Tech News : Patent troll sues Apple, Google, and most of the tech universe

NTP Inc., a patent holding company that shook up the tech world several years ago by extracting a pricey legal settlement from BlackBerry maker Research in Motion, announced Friday it had launched a fresh barrage of patent infringement lawsuits against the tech world's leading lights.

The Richmond, Va.-based firm filed lawsuits late Thursday against Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500), Google (GOOG, Fortune 500), HTC, LG Electronics, Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) and Motorola (MOT, Fortune 500) for alleged infringements of eight NTP patents related to wireless e-mail delivery.

"The filing of suit today is necessary to ensure that those companies who are infringing NTP's patents will be required to pay a licensing fee," NTP cofounder Donald Stout said in a prepared statement. The lawsuits were filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

A Google spokesman declined to comment on the lawsuit, saying the company had not yet been served papers. Representatives from Microsoft and HTC also had no comment, while the other three smart phone companies targeted by NTP did not return calls.

NTP is best known for its patent battle against Research in Motion (RIMM), which ended in 2006 when RIM agreed to pay $613 million to settle the charges. In return, RIM received a license allowing it to use patented NTP technology in all of RIM's current and future products. In 2007, NTP sued AT&T, Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile, and Verizon Wireless for similar infringements. Those cases are still pending.

RIM's stock closed almost 8% higher Friday. Google shares finished the day up 2% and Apple's stock rose slightly, while shares of Microsoft and Motorola ended modestly down.

The lawsuits highlight a problem often cited by critics of current U.S. patent policy: Companies are allowed to collect patents for inventions they never plan to manufacture. Those companies, often referred to as "patent trolls," can then opportunistically sue alleged infringers.

A Senate bill is in the works to bring changes to the U.S. Patent Office, including a transition to a "first-to-file" system rather than a "first-to-invent" approach. The United States is the only major country that gives patents to those who can prove they invented an item before someone else's patent was filed. To top of page

travel : Solar-powered plane completes 26-hour flight

A solar-powered aircraft, which a team hopes will one day circle the globe, completed a 26-hour test flight in Switzerland at 9 a.m. (3 a.m. ET) Thursday.

Solar Impulse took off shortly before 7 a.m. Wednesday from an airfield in Payerne, 80 miles northeast of Geneva.

The plane was piloted by Andre Borschberg, who flew to a height of nearly 28,000 feet (8,500 meters).

"I've been a pilot for 40 years now, but this flight has been the most incredible one of my flying career," Borschberg said, according to the New York Times.

"Just sitting there and watching the battery charge level rise and rise thanks to the sun. I have just flown more than 26 hours without using a drop of fuel and without causing any pollution."

During the evening, the plane slowly descended to an altitude of 4,500 feet (1,500 meters), where it remained for the rest of the night using battery power. An hour before dawn, the plane still had six hours of flying time left in its solar-fueled batteries.

Solar Impulse has a wingspan of more than 206 feet (63 meters) -- the same as an Airbus A340 -- and is nearly 72 feet (22 meters) long. It weighs about 3,500 pounds (1,600 kilograms) and has nearly 12,000 solar cells attached to its wings and horizontal stabilizers.

The plane is equipped with four electric engines and has a top speed of about 43 miles (70 kilometers) per hour.

"The goal of the project is to have a solar-powered plane flying day and night without fuel," said the co-founder of the project, Bertrand Piccard.

The Swiss adventurer, who piloted the first nonstop balloon flight around the world in 1999 in the Breitling Orbiter III, said the test flight was "crucial for the credibility of the project."

The challenge to fly a solar plane around the world was announced in 2003.

With the success of the test flight, a second airplane will be designed to fly much farther next year, with the aim of flying across continents and the Atlantic Ocean.

In 2012, the team hopes to fly Solar Impulse around the world in five stages.

Hot Games : 12 hot video games for a hot summer

Summer is a great time to barbecue, hit the beach or get out and explore the town. But for gamers it's often a huge disappointment, as the flow of new releases generally slows to a trickle.

Mercifully, software publishers are beginning to wise up and use the slower months to issue an increasing number of promising but less high-profile releases that may otherwise have slipped beneath the radar.

The following are among my top picks for the season -- sure to keep you happy while others fret about trivialities like fresh air and exercise.

