Apple loses patent lawsuit filed by University of Wisconsin-Madison's licensing arm over chip technology - Silicon Valley Business Journal

 

Gina Hall Contributor

 

 

A jury has decided Apple used the chip technology of the University of… more

 

Apple may have to pay up to $862 million in damages to the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s licensing arm after a jury found on Tuesday that the Cupertino company used chip technology without permission.

The Madison, Wisconsin, jury noted that the university licensing arm’s patent, which improves processor efficiency, is valid, according to Reuters. The case will move forward to determine how much Apple must pay for infringing on the patent.

 

A jury has decided Apple used the chip technology of the University of… more

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So what does this mean for Apple?

The lawsuit
The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) brought suit against Apple in January 2014 for patent infringement on a 1998 patent for improving chip efficiency.

The jury considered whether Apple's A7, A8 and A8X processors found in the iPhone 5s, 6, 6 Plus and the iPad violated the patent. Apple denied infringement and argued the patent was invalid, the report said.

Moving forward
U.S. District Judge William Conley ruled that Apple could be liable for up to $862.4 million in damages. How much of that will Apple pay? The trial will move forward in three phases: liability, damages, and a decision over whether Apple infringed the patent willfully. If Apple knowingly infringed on the patent, the penalties will be more severe.

Additional Apple suits
It doesn’t look like this case will be the end of Apple’s run-in with the university. Last month, WARF launched another lawsuit against Apple. The second suit is aimed at Apple’s latest chips, the A9 and A9X used in the iPhone 6S, 6S Plus and the iPad Pro. WARF sued Intel Corp. in 2008 for violating the same patent, but the case was settled in 2009 prior to trial.

Apple has been involved in several patent suits this year, sometimes coming out as the loser, other times emerging on top.

In early 2015, Swedish telecom company Ericsson sued Apple for patent infringement, a move that could halt sales of the popular Apple products in the U.S., although it likely wouldn’t come to such a drastic scenario. If Ericsson wins the dispute, Apple would likely have to pay Ericsson between $250 million and $750 million in fees annually, based on estimates of handset sales and royalty payments per phone, according to Reuters, citing of analysts familiar with the situation.

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Rauner: Time to sell Thompson Center; Architect, former governor less than thrilled – Illinois News Network

 

SPRINGFIELD — Need a full city block in Chicago’s Loop?

Gov. Bruce Rauner may have a deal for you.

Rauner, R-Winnetka, on Tuesday announced his plan to sell the James R. Thompson Center, the state’s massive office and retail building at 100 W. Randolph St.

Although home to about 2,200 state employees, the 17-story building of nearly 1.2 million square feet is expensive to heat and cool, needs about $100 million in repairs and is inefficient as an office complex, the governor said.

“We intend to close and sell the state of Illinois building, the James R. Thompson Center, move our people out into existing space … in Springfield and in the city of Chicago and put this building onto the market to be sold to a private developer,” the governor said.

The sale, Rauner said, would probably mean demolition of Thompson Center to be replaced by a “more impactful, positive, commercial office building and retail space.”

Rauner declined to say how much he believes the state can get for the property because his plan calls for public auction, but he described the location as among the best in the city and state.

“It’s attractive,” the governor said. “We can can get good value for taxpayers by selling this building and moving out.”

Even without cash from a sale, the state cannot afford to stay in the building, Rauner said.

“We could pay people to take this building from us and save a lot of taxpayer money,” he said.

The state’s cost to keep its people in the Thompson Center are two to three times that of putting them in comparable office space in the city or elsewhere in the state, Rauner said.

By moving out and using existing or even newly leased space, the state could save $6 million to $12 million per year, Rauner said.

Redeveloped and put to better use, the property could also generate as much as $20 million in tax revenue for the city and for Chicago Public Schools, Rauner said, adding that new construction could generate 8,000 short-term jobs.

“By any measure we’re high cost here and need to move,” Rauner said.

Rauner said the proposed sale has nothing to do with the state’s budget crisis or his “Turnaround Agenda” but simply represents good financial management.

He also said it’s not part of some larger plan to move more state jobs to Springfield.

The plan would need legislative approval, and the Republican governor said he’d spoken with House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton, both Chicago Democrats. He described them as open to the idea.

Steve Brown, spokesman for Madigan, said the speaker was aware the governor was announcing his plan and remains willing to listen.

That said, Brown added, there are questions still to be answered, including where workers would move to and to what ends the sale revenue and savings would be put.

