RIM Patents Rotating Keyboard Keys – Possibly for Previous Rotating Keyboard Patent?

 

I am not sure what to make of this RIM patent Lucas @N4BB spotted for rotating keyboards. This comes after RIM’s patent in August of last year for a rotating keyboard. At first it would make sense for software keyboards but the whole patent seems to be focused on physical buttons that suddenly rotate perpendicularly based on you running a different application. It could be RIM had to say it is a hardware function to get a patent since software patents are harder to win but who knows. Or maybe there is some project management exec at RIM mandating that everything rotate… Here is the abstract RIM provided:

A customizable keyboard for a handheld electronic device is provided. The keys of the keyboard are rotatable, either individually or in groups, either under manual control of a user of the device or by means of one or more micro-motors or solenoids controlled by a microprocessor running software on the device. The keyboard may be integrated in the device or may be detachable therefrom.

A customizable keyboard for a handheld electronic device is provided. The keys of the keyboard are rotatable, either individually or in groups, either under manual control of a user of the device or by means of one or more micro-motors or solenoids controlled by a microprocessor running software on the device. The keyboard may be integrated in the device or may be detachable therefrom.

If you are in for some head games check out the full patent verbiage at the USPTO

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RIM Agrees to License Dolby AAC Tech to Settle Patent Lawsuit

We told you back in June that Dolby had sued RIM for patent infringement on many of RIM’s products for using the HE AAC codec. RIM has been supporting the AAC codec for years but Dolby woke up and decided to sue. That lawsuit is now over according to the WSJ though the financial terms were not disclosed. You have to love when public lawsuits are used to get a company to pony up money. Here is what Dolby had to say:

"We are pleased to welcome RIM into Dolby’s family of mobile technology licensees. We believe in and will continue to protect the value of our intellectual property."

"We are pleased to welcome RIM into Dolby’s family of mobile technology licensees. We believe in and will continue to protect the value of our intellectual property."

This is after their statement back in June:

“Litigation was regrettably our last resort after RIM declined to pay for the use of Dolby’s technology,” said Andy Sherman, executive vice president and general counsel of Dolby. “We have a duty to protect our intellectual property.”

That is one less patent worry for RIM…

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Openwave Decides to Sue RIM & Apple Over Five Ridiculous Patents

 

Patent trolling continues to gain steam with a new lawsuit from Openwave against RIM & Apple. At first you would think Openwave was a technology company but it seems like they are banking on their patents since everything else is not working for them. AllThingsD managed to boil down the five patents Openwave is suing RIM and Apple over and you really have to read them to see what I mean:

• Patent #6,289,212 “generally allows a user to use e-mail applications on a mobile device when the network is unavailable – such as when a user is on an airplane.”
• Patent #6,233,608 “relates to cloud computing.” The company said the patent for instance “enables data to be accessed or shared by different devices such as mobile handsets or computers.”
• Patent #6,405,037 “allows access to updated versions of applications on mobile devices.”
• Patent #6,430,409 “allows the mobile device to operate seamlessly, and securely, with a server over a wireless network.”
• Patent #6,625,447 “allows consumers to experience an improved user experience in navigating through various pages of information without delay.”

They supposedly reached out to RIM and Apple to get them to pay up for these patents and here is what they had to say about getting stonewalled:

Openwave CEO Ken Denman: “Before filing these complaints, we approached both of these companies numerous times in an attempt to negotiate a license of our technology with them and did not receive a substantive response. In the end, litigation is the only way we can defend our rights against these large companies that have effectively refused to license the use of the technologies we invented.”

Yes these guys invented using email offline or accessing updated applications. Better yet they also invented navigating pages without delay…

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BlackBerry Developer Gets Hit with Lodsys In App Payment Patent Lawsuit

The patent wars have once again made their way into the BlackBerry ecosystem. Both Apple and Google along with many of their developers are being sued by Lodsys who owns a patent for “in app payment methods.” Originally when Lodsys (who makes nothing useful aka Patent Troll) starting suing they were aiming for payments that happen inside the apps. The first BlackBerry developer to be sued by Lodsys is Yissachar Radcliffe of Rotten Ogre for his Lonely Turret BlackBerry PlayBook game that sells for $0.99.

The crazy part is that Lonely Turret does not even have in app payments. It simply has a link to App World where users can purchase the game upgrade. In other words Lodsys thinks even linking to a payment method from your app is infringement. Here is what Radcliffee said to The Globe and Mail which broke the story:

“I never thought they were interpreting the patent so broadly,” Mr. Radcliffe said, adding that the free version of Lonely Turret simply contains a link to a BlackBerry app marketplace, where users can buy the premium version of the game. “It’s just a link … The two apps are entirely separate.”

Radcliffe has contacted RIM about the issue but RIM has yet to respond. I am hoping RIM sets their many lawyers on Lodsys to defend their developers ASAP like both Apple and Google have. If anything they should repurpose all of the lawyers RIM has sending DMCA notices to help protect their developers since one man shops like Rotten Ogre cannot defend themselves for using App World. Radcliffe points out that even 2 hours of a lawyers time would wipe out all his profit from the game.

Check out the full story at the Globe and Mail and if you know anybody at RIM make sure to forward this article to them. Thanks Derek for pointing it out.

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