Replies to post #407652 on InterDigital Inc (IDCC)

[jist1]

Too funny...Microsoft essentially accuses IDCC of price gauging. What a joke of a legal system. Sometimes the US really resembles a banana republic. The concept of fair and reasonable applied to standards technology is a joke to begin with. This concept only benefits the legals. So far from capitalism it's a joke...and the sheeple in this country blame capitalism for the increasing wealth gap. Incredible. IMO

[magillagorilla]

Nothing surprises me anymore. However, I do have a problem understanding how an International Court of Arbitration set FRAND rates for essential patents, but that other users of said patents want a federal court to decide what the FRAND and damages rates should be. So I can only assume it is more about damages than FRAND (unless they can find a court/Judge that would lower the rate agreed on by the International Tribunal, which seems unlikely.

I am including at the bottom of this post the original August 2015, MSFT antitrust suit filing, which mentions the ITC judge’s comments saying that there was evidence Microsoft had engaged in "reverse patent holdup". Where or when will this issue be addressed?


From dndoods post on IDCC legal dates

Parties in InterDigital’s district court infringement suits agree to extend time period to complete FRAND and damages-related discovery
By Stephen R. Freeland on June 2, 2015
Posted in Court Orders, District Courts

We previously reported on a scheduling order governing FRAND and damages-related discovery in InterDigital’s two patent infringement lawsuits pending in Delaware against ZTE and Nokia Inc., Nokia Corp. and Microsoft Mobile Oy (MMO), respectively. On Friday, the court entered a modified, agreed-to scheduling order that extends the time to complete such discovery by approximately seven (7) months.

As background, trials on liability were bifurcated from trials on damages and the defendants’ FRAND-related affirmative defenses. ZTE’s liability trial on three (3) of InterDigital’s asserted patents occured first and, last Fall, a Delaware jury found that ZTE’s accused 4G mobile devices infringed those patents. ZTE asserts a number of FRAND-related affirmative defenses to this finding of infringement. A second Delaware jury later found that ZTE’s accused 4G mobile devices did not infringe a fourth patent asserted by InterDigital.

In January of this year, the court entered a scheduling order setting December 4, 2015 as the deadline for completing FRAND and damages-related discovery in both the ZTE and Nokia/MMO cases, with the trial on these issues tentatively scheduled to take place in the Spring of 2016.

The liability trial against Nokia/MMO was scheduled to occur in April of this year. However, that trial was postponed until November. As a result of this change in Nokia/MMO’s liability trial date, the parties proposed, and, on Friday, the court entered, a scheduling order modifying the FRAND and damages-related discovery period and target trial dates as follows:

Completion of fact discovery related to FRAND/damages: Deadline moved from August 21, 2015 to March 4, 2016;
Disclosure of expert testimony for party with burden of proof: Deadline moved from September 18, 2015 to April 15, 2016;

(Original dates
March 21, 2016: ZTE target trial date; and
April 11, 2016: Microsoft Mobile Oy (MMO) (another defendant in the case) target trial date)

Supplemental/rebuttal expert disclosure: Deadline moved from October 16, 2015 to May 13, 2016;
Reply expert reports from party with burden of proof: Deadline moved from November 9, 2015 to June 9, 2016;
Completion of expert discovery: Deadline moved from December 4, 2015 to July 13, 2016;
Joint letter outlining any issues the parties believe must be addressed at the status conference: Deadline moved from December 8, 2015 to July 20, 2016;
Status conference: Moved from December 15, 2015 to August 22, 2016;
Dispositive motions and deadline to object to expert testimony: Moved from December 29, 2015 to August 5, 2016;
ZTE target trial date: Moved from March 21, 2016 to October 17, 2016; and
MMO/Nokia target trial date: Moved from April 11, 2016 to November 14, 2016.

http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=117424071

______________


Thu Aug 20, 2015 7:43pm EDT

Microsoft files antitrust suit against InterDigital in patent feud
NEW YORK | By Andrew Chung

InterDigital Inc has violated U.S. antitrust law by failing to keep its promise to fairly license its technology considered essential to mobile phone communications, Microsoft Corp said in a lawsuit on Thursday.

The complaint against InterDigital, filed in federal court in Wilmington, Delaware, deepens a long-standing fight over patent licensing between the two companies.

It comes as the U.S. International Trade Commission is set to rule this month on whether Microsoft smartphones should be banned from being imported into the United States for infringing two of InterDigital's patents.

Wilmington is the home base of InterDigital, which makes money through the licensing of patents.

The lawsuit concerns patents considered to be critical to technologies that may be widely adopted in an industry. Owners of these kinds of patents typically commit to offering them to competitors at a reasonable rate and on fair terms.

Microsoft alleged InterDigital's "abusive licensing practices" over its patents that are essential for companies to make cellular devices violate federal anti-monopoly laws.

InterDigital "falsely promised" to license these patents on reasonable terms so they would be accepted as industry standards but then charged exorbitant rates, Microsoft said in the complaint.

A spokesman for the Redmond, Washington-based software giant said this "violates its commitments and hurts consumers and competition."

A representative for InterDigital had no comment.

According to the complaint, InterDigital is also using the prospect of an import ban to coerce Microsoft into paying the price InterDigital wants for access to its technology.

In April, an ITC judge said Microsoft infringed two of InterDigital's patents related to moderating a mobile phone's power to reduce signal interference, and recommended that Microsoft's devices be blocked from import.

The full commission is scheduled to make a final ruling on the matter later this month. Companies often sue at the ITC to win an import ban and in federal court to win damages.

The ITC judge also said there was evidence Microsoft had engaged in "reverse patent holdup," a situation where a company uses technology covered by a patent but refuses to pay for a license. The judge said Microsoft has refused to negotiate with InterDigital in a meaningful way.

In the new lawsuit, Microsoft said that because of InterDigital's "monopolistic conduct," the court should triple any damages it awards, and order InterDigital to stop enforcing its patents.

(Reporting by Andrew Chung; Editing by James Dalgleish)

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-microsoft-interdigital-us-idUSKCN0QP2CU20150820
_______________

Additionally here is an interesting old post from Foss
http://www.fosspatents.com/2013/03/us-judge-denies-huawei-and-zte.html

[amrwonderful]

Soooooo....MSFT did not pay us anything, and claim that they don't use IDCC tech anyway. I don't get it?