Samsung, Sony sign extensive cross-licensing agreement
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LONDON - After a year of negotiations two of the world&#39;s giants of consumer electronics, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and Sony Corp.
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Ericsson/Samsung, Visto/Seven settle differences Two long-running patent disputes came to an end today with Ericsson and Samsung agreeing to license each other's technology, while Seven agreed to pay Visto for use of its intellectual property.â¦
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com December 14, 2004, 10:45 AM PT. Samsung and Sony have entered into an extensive cross-licensing agreement that will help them fill gaps in their patent portfolios and potentially stem off lawsuits.
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InfoWorld - Microsoft inked another cross-licensing patent agreement Wednesday, this time with South Korea&#39;s LG Electronics, covering the company&#39;s Linux-based embedded devices.
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Singapore Telecommunications Limited (SingTel) and Samsung Networks, an IP communications service provider in Korea, have signed an IP-VPN (Internet Protocol - Virtual Private Network) distribution agreement.
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Sony Corp. 6758.T and Samsung  Electronics 005930.KS said on Tuesday they had agreed to  share patents on basic technology to speed up product  development and avoid adding to a growing number of  cross-border patent disputes.
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SEOUL, South Korea - South Korea's LG Electronics Inc. has signed a patent cross-licensing agreement with Microsoft Corp. covering a variety of hardware and software products, the companies said Thursday.
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Sony disclosed more information about its joint venture in the UK and Ireland with British Sky Broadcasting to bring video downloads to its popular handheld system, as well as a DVR device to bring television programming to the PS3 and PSP.
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MANHASSET, NY - Philips Electronics and Samsung Electronics have entered into a deal that will enable Samsung to deploy cellular devices using Philips&#39; near-field communications chip and technology.
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Two of the world&#39;s consumer electronics giants, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and Sony Corp., have signed a cross-license agreement detailing mutual usage of patents across major product lines owned by the two companies.
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(InfoWorld) - Microsoft inked another cross-licensing patent agreement Wednesday, this time with South Korea's LG Electronics, covering the company's Linux-based embedded devices. As part of the deal, LG, one of the world's largest electronics companies, can use undefined "patented Microsoft technology" in its products, including Linux-based devices. The agreement also covers intellectual property contained in other hardware and software products, such as game consoles. LG is a manufacturer of CDMA, GSM, and 3G handsets; IP phones; plasma TVs; optical storage products; PDAs; notebook computers; DVD players; and home theater systems, among other electronic products. As in similar deals with Xandros (announced earlier this week), Novell, Samsung and Fuji Xerox, Microsoft did not detail just what patents LG was licensing, and LG did not say if its Linux-based devices violated any Microsoft patents. As part of the deal, Microsoft will have access to LG patents that cover computer architecture utilized in game consoles and other products and will license other LG patents that are owned by system integrator MicroConnect Group, which is based in Manchester, England. "This agreement is focused only on exchange of patent rights," said David Kaefer, general manager of IP licensing at Microsoft. "The open-source elements of the deal do utilize a covenant model similar to the Xandros and Novell deals, but this deal is most similar to recent agreements with Samsung and Fuji Xerox." Those deals were signed this year in April and March, respectively. Both covered general access to intellectual property contained in patent portfolios and included protection for customers using Linux-based software. In terms of the "customer covenant" clause in those deals, Kaefer said, "The covenants are structured very similarly." Microsoft and LG did not release financial terms of the deal but said in a press release that Microsoft would make a "net balancing" payment to LG and MicroConnect for patents related to operating systems and computer systems. Microsoft made a similar "net balancing" payment as part of its deal with Novell that, according to that contract, reflected "the larger applicable volume of Microsoft's product shipments" versus that of Novell's products. In addition, LG will be making ongoing payments to Microsoft to cover Microsoft patents as they relate to Linux-based embedded devices that LG produces. LG Enterprises comprises four business units -- Mobile Communications, Digital Appliance, Digital Display, and Digital Media. The company produced $48.5 billion in global sales in 2006. The company is a member of the Consumer Electronics Linux Forum, which also includes Sony, Panasonic, Motorola, and others. None of those companies have cross-licensing deals with Microsoft. A search on the LG Web site turned up only one reference to Linux, which was the 2005 release of a set-top box sold under the DirecTV brand name that included "a general-purpose Linux-operating-system." In 2001, LG produced a Linux -based wireless webpad for home users that included Internet support and a built-in multimedia player. LG also is a partner of Microsoft in that it licenses Windows CE for use in its IP phones and produces Windows-based notebook computers. The deal with LG comes after Microsoft said last month it would seek royalties for patents that it says are being infringed upon by open-source technologies like Linux. The company, however, said it would prefer to sign patent and cross-licensing deals with open-source distributors rather than seek payments via litigation. The open-source community, specifically the Free Software Foundation, reacted by tweaking the final draft release of the GNU General Public License (GPL) 3.0, which was released May 31, to prohibit such patent deals. The GPLv3 is expected to be officially published on June 29. Open source advocates contend that Microsoft is doing no more than bullying the Linux community with the threat of patent violations because it has not divulged what patents are infringed upon by Linux and other open-source software. Microsoft reiterated this week at its annual TechEd conference that its position is to protect intellectual property rights. "The approach that Microsoft is taking is to work with industry partners to ensure that when customers want to use open-source software, they can do so with the knowledge and security that the software brings with it all the licensing rights that are required," Bob Muglia, senior vice president for server and tools at Microsoft, said during his keynote address Monday. In a press release announcing the partnership, LG and MicroConnect executives struck the same tone. "We believe in the importance of respecting the [intellectual property] rights of others and that patent collaboration and protection is a best business practice the whole industry should be engaged in," said Jeong Hwan Lee, executive vice president of the Intellectual Property Center at LG. Alan Loudermilk, founding partner of MicroConnect, said, "MicroConnect is pleased to be able to make a contribution to the strengthened [intellectual property] relationship between LGE and Microsoft."
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The television unit of Japan&#39;s Sony Corp and a division of China Film Group on Wednesday unveiled a joint venture to make Chinese language TV shows under a new Chinese law that allows such co-ventures.
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Sony, Sony Computer Entertainment, and Toshiba are forming a joint venture to manufacture the PS3's Cell processor and other high-end chips.
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The two companies reach a settlement and sign a cross-licensing agreement, ending years of litigation over patent infringement.
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Patent cross-licence deal cover all but cutting-edge techs
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South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co.  Ltd.  and Sweden's Ericsson  on Monday  signed a mobile telecommunication cross license deal and agreed  to drop ongoing patent suits between the two companies.
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Microsoft and LG Electronics sign cross-licensing patent agreement that covers Linux-based embedded devices.