NTP Targets 6 Smartphone Makers In Latest Patent Lawsuit

The company, which most notably squeezed a $612.5 million settlement out of BlackBerry maker Research In Motion, now is suing Apple Inc., Google Inc., HTC Corp., LG Electronics, Microsoft Corp. and Motorola Inc. over eight patents it says cover the wireless delivery of e-mail to cell phones. The question, as MarketWatch put it, is whether NTP can stand up to its rich foes. NTP has no Web site and no listed phone number, and seems to be acting out of desperation -- its patents expire in 2012, according to reports.

NTP is considered a patent troll. It manufactures nothing, but holds a number of patents and has demonstrated its willingness to fight for royalties and licensing of that property. And since NTP has the RIM-settlement as precedence, it could well prevail in its latest lawsuit. Indeed, in an ever-more-competitive tech world, charges of patent infringement have become almost commonplace, as winning such cases has proven lucrative.

Apple Slaps Lawsuit on HTC and Nexus One

If you think iPhone-like features are showing up on other smartphones, apparently Apple's lawyers agree. The iPhone maker said Tuesday it has filed suit against device maker HTC for violating 10 patents relating to user interface, architecture and hardware.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs said the company could 'sit by and watch competitors steal our patented inventions, or we can do something about it.' So, he added, Apple decided 'to do something about it.'

Myhrvold disputes 'troll' claims, makes case for 'invention capital'

Myhrvold disputes 'troll' claims, makes case for 'invention capital':

Nathan Myhrvold, our local mosquito-zapping, hurricane-stopping, high-tech gourmand and environmental geoengineering geek, offers a broad defense of his company, Bellevue-based Intellectual Ventures, in a Harvard Business Review article today -- disputing the assertion that it's a patent troll and laying out a vision for a concept that he calls 'invention capital.'

'What we’re really trying to do is create a capital market for inventions akin to the venture capital market that supports start-ups and the private equity market that revitalizes inefficient companies,' writes Myhrvold, the former Microsoft technology chief. 'Our goal is to make applied research a profitable activity that attracts vastly more private investment than it does today so that the number of inventions generated soars.'

Investment Firm Hopes to Turn Patents Into Invention Capital Market

Investment Firm Hopes to Turn Patents Into Invention Capital Market:

"In the article and in conversation, Mr. Myhrvold describes the patent world as a vastly underdeveloped market, starved for private capital and too dependent on federal financing for universities and government agencies, which is mainly aimed at scientific discovery anyway. Eventually, he foresees patents being valued as a separate asset class, like real estate or securities.

His antagonists, he says, are the “cozy oligarchy” of big technology companies like I.B.M., Hewlett-Packard and others that typically reach cross-licensing agreements with each other, and then refuse to deal with or acknowledge the work of inventors or smaller companies.

Ignoring the patents of others is “deeply ingrained in parts of certain industries,” he writes in the article, “most notably software, computing and other Internet-related sectors.”

Large technology companies complain about patent suits but, Mr. Myhrvold says, their actions often invite litigation. “The attitude of the big guys has been that unless you sue me or threaten to sue me, get lost,” he said in the interview. “I know, I was one of those guys.” Indeed, Mr. Myhrvold, 50, supplied his considerable brain power to Microsoft for 13 years, serving as chief technology officer until 2000."