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Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Twitter promises that it will only use patents defensively

Mark Bridge writes:

There’s some kind of patent-related mobile technology story in the news most weeks. Whether this is the result of an innovation slow-down or the disruptive effect of newcomers on ‘traditional’ mobile manufacturers, there’s no denying it’s causing problems for many companies.

However, Twitter may have an answer. It’s just introduced what it’s calling the “Innovator’s Patent Agreement”, which includes a commitment that patents developed by its employees will only be used for defensive purposes. This level of control stays with the patent even if it’s sold.

In a blog post, Twitter VP of Engineering Adam Messinger said “This is a significant departure from the current state of affairs in the industry. Typically, engineers and designers sign an agreement with their company that irrevocably gives that company any patents filed related to the employee’s work. The company then has control over the patents and can use them however they want, which may include selling them to others who can also use them however they want. With the IPA, employees can be assured that their patents will be used only as a shield rather than as a weapon.”

The Electronic Frontier Foundation has added its support, describing the Innovator’s Patent Agreement as “an important tool in the fight to improve a broken patent system”.

Now, things aren’t necessarily as clear as you might expect. According to the IPA (which has been published online), companies that have taken any non-defensive patent action in the last ten years are fair game. And there are a fair number of other potential loopholes as well.

But this seems more than just a PR stunt. It’s a company saying it wants to win through innovation.

And for that, I wish them every success. Now, who’s next?

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Opinion Articles

Last week at The Fonecast: 9th January 2012

Mark Bridge writes:

Happy New Year and welcome back to our weekly news summary. Thanks to the Bank Holiday last Monday we’ve had a relatively gentle start to the year, although I’m sure this week’s CES show in Las Vegas will generate plenty of product news.

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Don't worry about explaining your mobile design, just make sure it works

Mark Bridge writes:

Chinese mobile manufacturer ZTE has just announced a new mobile phone design philosophy. It’s called “Caring, Creative, Simple, Smart” and - let’s be honest - you could say it sounds a little trite.

Author: The Fonecast
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Discover our mobile phone industry predictions for 2012

Mark Bridge writes:

In today’s podcast - our last programme in 2011 - we’re doing our best to predict what’ll be happening in the mobile industry next year.

Will there be big announcements from the Wholesale Application Community?  Innovation from Intel?  Falling sales at Apple?  Reorganisations at RIM?  Listen to find out what we forecast.

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Last week at The Fonecast: 19th December 2011

Mark Bridge writes:

“He knows if you’ve been bad or good...”

You don’t need to be Santa Claus to appreciate that RIM’s quarterly results have marked a disappointing end to a disappointing year. Yes, the company’s sold millions of BlackBerry phones - but PlayBook sales haven’t been good, its new OS is delayed and its market share appears to be falling. You could argue that 2012 is a make-or-break year for Research In Motion... or at least for its current management.

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A horrible end to an annus horribilis for BlackBerry

Mark Bridge writes:

It’s been an annus horribilis for Research In Motion. In fact, the BBC was already using that very phrase about the BlackBerry manufacturer two months ago.

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A month of mobile: O2 counts on 3, Microsoft counts to 10 and Apple counts its profits

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