Swiss telecommunications equipment giant Ericsson has filed suit against leading mobile device manufacturer Samsung, alleging 24 separate instances of hardware and software patent infringement. Ericsson executives labeled it an action of "last resort," in an interview with The New York Times, suggesting that licensing negotiations regarding wireless industry-standard patents had reached an impasse.

The road toward a unified European Union patent system has been defined by a series of fits and starts in recent years, but the process seems to be gaining critical momentum this month. According to EuropeanVoice, diplomats are now scheduled to endorse revised draft legislation in a December 10th meeting.

Provisional patent application (PPA) filings have consistently risen in all but one of the past 15 years, according to the latest analysis from PatentlyO. However, the popularity of this tactic does not always correlate with patent pursuit or award.

David Kappos will leave his post as USPTO director early next year, calling an end to an impressive three-and-a-half year tenure.

Universities across the United States have seen patent licensing revenue climb in recent years as both school officials and private firms take a greater interest in commercializing classroom innovation. However, these numbers hold discouraging news for a few universities, underscoring the diligence required to craft a patent strategy that is both lucrative and sustainable.

USPTO officials have long accepted industry feedback as a welcome and necessary ingredient for patent system progress, but a string of disapproving statements coming out of the software sector has changed the tone of the conversation. To keep both sides moving forward toward smarter solutions, USPTO director David Kappos recently preached patience and encouraged critics to take a more careful view of the facts.

When the USPTO unveiled the locations of its first four branch offices, it was no surprise to see that Silicon Valley had been circled on the map. Although it is still months away from opening, the San Jose site recently reached an important milestone as Michelle Lee, former head of patent strategy at Google, was named branch office director.

When telecommunications and intellectual property management mix together in industry headlines, the theme does not always have to be two firms locked in contentious litigation. Case in point, French phone equipment manufacturer Alcatel-Lucent has independently decided to reassess the contents of its portfolio in pursuit of a new revenue generation strategy.

USPTO officials met with their counterparts from the European Patent Office (EPO) and the Japan Patent Office (JPO) in Kyoto this week for the 30th annual Trilateral Conference. After reflecting on their achievements to date, the delegates signed a declaration pledging their renewed commitment to promote further development of and collaboration between patent offices around the world.

Although many of the same faces will occupy the halls of power in the nation's capital in the coming months and years, many are expecting important changes to follow the latest round of appointments and elections. Innovation community stakeholders are monitoring this transitional period intently as they look toward the final stages of the America Invents Act's implementation and beyond.

The University of Michigan's Office of Technology Transfer (OTT) has gotten off to a fast start this semester, shedding new light on its methods, strategies and results in a series of formal and informal events on campus.

In April of this year, Microsoft filed a patent infringement suit against Motorola Mobility in Germany. According to a recent blog post by Florian Mueller, the complaint is the latest in a line of actions brought by Microsoft (as well as Apple) against several Android-based devices and services. This one involves an attack on the basis of Google Maps – a step closer to a frontal assault on Google itself. Indeed, the significant piece of news reported by Mueller, who was present in the German courtroom for the first hearing in the case, was an announcement by counsel that Microsoft intends to add Google, Inc to the complaint. Motorola Mobility is, of course, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Google. Microsoft will add Google in an effort to directly examine Google, Inc witnesses as to their knowledge of the alleged infringement, there being no other third-party discovery avenues under German rules, as contrasted with U.S. civil litigation rules.

A piece by Gina Smith in Readwrite Social from July 2012 reported on the issuance to Mark Zuckerberg of the very first patent he applied for in 2006 – six years after he filed the application along with a co-inventor.

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), long considered Intel's most viable competition, is said to be weighing a variety of potentially transformative patent strategies. According to Reuters, the chipmaker has hired expert advisors from JPMorgan Chase to help evaluate and potentially sell key intellectual assets.

There are still many disagreements left to be settled in the smartphone patent wars, but at least one dispute ended amicably over the weekend. Apple has come to terms with HTC, one of Google's primary hardware allies, in a confidential agreement which will see the end of all outstanding patent litigation between the two sides.

If Google, Amazon and Apple are generally considered the three technology brands with the widest global reach, then Netflix may be the closest source of competition. As the company hints at an expansion of its powers, market analysts have been analyzing how the movie rental giant's patent portfolio may help or hurt its prospects.

The Canadian Supreme Court dealt Pfizer a minor setback this week after informing the pharmaceutical giant that special patent protection awarded to Viagra will not be renewed when it expires in 2014. The court unanimously decided to support an appeal filed by Teva Pharmaceuticals, the world's largest generic drug manufacturer, which asserted that Pfizer's original application was too vague.

Numerous critics have highlighted the frivolous nature and caustic tone that has, at times, been associated with the smartphone patent wars in recent months. But amid this contentious litigation between multinational corporations, smaller firms have gleaned valuable lessons on how to monetize their own intellectual property portfolios.

MIPS, a leading semiconductor design firm, has announced an ambitious new strategy involving the sale of its patents and acquisition of its operating components by two separate companies.

The relationship between Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) provisions and social media has grown increasingly complex in recent months as regulators have become more vigilant and efficient in their removal of infringing content on sites such as YouTube and Reddit. As both sides continue to navigate the implications of evolving digital copyright rules, Twitter is seeking the bring a degree of transparency to the process.

The smartphone patent war could take a radical turn in the coming weeks as the Federal Trade Commission considers moving forward with an antitrust lawsuit against Google. Speaking with reporters from Bloomberg under the condition of anonymity, four individuals familiar with the matter confirmed that a group of FTC investigators have formally recommended that their superiors move forward with charges against the company.

Since the passage of the Bayh-Dole Act in 1980, there has been a steady rise in the commercialization of university intellectual property. While much of this progress can be attributed to faculty researchers, new data from the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM) suggests that students are more prepared than ever to amass and monetize their own patent portfolios.