It works. Millions of users worldwide can’t be wrong. If Twitter could play a role in the revolutionary Arab Spring, why not in the complex battle zone we call patent litigation.

Twitter has a new internal policy which they call the “Innovator’s Patent Agreement,” and it has attracted quite a bit of attention. The policy is reportedly one that allows the company to sue for infringement only when it is acting in its own defense, or when the inventors themselves give the company the okay to go ahead.

via Patent Infringement In 140 Characters Or Less: The Twitter Way – Forbes.

Computer Forensic investigations help businesses uncover suspected intellectual property theft, trade secret theft and patent infringement by investigating computers, smart phones, cell phones, hard drives, servers and other data storage devices. Common types of intellectual property include copyrights, trademarks, patents, industrial design rights and trade secrets including but not limited to intangible assets like musical, literary, and artistic works; discoveries and inventions; and words, phrases, symbols, and designs.

Take these steps if you suspect theft of intellectual property by an employee:

1. Identify all computers, laptops, smart phones,and external devices that may hold potential evidence.
2. Secure the suspect computers and prevent further use until a forensic image can be collected.
3. Begin documenting why you suspect IP theft, fraud or patent infringement.
4. Contact a computer forensics company like Computer Forensics Associates and make arrangements to capture a forensically sound image so you preserve the evidence and prevent tampering or spoliation.

via Employee Theft Investigations: Intellectually Property Theft and Business Trade Secrets Investigations.

The new complaint involves seven patents related to “Nokia’s pioneering innovations that are now being used by Apple to create key features in its products in the areas of multi-tasking operating systems, data synchronization, positioning, call quality and the use of Bluetooth accessories,” Nokia said in a statement today.

Nokia, based in Espoo, Finland, and Apple have been embroiled in litigation since October 2009 when Nokia filed a lawsuit accusing Apple of infringing 10 patents and demanding royalties on the millions of iPhones sold since the device’s introduction in 2007. Each company has since accused the other of infringing an increasing number of patents.

via Nokia Files Second Complaint Against Apple in Patent Fight – Bloomberg.

Putting promises to paper, the Chinese government has worked continuously over the past few years to strengthen judicial enforcement of IP rights both in civil and administrative proceedings. In addition to updating China’s patent law, the Supreme People’s Court has, in the past, also issued instructions aimed at strengthening trial procedures involving IP litigation.

To provide additional clarity on administrative proceedings, SIPO recently amended the Patent Administrative Enforcement Rules. The Rules, which came into effect on Feb. 1, 2011, outlines procedures to be followed by local Intellectual Property Offices in processing and enforcing claims involving patent disputes.

Guarding against patent infringement remains a major part of risk management for many China-focused businesses, especially those that rely heavily on their intellectual property such as biotechnology or pharmaceutical companies. For some U.S.-listed entities operating in China, differences in patent protection laws leave their operations vulnerable. In a recent series of offering documents filed with the SEC, BCD Semiconductor expressed that China’s IP laws may not offer as much protection as other jurisdictions like the United States. Unlike common law jurisdictions, past court decisions in China have “limited” precedential value, which could pose challenges in predicting potential outcomes of IP disputes.

via Reining in the Patent Pirates: China Updates Administrative Enforcement.

Privately held i4i was awarded $290 million in August of last year and Microsoft was ordered to stop shipping copies of Word 2003 and 2007, because of their ability to let a user employ a custom XML, or extensible markup language, file. i4i offers multiple products for XML in document management, including for regulatory compliance purposes.

via Microsoft: Will The Supreme Court Dig Into XML? – Tech Trader Daily – Barrons.com.

The ITC announced yesterday that its probe will examine a complaint that Apple filed with it on October 29 against Motorola. The charges are detailed in two lawsuits by Apple against Motorola in which Apple alleges that the sale of Motorola’s Droid, Droid 2, Droid X, and other smartphones and related software violate several Apple patents.

In one of the suits against Motorola, Apple cites patent No. 7,479,949, which covers methods by which touch screens detect contact with fingers. The two other patents included in this suit are Nos. 6,493,002 and 5,838,315, both of which refer to elements of the graphical user interface. The other suit refers to patent Nos. 7,812,828, 7,663,607, and 5,379,430, which also focus on technologies for the touch screen and GUI.

via ITC to probe Apple patent claims against Motorola | Wireless – CNET News.

The ITC announced yesterday that its probe will examine a complaint that Apple filed with it on October 29 against Motorola. The charges are detailed in two lawsuits by Apple against Motorola in which Apple alleges that the sale of Motorola’s Droid, Droid 2, Droid X, and other smartphones and related software violate several Apple patents.

In one of the suits against Motorola, Apple cites patent No. 7,479,949, which covers methods by which touch screens detect contact with fingers. The two other patents included in this suit are Nos. 6,493,002 and 5,838,315, both of which refer to elements of the graphical user interface. The other suit refers to patent Nos. 7,812,828, 7,663,607, and 5,379,430, which also focus on technologies for the touch screen and GUI.

via ITC to probe Apple patent claims against Motorola | Wireless – CNET News.

The nine patents that Motorola (MOT, Fortune 500) allegedly violated involve essential smartphone functions, including “synchronizing e-mail, calendars and contacts; scheduling meetings; and notifying applications of changes in signal strength and battery power,” Microsoft said.

Motorola did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500), based in Redmond, Wash., filed its complaint with the International Trade Commission and in a Washington district court.

Motorola profited from “willful and deliberate” patent infringement, Microsoft alleges, saying that it will “continue to suffer irreparable harm” if the court does not intervene.

via Microsoft files patent suit against Motorola over Android – Oct. 1, 2010.

via Patent Troll Targets eBay — But Might Tar Whitman As Well | BNET Technology Blog | BNET.

Three of the five patents that HTC says Apple is infringing on with its iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch were owned by patent troll Saxon Innovations LLC. HTC, the Taiwanese Google-phone maker, appears to have gotten the IP as part of a settlement with Saxon in the spring of 2009. The other two are HTC patents, including one that was issued Tuesday, which helps explain the timing of the complaint.

The countersuit before the International Trade Commission is a response to Apple’s volley of lawsuits against HTC in the ITC and Delaware District Court in March. Apple claims that HTC’s phones, which run Google Inc.’s operating system, infringe on 10 of its patents — sending a forceful message about the growing rivalry between Apple and Google in the smart phone market.

Since the March offensive, there has been a persistent question about how HTC would respond. The company has a much smaller patent portfolio than Apple (hundreds versus thousands), which can be like holding a butter knife at a gun fight.

HTC hired Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner and San Francisco's Keker & Van Nest to defend it against Apple and its lawyers at Kirkland & Ellis.

The lawyers looked at HTC's IP and came up with two patents on controlling the power levels in smart phones — including the one issued Tuesday — that it claims Apple's iPhones infringe on.

The other three patents cover a “Telephone Dialler with a Personalized Page Organization of Telephone Directory Memory.” According to patent filings, Saxon transferred them to HTC on March 31, 2009 — the same day that HTC settled a complaint that Saxon, a patent troll funded by Altitude Capital Partners, had filed in the ITC.

via Law.com – HTC Sues Apple, With Help From Troll.