Newsletter (IP Convergence)

Brain League expands its international reach

Issue: Apr 2009

PRESS ROOM

40% drop in Community Trade Mark (CTM) Fee from May
According to a recent statement released by OHIM, the fee for online community trademark application will be reduced with effect from May. The cost of having a Community trade mark will be reduced by 40% to € 900 for online applications from 1 May, 2009; replacing the current system of separate application and registration fee which currently is € 750 and € 800 respectively. The move is designed to help especially SMEs to get cost effective protection for their brands.

TomTom and Microsoft Settle
Microsoft and TomTom have recently settled the patent suit that was initiated by Microsoft in February, 2009. Microsoft filed a patent infringement suit against TomTom alleging that TomTom's implementation of Linux violates patents held by Microsoft. In response, TomTom counter-sued Microsoft for violation of its patents. The parties recently settled the suit with a settlement agreement for five years. As per the agreement, Microsoft will not initiate infringement action against TomTom or its customers for the next five years. TomTom's obligations under GPL may be met and it will pay Microsoft an undisclosed royalty.

Pirate Bay held liable for copyright violation
The file sharing website Pirate Bay was held liable for copyright violation by a Court at Stockholm. The Court sentenced the founders of the website service to one (1) year imprisonment and ordered them to pay damages of 3.6 million dollars to entertainment companies whose content was shared on the website. The founders of Pirate Bay have said that they will be filing an appeal against the decision and that the website will continue to operate.

Spansion and Samsung settle
Spansion and Samsung have ended the patent dispute between them through a settlement. As per the settlement, the parties have agreed to cross-license their patents and Samsung will pay Spansion an amount of 70 million dollars. As Spansion had filed for bankruptcy, the settlement is subject to approval by the Court.