Mr. Douglas Lichtman

GLG News by Mr. Douglas Lichtman, Professor of Law

GLG News is now G+ Insights

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Understanding the InterDigital Patent Dispute

March 25, 2008

Analysis of:InterDigital Soars on Settlement Hopes | www.forbes.com

Investors in IDCC have long worried that, even if the firm has good patents, it will be years until Nokia and Samsung pay their first penny.  That is why this week's news about intense settlement negotiations caused a stock spike.  But it is also why InterDigital has to be cautious when it talks about the up-coming ITC case with Samsung and the newly scheduled arbitration with Nokia.

TSRA: The Market Overreacts

February 27, 2008

Analysis of:Stay Motion Granted in U.S. ITC Wireless Action | www.tessera.com

Bad news out of the Patent Office combined with a disappointing ruling at the ITC to fully clubber Tessera's stock over the last two days.  Scratch the surface, however, and the loss is nowhere near as significant as some seem to believe.

BRCM v. QCOM: Reasons for Concern at the ITC

February 25, 2008

Analysis of:Commission Investigative Staff's Response to Motions to Intervene | edisweb.usitc.gov

Last year, BRCM convinced the ITC to issue an exclusion order barring the importation of certain power-saving technologies that were then in common use.  QCOM responded by developing a "work-around" that supposedly could be imported because its underlying technology was sufficiently different from the banned version.  Now, the ITC is investigating whether QCOM in fact has a sufficiently different technology in hand, or whether instead QCOM's new versions should be barred alongside the old ones.  The problem?  One of QCOM's defenses for its new version has already been called into question by the ITC staff.

QCOM v. NOK: Delaware Gets the Green Light

February 25, 2008

Analysis of:Nokia, Qualcomm will Stand Down on Patent Suits | www.bloomberg.com

After weeks of delay, QCOM and NOK finally agreed today on the details of what will be covered in the Delaware litigation.  There were few surprises.  The CDMA arbitration is now officially history.  The patent "stand down" is in effect.  But the most important thing to recognize is that, no, settlement is not on the horizon.

TSRA: Tessera at the ITC

February 25, 2008

Analysis of:TSRA 10-Q Filing at the SEC | yahoo.brand.edgar-online.com

Tessera begins a big hearing this week at the ITC.  But the firm's more interesting legal fight is playing at the Patent Office, where several reexamination proceedings are underway, and questioning the validity of some of the firm's most important patents.

Limelight v. Akamai: The Trial

February 7, 2008

Analysis of:Limelight Networks Announces Rulings on Pretrial Motions; Trial on Remaining Patent to Begin Monday 11 February | biz.yahoo.com

Limelight and Akamai are ready to face off next week in front of a jury.  At issue?  Akamai's long-standing claim that Limelight's basic architecture violates one of Akamai's main patents.

QCOM: BRCM and NOK Fights Drag On

February 1, 2008

Analysis of:Ban on Qualcomm 3G chips left in place | www.reuters.com

Recent news in both the BRCM and NOK fights confirm what many of us have been saying for a while now: these litigations are nowhere near over, and QCOM has a long road to travel before it will finally clear these issues and emerge with a (very) healthy forward-looking business.

The Fight over Ripping Music at Home

January 31, 2008

Analysis of:Rip This, and Sue That | www.npr.org

The Washington Post recently reported that the Recording Industry of America (RIAA) was suing an Arizona man for copying onto his computer music that he had legally purchased in physical form.  The story turned out to be false; RIAA was not suing on such a theory.  But the mistake was picked up on CNN and echoed throught the popular press, and as a result today there is enormous pressure on RIAA to speak up about what the law really says about home copying of legally purchased music.  In this post, I talk about what they have and what they should say -- and the gap between those two.

Tivo v. Echostar: Decision Coming

January 28, 2008

Analysis of:Patent Office Upholds TiVo Patent; EchoStar Appeal Still Pending | www.siliconvalleywire.com

Almost everyone seems to expect that Tivo will (any day now) win its patent appeal against Echostar, and with that I also agree.  But what about damages?  Even though the jury awarded only roughly $74M, I think the appeals process will end with a much bigger pricetag.  Indeed, I'm expecting a number closer to $150M.

