Apple Tried to Catch Red on Vague Patents—and Lost

posted in: All News | 0

Red Digital Cinema appears to be the winner in a months-long patent spat with Apple over its RAW video codec. Apple claimed in its challenge that Red shouldn’t have been able to patent its RedCode Raw codec in the first place. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ultimately didn’t agree.

To rewind a bit, the Apple–Red dispute dealt with capturing RAW video. Specifically, Apple contended that Red’s patent was overly vague when it should have been super detailed because it was cribbed from two other existing patents. One dealt with how to capture lossless RAW video at 2K and 4K resolutions; the other had to do with video compression. Following that logic, Apple argued that anyone with a basic understanding of this tech would be able to figure out how it all works, thereby making Red’s tech “unpatentable.”

If that seems petty, there were also some other dynamics at play. Red had previously taken Sony and Blackmagic to court over patents and royalties, and the company itself has a reputation for being litigious. It’s not clear what made Apple file its claim, but it’s possible Red got in the way of Apple’s plans for its own Pro Res Raw format. Not that it ultimately mattered.

In its final ruling, the USPTO noted Apple had “not shown a reasonable likelihood that it would prevail in showing that any challenged claim is unpatentable.” Overall, it seems the agency took issue with how Apple presented its case. In the conclusion, the USPTO says Apple played fast and loose with its definitions and references, leading to “multiple contradictory interpretations” of its assertion that Red’s tech was obvious and, therefore, unpatentable. It also noted Apple’s challenge failed to account for “all limitations or lacks adequate reasoning.”

Source: Apple Tried to Flex on Red Over RAW Video Codecs and Failed