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Florida firm sues Apple, Samsung, LG, Qualcomm over patents
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MacNN Staff
Join Date: Jul 2012
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A small Florida company, ParkerVision, has sued several tech giants and filed a US International Trade Commission (ITC) complaint alleging that Qualcomm specifically, and smartphone makers Apple, Samsung, and LG more generally, have been infringing on four of Parkervision's patents regarding wireless networking. The involvement of Apple and LG only comes via their use of allegedly-infringing Qualcomm chips in their products; Samsung is also alleged to be infringing with its own in-house Shannon 928 RF chip.
This latest skirmish is part of an ongoing battle with Qualcomm, which Parkervision has previously charged with copying its patents. The two companies tangled over different patents in 2011, but while Parkervision won the initial court case, the ruling was later overturned by the district court judge, in a Judgement as a Matter of Law ruling, finding that the jury verdict was not supported by the evidence. That decision upheld by the Court of Appeals. The latest round revolves around four RF implementation patents (US Patents 6,879,817, 7,929,638, 8,571,135 and 9,118,528), and Parkervision is asking for an embargo on the infringing products as well as damages.
 Qualcomm part at the heart of Parkervision dispute, image from iFixit disassembly manual
Parkervision was founded in 1989, and is a publicly-traded company that formerly specialized in wireless chip design, and still lists some original products on its website alongside its ownership of the disputed patents. However, in recent years it has turned to patent licensing and, more recently, patent lawsuits as its primary source of income. A recent quarterly report claims only $5,500 in revenue, based on one service contract. The company has already said it will not be able to cover its operational expenses for 2015, reports AppleInsider, making this latest Qualcomm fight something of a last gasp for the company.
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Last edited by NewsPoster; Dec 17, 2015 at 11:57 PM.
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Fresh-Faced Recruit
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Apple should just buy them up and use the patents against Samsung. 
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Fresh-Faced Recruit
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: Toronto, ON, Canada
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