Computer programmer and internet entrepreneur Mark Zuckerberg, 32, the CEO of social media website Facebook, will be testifying in an intellectual property case. The lawsuit will determine whether Facebook’s $2.3 billion virtual reality acquisition, Oculus, stole technology from Rockville, Maryland-based video game developer ZeniMax Media Inc.

Facebook lawyers tried to argue that Zuckerberg should not have to testify on how the company acquired Oculus, an argument dismissed by the judge. ZeniMax also accused Oculus founder Palmer Luckey and Oculus CTO John Carmack of theft in August 2016. Carmack was the lead programmer of video game classics, such as Quake, Doom, and Wolfenstein 3D. Now, ZeniMax is claiming he stole technology from them before he left them to join Oculus. Carmack was also accused of violating his employee agreement and confidentiality clauses.

Our attorneys at Gagnon, Peacock & Vereeke, P.C. provide legal services for our clients in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and other areas in Texas. We handle intellectual property cases that involve patents, trademarks, and trade secrets, among others. Get a free initial consultation when you contact us at (214) 824-1414.

Nokia filed a lawsuit in the Eastern District of Texas, the United States International Trade Commission, and 10 countries in Europe and Asia, including Germany, Italy, and Japan, against Apple, claiming the technology giant infringed upon 40 of its patents.

In a statement released on Wednesday, December 21, Nokia head of patent business Ilkka Rahnasto said, “Through our sustained investment in research and development, Nokia has created or contributed to many of the fundamental technologies used in today’s mobile devices, including Apple products.”

The eight patents covered in the Eastern District lawsuit are related to encoding or decoding video with the H.264 advanced video coding standard as set by the International Telecommunication Union. Apple, for its part, filed an antitrust complaint on Tuesday, December 20 in California’s Northern District against Acacia Research Corp. and Conversant Intellectual Property Management, Inc. claiming the companies were colluding with Nokia to extort money from technology companies over cellular patents. Nokia was not named as defendant in this particular lawsuit.

Our intellectual property lawyers at Gagnon, Peacock & Vereeke, P.C., who provide legal services for our clients in Dallas and Fort Worth, handle legal representation of cases that relate to the United States Patent and Trademark Office and the U.S. Copyright Office. Call our offices today at (214) 824-1414.

KAIST IP, an intellectual property management firm, filed a patent infringement lawsuit in a Texas Federal District Court against Samsung Electronics America, semiconductor company GlobalFoundries, and telecommunications equipment company Qualcomm. The firm is seeking semiconductor technology patent fees for usage of their intellectual property.

The technology under contention is an ultra-small transistor called FinFet, which is a key material when making smartphones. Many companies utilize the technology today. In 2011, Intel applied FinFet in its products and acknowledged FinFet’s technological capability to sign an official license contract in 2012. In a statement, KAIST IP said, “We proposed a contract when we developed FinFet but Samsung did not accept it. Though it started to make mobile phones using FinFet it resisted paying patent fees.”

If you need help filing a patent or suing another company for its use of your patent, get in touch with our attorneys at Gagnon, Peacock & Vereeke, P.C. by calling our Dallas offices today at (214) 824-1414.

Twenty-four-year-old Anthony Clark was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud by a jury in Fort Worth, Texas. His conviction comes after he, along with three co-conspirators, defrauded Electronic Arts, Inc. The company, which is more commonly known as EA Games, lost more than $16 million to the conspirators.

EA published a game called FIFA Football, wherein players can earn FIFA coins, an in-game currency usually earned based on the amount of time a player has been playing the game. Clark and his accomplices set up the game to look as if they played for hours when they had not. They allegedly exchanged their FIFA coins for over $16 million. Senior Counsel Ryan Dickey of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant United States Attorneys Brian Poe and Candina Heath of the Northern District of Texas were tasked with prosecuting the case.

If you are facing intellectual property litigation in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex or another area in Texas, we highly recommend that you acquire the legal services of our attorneys at Gagnon, Peacock & Vereeke, P.C. Seek our legal representation today by calling our offices at (214) 824-1414.

South Korean electronics company LG Electronics Inc. was found guilty of infringing on two smart phone patents that were owned by Core Wireless Licensing.

One of the patents in discussion covers the technology that seeks to improve smart phone battery life. The award for past damages was based on the royalty that should have been given to the inventors of said patents. In this case, the inventors were Finnish multinational technology company Nokia Corp. engineers Benoist Sebire and Jyri Suvanen and the royalties are equivalent to 6 cents per unit. The amount covers sales after the release and sales of LG smart phones that have the said technologies. CEO John Lindgren of Conversant Intellectual Property Management, the parent company of Core Wireless, welcomed the development, saying he is thankful the jury saw the need to defend the rights of the Nokia inventors.

