In March 2015, Microsoft alleged that the Japanese tech company, Kyocera, infringed on patents related to cell phones. In addition to seeking damages, the Washington-based tech firm sought a ban on U.S. sales of Kyocera products, including its Hydro, Duraforce, and Brigadier lines.
Microsoft named seven patents related to a number of mobile device patents -- relating to text messaging, battery life, motion sensing, location sensing, and power savings. These all relate to devices that can sense changes in the user's environment and linking computers and mobile devices.
Kyocera's phones run on Google's Android operating system, and Microsoft established a licensing agreement with Google, earning a good amount of revenue from its patents that are used in the operating system.
However, in July 2015, the two companies came to a resolution suit and simultaneously signed an expanded patent-licensing arrangement. However, more details were not released.
Hi Shauray,
ReplyDeleteI found your post to be a concise explanation of the patent litigation case involved between Kyocera and Microsoft. It's interesting to see that Microsoft not only wanted the damages from infringement, but also a ban on the goods sold. I'm curious to know whether this "expanded patent-licensing arrangement" constitutes as a settlement or an agreement and whether Kyocera would need to pay Microsoft any amount in addition to this agreement. I also did not know that Microsoft licensed Google's IP and previously thought that Microsoft chose it's own operating system independently to run on its smartphones. Thanks for a great post!
Shauray,
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I enjoyed how you did such good job simplifying the situation yet also including all of the necessary information in a concise manner. I find it interesting that they are seeking to ban sales of these products in the U.S. because I feel like that is something that we have not come across that often in this class.
Hi Shauray,
ReplyDeleteGreat blog post on the smartphone patent case of Microsoft and Kyocera. This was one that I actually didn't do of Microsoft, so it was very interesting to read about this blog post. I enjoyed how you gave your own analysis and overview of the case. Great blog post!