Samsung waves white flag in the patent wars

(Image: CNET)

Samsung said that it will not now bring certain cases of infringement of patent against rivals for the next five years, ending a long-lasting conflict with the European Commission about the alleged abuse of the patent system.

The company, which has a major rivalry in course with Apple, be cast back as it faces a significant EU fine, since he was accused of use patent claims to ahead of its arch-rival.

The Commission said in a statement on Thursday hoped the move "will bring clarity" to the industry.

Under the terms of the deal, Samsung said that it will not seek measures precautionary based on "essential standards patent - necessary for interoperability between devices and necessary for the industry - against a company that is committed to a framework licensed under terms (FRAND) fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory."

A license agreement fails for more than 12 months, the courts may be involved to referee the dispute.

But still it is far from a done deal. The move is part of the latest round of concessions offered by Samsung in an attempt to finally a huge competition well in block 28 State members.

Rivals and competitors in the smartphone space will give their comments, and based on that, the Committee is the best course of action in the future.

Korean smartphone manufacturer seeks to lawsuits and measures interim sales in several European countries in 2011 against the use of Apple's patents. But because patents are considered vital for the technology industry, the EU hit back claiming that the move was anti-competitive.

Samsung faces a fine of up to $18.3 billion - or 10 percent of its global turnover in 2012.

"To enforce the patents through measures precautionary can be perfectly legitimate", said EU competition Commission Joaquin Almunia in observations. "However, when standard essential patents, abuse should prevent this legislation it is working properly and consumers do not have to suffer the negative consequences of the so-called patent wars."

IBM wins dynamic network bandwidth patent for cloud

Summary: According to Big Blue, its invention should pave the way for more efficient software defined networking and allow cloud systems to better handle bursts.

IBM was awarded a patent for dynamically managing network bandwidth in a cloud computing environment. IBM's bet is that its invention can optimize cloud computing performance.

The patent, U.S. Patent No. 8,352,953, is for a method that automatically decides the best way for users to access a cloud system based on available network bandwidth.

IBM said that the approach should allow clouds to better handle surges in traffic because systems can reassign work to system nodes with bandwidth. Usually, a cloud user has access to a virtual machine and the more people tap the system the more networking bandwidth matters.

According to Big Blue, its approach should pave the way for more efficient software defined networking, which automates and dynamically manages bandwidth and the infrastructure that goes with it.

Here's a chart from the patent filing explaining how the method works.

Larry Dignan is Editor in Chief of ZDNet and SmartPlanet as well as Editorial Director of ZDNet's sister site TechRepublic.

Want to file a patent? This software could help

Patents are a very touchy topic these days, what with all the shenigans going on between Apple and Samsung, and the new law in New Zealand that basically bans software patents.

But they are still an incredibly valuable form of protection for small businesses and entrepreneurs who want to ensure they are compensated for their intellectual property and ideas.

Enter PowerPatent, a software company from Santa Clara, Calif., that has created applications to help organize the process of drafting, submitting and obtaining patents from the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The company was founded by two executives with long-time experience in the high-tech industry. They are Bao Tran, who has been an intellectual property attorney for more than 25 years with a focus on intellectual property; and Carl Sandberg, who has been a board member, advisor, investor and executive with companies including U.S. West and ADP.

The company's primary product is ProvisionalBuilder, aimed at helping inventors document and structure applications in the correct manner.

Based on the information entered by the user, the application offers contextual examples of how individuals with similar ideas have described them in their patents. It supports the addition of drawings (along with annotations) or digital photos illustrating the work. There's also an error checker, which analyzes the application in an attempt to catch errors or omissions that could present problems for an application. 

Once the description and application is complete, the software outputs it into either a PDF (so that it can be filed electronically) or into a printed form, for mailing through the regular U.S. mail.

Another feature worth noting: All the patent information is stored locally and can be protected with a password. There's also a mobile app for Android devices, which lets you manage some of this process with a smartphone. For example, you can take a photo that can be added easily to the overall application.

If you're just looking to file one patent, the software license is $99.99; if you want a version that can facilitate unlimited submissions, the license is $249.99.