The Chronograph of Inventions

March 10

  • In 1891, Almon B. Strowger was issued a U.S. patent for his electromechanical switch to automate a telephone exchange. Strowger did not invent the idea of automatic switching (it was first invented in 1879 by Connolly and McTigthe) but Strowger was the first to put it to effective use.

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  • 03.02.2010 - LG, Funai Settle Patent Fight Over U.S. Television Imports

    LG Electronics Inc., the South Korean maker of DVD players, mobile phones and washing machines, is dropping its bid to block U.S. imports of televisions by Funai Electric Co.

    The two companies reached a settlement of “all relevant disputes” over patented inventions, they said in a joint filing yesterday with the U.S. International Trade Commission in Washington. A companion civil suit pending in federal court in Texarkana, Texas, also will be dismissed. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.

    LG, based in Seoul, filed complaints last year accusing Funai of infringing its patents related to a flat panel control system, a way to control television receivers and a method of displaying an on-screen program guide. The ITC complaint sought to prevent Funai products from entering the U.S., while the civil suit asked for cash and an order to block sales.

    The complaints targeted the Sylvania televisions and TVs with the Philips brand sold by a unit of Osaka, Japan-based Funai. LG is still pursuing claims against another TV maker, closely held Vizio Inc., before the trade body.

    Terms of the settlement are confidential, said LG lawyer Michael McKeon of Fish & Richardson in Washington and Funai lawyer Lewis Leibowitz of Hogan & Hartson in Washington.

    The lawsuit is LG Electronics Inc. v. Funai Electric Co., 09cv114, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas (Texarkana). The ITC case is In the Matter of Video Displays, 337-687, U.S. International Trade Commission in Washington.

    BusinessWeek