Xbox 360 owners can spare themselves the trouble of getting off the couch and download selections, like these three, from Xbox Live Arcade.

Due out July 28, Konami's "Castlevania: Harmony of Despair" is a classic, 2-D monster mash that combines elements of platform-hopping and adventure to atmospheric effect.

"Hydro Thunder Hurricane," is a sequel to the blistering arcade speedboat racer that sees multiple wheelmen competing to cross the finish line. It even allows multiple players to tag-team the adventure.

Completing a trifecta of notable, multiplayer-ready sequels, "Tomb Raider" spin-off "Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light" (PC and PlayStation Network versions are available, too.) also lets you explore, do battle and solve puzzles in the company of friends -- no sleepovers required.

On the retail front, be sure to check out "Madden NFL 11" for PS2, PS3, PSP, Xbox 360 and Wii. The latest installment in the football franchise streamlines decision-making and play-calling, making for a faster, more engaging virtual gridiron experience.

Spy thriller "Alpha Protocol" will also satisfy PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 fans' inner Jack Bauer, combining exotic settings, in-depth character customization and detailed stat-crunching with atmospheric espionage.

Sci-fi fans should also have a look at "Transformers: War for Cybertron" on the PC and all major console platforms. It's predictable, but delves deeper into the Autobots' and Decepticons' origins. Freeform blaster "Crackdown 2" for the Xbox 360 is sure to make you feel positively superhuman, too, leaping tall buildings and annihilating adversaries as a futuristic lawman.

Golden age mob yarn "Mafia II" for PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 further makes an offer you can't refuse, offering open-ended adventures in the vein of underworld classics like "Goodfellas."

Handheld gaming enthusiasts also have it good thanks to titles like "Puzzle Quest 2" for the Nintendo DS and DSi, which blends fantasy role-playing and casual mindbenders together in a surprisingly addictive medieval epic.

Creepy DS first-person survival horror outing "Dementium II" will additionally have you on the edge of your car or plane seat as well. While the PlayStation Portable's lineup is noticeably more anemic, military-themed stealth action offering "Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker" successfully shoots to thrill. Demonic role-player "Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Portable" should be on every fan of Japanese imports' list to boot.

So, maybe summer can't compete with the holidays in terms of sheer volume of games. But never fear -- the gaming season is still bound to be hot.

Discover an Amateur unearths 52,000 Roman coins worth $1m

An amateur treasure hunter armed with a metal detector has found over 52,000 Roman coins worth $1 million buried in field, one of the largest ever such finds in the UK, said the British Museum.

Dave Crisp, a hospital chef, came across the buried treasure while searching for "metal objects" in a field near Frome, Somerset in southwestern England.

Initially, Crisp found 21 coins, but when he unearthed the pot, he knew he needed archaeological help to excavate them.

The hoard contains 766 coins bearing an image of the Roman general Marcus Aurelius Carausius, who ruled Britain independently from AD 286 to AD 293 and was the first Roman emperor to strike coins in Britain.


Somerset County Council archaeologists excavated the pot -- a type of container normally used for storing food -- it weighed 160kg (350 pounds) and contained 52,500 coins.

The hoard was transferred to the British Museum in London where the coins were cleaned and recorded.

The coins date from AD 253 to 293 and most of them are made of debased silver or bronze.

Roger Bland, Head of Portable Antiquities and Treasure at the British Museum, told CNN: "Dave [Crisp] did the right thing, he didn't try to dig it all out. This is the largest ever find in a single pot and the second largest ever [in the UK].

"We think that whoever buried it didn't intend to come back to recover it. We can only guess why people buried treasure, some buried savings, others because they feared an invasion, perhaps this was an offering to the Gods."

Bland said the coins were probably worth about $1 million.

Dave Crisp, from Devizes in Wiltshire, told CNN: "At the time when I actually found the pot I didn't know what size it was but when the archaeologists came and started to uncover it, I was gobsmacked, I thought 'hell, this is massive.'"

Crisp, who describes himself as a "metal detectorist," unearthed the pot in April, although the discovery was officially announced on Thursday. Crisp told CNN he would have to split the value of the find with the farmer who owns the field in which he discovered the treasure.

Somerset Coroner Tony Williams is scheduled to hold an inquest on July 22 to formally determine whether the find is subject to the Treasure Act 1996. This would help towards determining a value of the hoard should any individual or organization want to buy it.