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Today’s topics include the FAA’s ban on drone operations over large swaths of the U.S., Qualcomm’s patent license deals with three Chinese companies, Samsung’s new bio-processor for health wearables and Cisco’s appeals court win in a WIFI technology patent lawsuit.
Drone operations of all types, including unmanned aircraft systems used for commercial, hobby and recreational purposes, have been banned in large areas of the United States under a new interpretation of Federal Aviation Administration rules.
While an Advisory Circular issued by the FAA in September announced the rules, the agency only made clear that no-fly restrictions now applied where the rules previously allowed flights under 400 feet above ground level and more than five miles from airports.
Qualcomm’s complicated relationship with China continues to evolve as the mobile chip maker announced several patent licensing deals with tech companies inside the country this week.
Qualcomm officials disclosed on Dec. 29 that the company signed 3G and 4G patent license agreements with China-based companies Beijing Tianyu Communications Equipment Co. and Haier, which makes consumer appliances.
Those announcements came a day after the chip maker said that QiKu Internet Network Scientific Co. signed a similar agreement.
Samsung Electronics is rolling out a tiny chip packed with heath- and fitness-monitoring technologies. Company officials say the chip will begin appearing in a range of wearable devices in the first half of 2016.
The Bio-Processor is designed for health-oriented wearable devices and enables these devices to monitor the wearer’s heart rate, as well as skin temperature, body fat, and heart rhythm, among other health metrics.
Cisco Systems got some good holiday-season news this week when a federal appeals court threw out a $64 million judgment against it in a patent-infringement lawsuit.
The case has been moving through the system for eight years and even reached the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this year. On Dec. 28, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled that a 2011 jury verdict against Cisco was not supported by the evidence brought by Texas-based Commil USA.
The company contended that networking giant, Cisco, infringed on a WiFi patent that helps expand wireless signals over a large area and that requires multiple access points.
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