Rauner said he’d also notified both Gov. James R. Thompson, for whom the center is named, and the building’s architect, Helmut Jahn.

Thompson, a Republican and the governor from 1977 to 1991, didn’t sound overjoyed about the idea in a short conversation with Illinois News Network.

“Well, as to Gov. Rauner’s proposal, I don’t have any comment because that’s up to him and the Legislature to determine the reason why deferred maintenance is so high,” Thompson said.

That maintenance was neglected during the administration of Gov. Pat Quinn, a Chicago Democrat in office from 2009 to 2015, Thompson said, “and that’s the problem.”

Quinn’s predecessor, Democrat Rod Blagojevich, at one time essentially proposed a complex mortgaging scheme for the building, but that plan fell through.

Gov. Rauner on Tuesday declined to characterize the aesthetics or architectural significance of the Thompson Center, instead telling the media, “I’ll leave that for you to discuss.”

Architect Helmut Jahn criticized the state for not maintaining the building and said it should be repurposed, not demolished.

The architect suggested the building’s restaurants and retail outlets be upgraded and part of the building be converted for round-the-clock uses including a hotel, apartments and condominiums.

“Architectural history is full of examples where such repurposing has brought new life to structures like this,” he said in a prepared statement. “The building will only survive this way, and will become a landmark for the 21st Century.”

James R. Thompson Center

Originally: State of Illinois Center
Renamed: In 1993 to honor James R. Thompson, governor from 1977 to 1991
Architect: Helmut Jahn
Built: 1979 to 1985
Cost: About $172 million
Size: 17 stories tall, 1,193,163 square feet
Location: 100 W. Randolph Street, Chicago. Occupies the block bounded by LaSalle, Randolph, Clark and Lake streets
Materials: Steel, pink and gray granite, concrete
Houses: About 2,200 employees from dozens of state agencies, plus shops and restaurants
Called: Everything from “visionary” and “a strong, powerful and important statement ” to “The Cash Register” and an “impractical monstrosity”

Rauner: Time to sell Thompson Center; Architect, former governor less than thrilled – Illinois News Network

Exelon Defers Retirements of 2 Illinois Nuclear Plants- Power Engineering

 

Exelon Defers Retirements of 2 Illinois Nuclear Plants

Sept. 10

Exelon Corp. (NYSE: EXC) said it plans to run the Quad Cities nuclear power plant through May 2018 and the Byron nuclear plant through May 2019.

The utility said all of its nuclear plants in the PJM market cleared the transition capacity auction for the 2017-18 planning year, and that it will defer any decisions about future operations of Quad Cities and Byron, which the companies considers economically challenged. The auction results take effect in June 2017. The decision to defer the retirements comes after analysis of the present and future economics of the plants, taking into consideration the constructive market trends from the PJM capacity auction reforms.

All of the nuclear plants have also cleared the transition capacity auction for the 2016-17 planning year, but Quad Cities, Oyster Creek and Three Mile Island nuclear plants did not clear the capacity auction for the 2018-19 planning year.

"The new market reforms help to recognize the unique value of always-on nuclear power, while preserving the reliability of our electric system," said Chris Crane, Exelon president and CEO. "However, these plants are long-lived assets with decades of useful life left, and today's decision is only a short-term reprieve. Policy reforms are still needed to level the playing field for all forms of clean energy and best position the state of Illinois to meet EPA's new carbon reduction rules."

Exelon said it plans to bid all of its eligible nuclear plants into the 2019-20 PJM capacity auction held next year. PJM holds a capacity auction each year to ensure enough power generating resources are available to meet demand in the region that covers 13 states and the District of Columbia.

The Nuclear Energy Institue (NEI) said in a release that, although the decision is temporary, it is a good step for the state.

"Although only a temporary reprieve, Exelon's decision is an enormous win for the state of Illinois. The Quad Cities and Byron nuclear stations employ almost 1,800 people directly, and are responsible for an additional 7,500 indirect jobs in the state," said Richard Myers, NEI's Vice President for Policy Development and Planning. "The two facilities produce $3.1 billion a year in total economic value for the state, according to an economic analysis conducted by NEI. In addition to this immense economic value, these nuclear energy facilities are essential if Illinois hopes to reduce its carbon emissions. Quad Cities and Byron produce 34.6 billion kilowatt-hours of carbon-free electricity every year-more than three times the state's entire production from renewable

NRC Issues White Finding for Entergy Nuclear Power Plant in Louisiana - Power Engineering