intellectual property

China and the U.S. have agreed to hold regular, high-level talks on cyberespionage, according to a report.

The talks will focus on the theft of U.S. intellectual property and will kick off in July as part of the yearly "Strategic and Economic Dialogue" between China and the U.S., which covers a varied slate of issues, The New York Times reported late Saturday. A new working group will also meet more often, the Times reported -- referring, perhaps, to the working group mentioned by Secretary of State John Kerry in April.

The Times quotes "a … Read more

Your future iPhone or iPad could offer an interactive touch screen that reacts to the pressure exerted by your touch.

Published Thursday by the U.S. Patent and Trademark office, an Apple patent application called "Embedded force measurement" takes the concept of tapping on your touch screen at least one step further. Instead of just lightly tapping on your screen, you would actually press down on it to activate a command. The phone would measure the force of your tap and respond accordingly.

As one example, an on-screen icon could let you control the volume of your device. … Read more

Apple may be aiming to challenge Samsung over eye-tracking technology.,

An Apple patent application, dubbed "Electronic Devices With Gaze Detection Capabilities," was published Thursday by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The application describes a feature in which your mobile device reacts to the movement of your head or eyes.

Turn your head or eyes away from the device, and the screen dims. Look back at the device, and the screen returns to life. Looking away could also put the entire device in standby mode, meaning certain functions are powered down to preserve battery power. In yet … Read more

Salesforce.com and patent aggregator Intellectual Ventures inked a new licensing deal on Friday that gives Salesforce access to some 40,000 of IV's patents.

The deal is the latest by Intellectual Ventures, a Bellevue, Wash.-based company that's made headlines for accumulating a massive trove of software and design patents, along with other intellectual property.

A major part of IV's business includes licensing patents out to other companies, which can use them for legal protection, though it's also made waves for litigating other companies.

Pricing and length of the deal were not disclosed, and a … Read more

The U.S. International Trade Commission on Thursday said it won't review a final ruling that found Microsoft to be in the clear of infringing on patents held by Motorola Mobility, which Google acquired last year.

The ruling (PDF) follows an initial determination in favor of Microsoft on March 22 of this year, as well as a final initial determination from last month from an ITC administrative law judge.

At stake were potential future sales of the console in the U.S., which could have been halted if Motorola had won.

"This is a win for Xbox customers … Read more

Twitter has won a new patent that it hopes to use as an example to stem the tide of patent lawsuits.

Granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office today, the patent named "User interface mechanics" refers to a way of refreshing the screen by pulling it down, a feature found in Twitter's mobile app as well as a host of other apps for smartphones and tablets.

In this case, though, the patent itself may be less important than the way it which Twitter plans to use it.

Under a new assignment known as the Innovator's Patent Agreement, … Read more

The legal spat between discount retailer Monoprice and audio system maker Klipsch ended almost as soon as it started.

In March, Klipsch accused Monoprice of patent infringement for selling a Monoprice-branded home theater speaker system that was virtually identical to top-rated system made by Klipsch subsidary Audio Products International, under its Energy brand. Friday morning, Klipsch lawyer, Dean E. McConnell, told CNET via email that the dispute had been resolved on Thursday.

"The litigation between Klipsch Group, Audio Products, and Monoprice has been amicably resolved," McConnell wrote. "The terms and conditions of the settlement are confidential and … Read more

A federal judge on Thursday told Google it needs to hand over documentation about how it's searching for information it's required to provide as part of a lawsuit between Apple and Samsung.

Apple earlier this week had requested the court require Google to disclose its methodology, adding that the search giant was not doing "a full search" for documents related to its Android operating system, which Apple wants to use as evidence in its patent lawsuit against Samsung.

In a court order, U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul Grewal said that Google has two days to provide … Read more

Online discount retailer Monoprice has apparently discontinued selling its top-rated home theater speakers shortly after being hit with a patent-infringement lawsuit.

In March, CNET reported on Monoprice, a darling of tech geeks for its cut-rate cables, noting that a handful of its new products were virtually identical to rival offerings.

Perhaps the most striking: Monoprice's 5.1 Hi-Fi Home Theater Satellite Speakers & Subwoofer system, which bears more than a passing resemblance to the Energy Take Classic 5.1 system, which CNET's Matt Moskovciak called "the best budget speaker system we've reviewed." Other than the … Read more