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By Bloomberg

Samsung Electronics Co. prevailed in a patent-infringement suit brought by an Illinois-based patent holder.

According to a July 20 court filing, a jury in Chicago federal court found that the South Korean mobile-phone maker didn’t infringe patent 7,065,750, which is held by Cascades Computer Innovation of Northbrook, Illinois.

Cascades sued Samsung and other makers of mobile devices in seven separate suits in October 2011, accusing all of infringing the patent.

The company alleged in a court filing that despite the verdict there’s substantial evidence of infringement and induced infringement of some elements of the disputed patent. Cascade also said there’s evidence supporting a damages award.

The case is Cascade Computer Innovations LLC v. Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc., 1:11-cv-04574, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois (Chicago).

Boeing Patents Jet Engine Powered by Laser and Nuclear Fusion

Boeing Co., maker of the 737, 747 and 787 commercial jets, received a patent on a laser-powered aircraft engine.

Patent 9,068,562, which was issued June 30, covers a method of using a laser to create thrust by vaporizing a nuclear material. Chicago-based Boeing said this process works “by extracting energy from nuclear fusion and combined fusion- fission reactions.”

The system can be used to power a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other “type of propelled vehicle,” according to the patent.

Boeing applied for the patent in October 2012.

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Trademark

Intel Loses Patience, Sues Marketing Firm Over Name Similarity

Intel Corp. sued a San Francisco marketing firm for trademark infringement over its similar name.

In its complaint, the Santa Clara, California-based chipmaker accused Vital Intel Inc. of attempting to trade on its fame and reputation. Intel said that despite attempting “tirelessly to amicably resolve the dispute without judicial intervention,” Vital Intel has “failed to take this matter seriously and engage in a substantive dialogue.”

Intel said the marketing company’s lack of response has been “exhausting” its patience.

The chipmaker asked the court to bar the firm’s use of “intel” and to order Vital Intel to destroy or modify all promotional material that allegedly infringes the Intel trademarks and to cancel or hand over its vitalintel.com Web domain.

Intel also seeks money damages, profits derived from the alleged infringement and attorney fees and litigation costs.

Vital Intel didn’t respond immediately to an e-mailed request for comment.

The case is Intel Corp. v. Vital Intel Inc., 3:15-cv-03306, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (San Francisco).

Seahawks May Own Many ‘12’ Marks, But ‘12th Man’ Is Texas A&M’s

Although the Seattle Seahawks National Football League team has now registered 11 trademarks and applied for six more related to the number 12, the team still doesn’t own the “12th man” trademark, according to ESPN.

That mark belongs to Texas A&M University, which registered it in 1990, and the school licenses it to the Seattle team. The Seahawks can use it at their home stadium but not on merchandise, ESPN reported.

Among the marks successfully registered by the Seahawks are “Bring on the 12,” “We are 12,” “Spirit of 12” and, most recently, “12s,” with the number referring to the fans as constituting an imaginary 12th member of the team, according to ESPN.

The sports news network said the present license from the school costs the Seahawks only $5,000 a year, and expires in June 2016.

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Copyright

French Effort to Halt Online Piracy Yields 5 Million Warnings

Hadopi, the French government agency created to enforce copyrights online, has sent 5 million warnings to alleged infringers since the system went into effect, TorrentFreak reported.

Hadopi sends escalating warnings to repeat offenders, with 483,000 receiving second notices from September 2010 to June 2015, according to TorrentFreak.

The agency gets around 70,000 infringement complaints a day and, since its inception in 2010, has received more than 37 million requests from rights holders, TorrentFreak reported.

In the first half of 2015, Hadopi referred 169 alleged repeat offenders to public prosecutors, more than double the number referred during the same period in 2014, according to TorrentFreak.

Alleged infringers get three levels of warnings before the public prosecutor is informed, the news website reported.