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Technicolor Takes Aim At Apple, Samsung, Others for Patent Infringement

Posted by Soulskill on from the apparently-technicolor-is-still-around dept.

Master Moose sends this quote from a Bloomberg report: "When Apple's next iPhone hits store shelves, Technicolor's engineers will rush to get the handset — not to make calls or play games, but to rip it apart. Technicolor, an unprofitable French company that invented the process for color movies used in The Wizard of Oz and countless other classics, plans to cash in on its 40,000 video, audio and optics patents to turn its fortunes around. The company has a team of 220 people dissecting every new smartphone and tablet from industry goliaths such as Apple, Samsung Electronics and HTC for patent infringements. Although Technicolor signed its first licensing deal in the 1950s, de Russe [executive vice-president of intellectual property at Technicolor] said, 'it feels like the rest of the world has just woken up to why patents are interesting.' Patent licensing is the most profitable business of the company."

8 of 161 comments (clear)

  1. Announcing the iPhone B&W by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    It's black and white, so ultra-retro. All the hipsters will love it.

  2. Face Palm by firewrought · · Score: 5, Funny

    Not that Apple, et. al., are innocent by any means, but WTF has Technicolor contributed to humanity in the past twenty years??

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    1. Re:Face Palm by otaku244 · · Score: 4, Funny

      They were too busy smoking cigarettes and taking naps to FIRE ZE' MISSILES...

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    2. Re:Face Palm by pushing-robot · · Score: 5, Funny

      Not that Apple, et. al., are innocent by any means, but WTF has Technicolor contributed to humanity in the past twenty years??

      Do they still make those amazing coats?

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    3. Re:Face Palm by robot_love · · Score: 4, Funny

      Do they still make those amazing coats?

      Dream on, pal.

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    4. Re:Face Palm by mikael · · Score: 3, Funny

      >Dream on, pal.

      Shouldn't that be NTSC or HDMI these days?

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  3. Re:Technicolor illustration of a broken patent sys by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    You wrote a coed that saved a billion a year?

    Holy shit. Does she dream of electric sheep, or is he or she just a pleasure model?

  4. Re:Technicolor illustration of a broken patent sys by mwvdlee · · Score: 4, Funny

    Clearly it's a typo.
    It should have been "rode a coed".
    Not quite sure how that helps save a billion a year, but I'm willing to try it out.

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