for 48 hours, but could be activated for more time over a phone line. Now, the Circuit City Stores Inc. Liquidating Trust has entered into an agreement to sell the remaining patents to Imaging Transfer Co., but not before opening the sale to others in an auction, scheduled to take place August 16th.

Renesas Patent Complaint Seeks to Bar U.S. Imports of Vizio TVs - Bloomberg

Renesas Electronics Corp., the world’s biggest maker of microcontrollers used in cars and appliances, filed #patent -infringement complaints seeking to block Vizio Inc. televisions from the U.S.

Renesas accused Vizio of violating rights on two patents in an Aug. 12 filing with the U.S. International Trade Commission in Washington. The Japanese company also sued closely held Vizio in a federal court in Marshall, Texas.

Google makes bold bid for Motorola Mobility | Reuters

Google Inc's biggest deal ever, acquiring Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc for $12.5 billion, is an attempt to buy insurance against increasingly aggressive legal attacks from rivals such as Apple Inc.

The acquisition of one of the mobile telecommunications industry's most storied names is Google co-founder Larry Page's boldest move since taking over as CEO in April, launching the Internet giant into a lower-margin manufacturing business and pitting it against many of the 38 other handset companies that now use its Android software.

Motorola Inc was split this year into two: Motorola Mobility, which got the faster-growing cellphone and TV set-top box businesses; and Motorola Solutions, which sells gear like walkie-talkies to corporate and government clients.

#Chunghwa Picture signs pact with #IntellectualVentures

LCD panel maker Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd yesterday said it had teamed up with a US patent-holding company as an increasing number of technology firms worldwide resort to patent lawsuits to ward off potential competition.

#Google Videos Brings Movie Rentals to #Android Phones

Google’s Videos app, the official video player for Android Market movie rentals, has been updated to work on Android smartphones. Previously, the app was only supported on Android 3.0 (Honeycomb), the Android tablet operating system.

The latest update is not compatible with all Android phones, however, only those running the two latest versions of Android for smartphones: Android 2.2 (Froyo) and Android 2.3 (Gingerbread).

Intellectual property: #Patents against prosperity

This is apparently a patent on streaming music over the internet. Naturally, you are familiar with #PacketVideo 's popular music streaming service. Oh, you're not? I guess that's because they don't offer one. So, #Spotify is trying to make money offering a service that will make consumers happy. (I'm using it right now. I think it's terrific.) PacketVideo is trying to make money doing what? Shaking down Spotify?

Here's where Mr Myhrvold's Intellectual Ventures comes in. Intellectual Ventures owns a huge portfolio of patents. Quite possibly they also have some sort of patent that covers streaming music over the internet. Intellectual Ventures makes money through a sort of protection racket that helps Spotify defend themselves against companies like PacketVideo. For a considerable fee, a company can access Intellectual Venture's storehouse of patents and use them defensively against companies claiming patent infringement.

#Sony, #LG Electronics settle bitter patent dispute | Reuters

LG Electronics and Sony said on Thursday that they have resolved patent disputes between the two firms spanning smartphones, TVs and Blu-ray technology, with LG adding that they have signed a cross-licensing deal.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/11/us-sony-lg-idUSTRE77A0AF20110811