Rambus: Game On

January 28, 2008

Analysis of:Order Denying Motions to Accord Prima Facie Effect & Collateral Estoppel to FTC Opinion | investor.rambus.com

This week, Rambus begins a jury trial that could significantly affect the firm's future.  At issue, the JEDEC controversy: namely, the question of whether Rambus behaved legally when it involved itself with the JEDEC standard-setting process but failed to disclose that it was at the same time working to patent aspects of the proposed standard itself.  Win, and the firm has a good shot at substantial royalties for patent infringement.  Lose, and many of the firm's patents could all go for naught.

Acacia's Future

December 26, 2007

Analysis of:Acacia Research Subsidiary, Computer Acceleration Corporation, Receives Jury Verdict in Patent Infringement Case | biz.yahoo.com

The Acacia business model is a repulsive one on public policy grounds; and in the coming months patent law is likely to catch up with the firm and further constrain Acacia's growth potential.

QCOM: What is Merrill Lynch Thinking?

December 14, 2007

Analysis of:Merrill Lynch Downgrades QCOM | www.thestreet.com

Merrill Lynch downgraded its rating on QCOM today, citing yesterday's loss at the ITC as a "major negative" and lamenting that now QCOM is unlikely to be able to settle the broader NOK fight anytime soon.  That analysis is hard to fathom.  Yesterday's news was a setback to be sure, but for it to be a "major negative" someone would have had to have expected that a win was actually going to be of economic consequence and/or lead to sooner settlement.  Those theses both seem far off base.

QCOM v. NOK: Decision Looming at ITC

December 13, 2007

Analysis of:QCOM Files Complaint Against NOK in ITC | www.qualcomm.com

The Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) overseeing QCOM's GSM case against NOK is scheduled to issue his tentative ruling today.  Here, I run through my current thinking on the matter.

BYI v. IGT: Markman Decision Announced

December 13, 2007

Analysis of:BYI's Wheel-Based Patent | www.google.com

The court in Nevada has issued its Markman order, determining the meaning of the patent at issue in Bally's (BYI) patent lawsuit against IGT.  The result is a mixed one, with BYI prevailing on most claims but receiving an awkward interpretation of claim 19.

QCOM v. NOK: Keeping Track of the Arbitrations

November 29, 2007

Analysis of:QCOM Wins a Round in Patent Battles with Nokia | www.reuters.com

The ITC this week declined to puruse a complaint filed by NOK, explaining that an investigation would be inappropriate given the pending QCOM/NOK arbitration.

Silicon Graphics v. ATI: Summary Judgment Pending

November 29, 2007

Analysis of:Silicon Graphics sues ATI over patent | news.zdnet.co.uk

Silicon Graphics emerged from bankruptcy and quickly launched a patent lawsuit against ATI.  Now, that case has come to a head, with both parties filing motions that could plausibly and decisively end the case prior to the start of an actual jury trial.

IGT v. BYI: Shifting the Fight to the Patent Office

November 29, 2007

Analysis of:IGT Files Patent Infringement Lawsuit Against BYI | phx.corporate-ir.net

The Delaware patent infringement lawsuit brought by IGT against BYI looks like it is shifting away from Delaware and into a Patent Office process known as re-examination.   The result is a high stakes moment where BYI might significantly lessen IGT's threat, but it might fail and thereby strengthen IGT's hand at trial.

QCOM v. BRCM: Injunction Likely in Santa Ana

November 26, 2007

Analysis of:Judge Keeps QCOM v. BRCM Trial Verdict | biz.yahoo.com

The Santa Ana patent dispute has dragged on longer than expected, but the case is now set for its last big step: issuance of an injunction against continued infringement by QCOM.

QCOM: Thinking Strategically about Arbitration

October 29, 2007

Analysis of:ALJ Grants QCOM's Motion to Terminte NOK ITC Complaint | biz.yahoo.com

The ITC recently made a tentative ruling dismissing a NOK patent complaint on the ground that the issues were already intertwined in the QCOM/NOK CDMA arbitration.  That ruling reinforces an important reality of the NOK/QCOM fight: the CDMA arbitration is part of the reason that this fight is dragging on.

Cablevision in Court; Tivo Watching

October 29, 2007

Analysis of:Cablevision, Studios Vie in Court over Network DVR | www.reuters.com

Litigation underway between Cablevision and the media companies might not look all that important, given that the technology at issue has barely seen the light of day.  But the long-run issue here is the legal status of all sorts of high-tech copying and distribution technologies, and that will matter a great deal to not only the content community but also to vulnerable firms like Apple and Tivo.

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