Nokia recently won approval from Chinese competition authorities to sell its mobile phone business to Microsoft without having to make any alterations to its technology patent practices. The Finnish company agreed to sell its mobile phone business to Microsoft in a $7.4 billion deal in September, but to keep its own patent portfolio, according to Reuters.

Amazon won a patent case against Rovi in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, according to CBR. Rovi, which sells television guide programs to cable providers, alleged Amazon had infringed two of its patents - one that covers making an electronic program guide on a television, and the other that covers allowing a user to select and purchase a pay-per-view program. Rovi had also filed lawsuits against Roku and Netflix, but the U.S. International Trade Commission ruled those companies did not infringe its patents.

The Silicon Valley area's first permanent satellite patent and trademark office is set to occupy a section of San Jose City Hall, according to San Jose Mercury News. This decision was announced in November after four years of politicians, university leaders and business groups lobbying for precisely this decision. However, the opening of the office will now be delayed until the middle of 2015 because of financial difficulties San Jose is experiencing. City leaders are still committed to the deal, however, and to housing a satellite intellectual property office.

Israeli company Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. recently announced the U.S. Supreme Court will hear its appeal of a decision from the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, according to Bionews Texas. That decision invalidated the claim of U.S. Patent 5,800,808, which Teva holds and which claims the process for manufacturing the active ingredient of Teva's relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis medication, copaxone 20mg/mL. Teva says it is committing to exploring all of its options to protect its intellectual property for copaxone. The drug is expensive, and reduces the frequency of relapse in patients who have relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, which includes those who have experienced a clinical episode and have MRI results consistent with a diagnosis of MS.

Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant signed House Bill 116 on March 19, and it will become law on July 1. The bill will extend trade secret protections to universities and community colleges through exempting commercial, scientific or technical research materials from the state's Open Records Act until the research is published, according to Claims Journal.

Swiss drugmaker Novartis AG filed a patent infringement suit in India against Biocon Ltd. regarding its patent covering the diabetes drug vildagliptin, which is sold under the trade name Galvus. According to The Hindu Business Line, Galvus brought in $1.2 billion from global sales last year. In a statement, Biocon asserted it does not sell any form of that drug in India.

Lord Younger, the Minister for Intellectual Property, spoke at the Houses of Parliament recently at an event sponsored by the Federation Against Software Theft (FAST). He contended that the UK government must continue to enforce harsh penalties on intellectual property theft to support innovation and economic recovery.

The Korean Intellectual Property Office joined the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs on March 31, and marked the occasion with a ceremony at the World Intellectual Property Organization, according to IP Watch. 

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments recently in Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank - a case having to do with the eligibility of software for patent protection. According to Reuters, the justices did not indicate they would set radical new guidelines. This assumption comes from the character of the questions the justices asked during an hour-long oral argument. Tech companies are watching this case with particular interest.

Microsoft and Dell announced on March 28 that they have entered a patent licensing agreement that will allow the firms to "build on each other's innovations." The companies chose not to reveal much detail, but mentioned Android, Chrome OS and Xbox products, according to The Next Web.