If you are facing an intellectual property suit, seek the legal services of Gagnon, Peacock & Vereeke, P.C. by calling our offices today at (214) 824-1414 to get in touch with our attorneys.

The Eastern District of Texas is on the move to crack down on nuisance lawsuits filed by patent troll companies, which are companies that try to enforce patent rights beyond the patent’s actual value or worth.

Retired District Judge Leonard Davis, who served in the Eastern District of Texas between the years 2002 and 2015, said: “The district has been the poster child for the ‘troll problem’. I think the ‘troll problem’ would exist even if we weren’t around.” Washington trade groups have been asking Congress to amend rules on where intellectual property lawsuits can be filed to lessen the number of cases held in Texas.

Also, judges have analyzed cases served by these “troll” companies against multinational firms. For instance, Judge Rodney Gilstrap dismissed infringement claims against Dell Inc. and Apple Inc. in September 2016. Iris Connex LLC, filed the suits against the tech companies and ruled it is not possible that the giant firms used Iris Connex’s camera technology.

At Gagnon, Peacock & Vereeke, P.C., we provide legal services for our clients in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and assist clients throughout the entire process of intellectual property litigation. Hire our legal representation by calling our offices today at (214) 824-1414.

United States District Judge Keith Ellison issued a memorandum opinion on Friday, October 14, setting out findings of fact and conclusions of law. He effectively granted the University of Houston’s motion for a preliminary injunction in a trademark lawsuit it lodged against South Texas College of Law after the latter decided to change its name to Houston College of Law.

UH claimed that South Texas College of Law intentionally and willfully infringed upon the former’s intellectual property and the latter committed violations of unfair competition laws in the state of Texas. In response, South Texas College of Law argued that the word “Houston” is not the exclusive property of the UH System.

Our attorneys at Gagnon, Peacock & Vereeke, P.C. provide legal services for our clients in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and will help our clients – whether they are defendants or plaintiffs – defend their property during intellectual property litigation. Call our offices today at (214) 824-1414 to discuss your case.

The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation is asking for the public’s assistance in identifying a man who broke into the headquarters of a Fortune 500 company located in Houston’s Energy Corridor. He escaped with intellectual and personal property.

Video surveillance from June and December 2015 showed a man walking around the perimeter of a secure area before any employees of the company arrived. Authorities believe the unidentified man was able to gain entrance into the building through a defective door after the theft. Federal investigators want to know more about the suspect and why he focused on the company, which has asked to remain anonymous for security reasons.

Our attorneys at Gagnon, Peacock & Vereeke, P.C. provide aggressive intellectual property representation to individuals and businesses in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and other areas of Texas. Schedule an initial appointment with a qualified member of our legal team by calling our offices today at (214) 824-1414.

Solar panel manufacturer Solaria is claiming that Hong Kong-based GCL Solar Energy, a subsidiary of GCL-Poly Energy Holdings, infringed upon their proprietary technology – which is backed by more than 100 patents – to create their solar modules.

Solaria further said that the Superior Court of the State Court of California issued a temporary restraining on Monday, September 26 to stop GCL from further using their technology. The order also stops GCL from disclosing any confidential information they obtained from Solaria.

In a statement, Solaria CEO Suvi Sharma said, “GCL misappropriated Solaria IP, technology, and manufacturing processes for its own use, in violation of our non-disclosure agreement. The investigation into this intellectual property theft is ongoing, and we will take appropriate action, including bringing in additional parties to the lawsuit if warranted, in order to protect our business interests.”

Our attorneys at Gagnon, Peacock & Vereeke, P.C. provide aggressive legal representation to individuals and businesses in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. We handle intellectual property matters such as trademarks, copyrights, and licensing disputes, among others. Call our offices today at (214) 824-1414 to speak with a qualified member of our legal team.

Patent licensing company Acacia Research Corporation won a $22.1 million verdict against the technology company Apple Inc. on Wednesday, September 14. An East Texas jury in Tyler ruled Apple infringed upon US Patent No. 8,055,820, which was owned by Acacia subsidiary Cellular Communications Equipment LLC. The technology company Nokia Corp. sold that particular patent to Acacia in 2013.

The jury found Apple’s infringement of the patent was intentional, meaning the judge can triple the damage award for the winning company. Acacia is said to be in the business of “patent trolling,” a practice that entails a firm buying patents from companies and using those patents to sue other companies. Following the proceeding, Acacia splits the case’s proceeds with the original patent owner, which in this case is Nokia.

Our attorneys at Gagnon, Peacock & Vereeke, P.C. help guide clients – whether as plaintiff’s or defendant’s – through litigation concerning intellectual property issues. Get in touch with a qualified member of our legal team by calling our Dallas offices at (214) 824-1414.