With the U.S. Patent Office changing to a "first-to-file" system on March 16, the race to file patent applications ahead of that change has kept many patent law firms frantically busy for the past few weeks. Patent experts including GPC's Alexander Poltorak had predicted that this would be the outcome of the America Invents Act - and that smaller inventors will be the biggest losers under the new system. ("Inventors Race to File Patents" Wall Street Journal - March 14, 2013)

The SHIELD Act was reintroduced in the House of Representatives this week, and a post in The Hill's Technology Blog cited Alexander Poltorak's criticism of the bill as being unnecessary and unfair to patent owners. ("Bill would force 'patent trolls' to pay legal costs" TheHill.com - February 27, 2013)

The SHIELD Act, a bipartisan bill aimed at curtailing the litigious activities of so-called patent trolls, has been reintroduced in the House of Representatives. An article on TechCrunch quotes Alexander Poltorak's argument that the SHIELD Act is based on an overestimation of the number of frivolous lawsuits, and that the bill might make patent owners less likely to enforce their patents against infringers.

Kodak finally found a buyer for its 1,100-patent digital imaging portfolio, and an end to its bankruptcy may be in sight. A consortium led by Intellectual Ventures and RPX Corp. and including Apple, Google, Adobe, Amazon, Samsung, Microsoft, Research in Motion, HTC, Huawei and Shutterfly will acquire the patents. This is good news for Kodak, but Alexander Poltorak comments on why Kodak's patent auction didn't produce the kind of bidding bonanza that Nortel Networks' patent auction did in 2011.

With a consortium of Big Tech companies purchasing its patents for $525 million, Kodak may soon find its way out of bankruptcy. But the selling price fell quite short of the amount at which the patents were initially valued. GPC's Alexander Poltorak explains why. ("Kodak sells imaging patents for $525m, coming close to bankruptcy end" Industry Leaders Magazine - December 20, 2012)

When RIM and Nokia's licensing discussions failed to bear fruit because RIM claimed an earlier license covered Nokia's WiFi patent, a judge in Sweden ruled that RIM must pay Nokia royalties and damages - and the ruling can't be appealed. GPC's Alexander Poltorak comments on what the ruling means for U.S. consumers in an article on the Tom's Hardware tech news website. ("RIM Loses Patent Dispute With Nokia, Must Pay Royalties" Tom's Hardware - November 29, 2012)

Research in Motion (RIM), the maker of BlackBerry devices, was the loser in its patent licensing dispute with Finnish cellphone maker Nokia Oyj when a Swedish arbitrator issued a ruling that RIM may not make or sell mobile devices that can connect to WiFi networks. Now RIM must come to a new licensing arrangement with Nokia or risk having its BlackBerry products banned, because the U.S. and other countries will enforce the arbitrator's decision. GPC's Alexander Poltorak predicts what is likely to happen next between Nokia and RIM in this licensing dispute.

With the breakdown of Nokia and RIM's license renewal talks and a judgment against RIM, Nokia now seeks an injunction on the Blackberry. IP and mobile industry experts are discussing the possible outcome of this litigation.("Nokia Demands to Stop Sales of RIM’s Blackberry Phones" XbitLabs.com - November 28, 2012)