Category: Techie

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From Ars Technica: Motorola brings its first patent suit against Apple as a Google subsidiary

On Friday evening, Motorola Mobility, a Google subsidiary since May of this year, filed a patent infringement suit against Apple with the International Trade Commission. It said Apple had infringed on 7 of its patents in creating the iPhone, the iPad, and the iPod Touch, and Motorola is seeking an import ban on those products to the US.

While the paperwork filed by Motorola with the ITC was not immediately available, WSJ is reporting that none of the patents Motorola is asserting are currently considered standards-essential, meaning Motorola may have a fair chance at getting its requested import ban if the ITC decides Apple has in fact infringed. Patents that are not standards-essential may be licensed or not licensed at the holding company’s will, whereas patents that qualify as standards-essential require holding companies to license them at fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) prices. While judicial authorities have been called upon to decide what constitutes a FRAND patent, there is no legal precedent that defines what fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory means in every case.

“We would like to settle these patent matters, but Apple’s unwillingness to work out a license leaves us little choice but to defend ourselves and our engineers’ innovations,” Motorola Mobility said in an e-mailed statement to Bloomberg. The publication also noted that in a previous patent battle with Apple, the Cupertino company said that Motorola’s demands for licensing fees are unreasonable.

 

from Ars Technica

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From Engadget: MIT ‘microthrusters’ are the size of a penny, could reposition tiny satellites

MIT 'microthrusters' are the size of a penny, could reposition tiny satellites

Bus-sized satellites require massive engines for even the slightest movements, but as far smaller structures become a possibility, a tiny driving mechanism can offer usable thrust. To serve this next-gen tech, MIT saw a need to develop “microthrusters,” which are each the size of a penny and can be mounted to tiny cubed satellites. With thruster components measuring a few microns each, the magnetic levitation system is able to accommodate 500 microscopic tips that emit ion beams in a very small package, serving to push two-pound structures through space. The tiny devices have not made their way into orbit yet, but they have been tested in a vacuum chamber. Because of their size, it’s possible to add several to each satellite, then enabling sophisticated movements for more precise turns.

There are currently two dozen “CubeSats” in orbit, each measuring only slightly larger than a Rubik’s cube, but without any thrusters to power them, positioning can’t be adjusted once they’re released. Because of their current location, CubeSats eventually burn up in the atmosphere, but once they’re released farther from Earth, they won’t be able to enter the atmosphere on their own, remaining in orbit as “space junk” even after completing their missions — micro thrusters could also serve to move these satellites closer to the planet so they can burn up during re-entry. There’s no word on when, or even if, MIT’s invention will make its way to the launchpad, but you can take a closer look in the demo video after the break.

 

from Engadget