US Congress is taken thefirst stepsin drastically changing the way inventors patent their creations, overhauling the existing system for the first time in 60 years with a bill that will assist the marketing of new inventions and create jobs. The Obama administration, backed by a group of business groups and technology companies, aims to reduce the backlog in patent applications, streamline the process and reduce the cost of litigation as it moves the patent filing system to operate the same way it does in countries around the world....

Apple and HTC, among other mobile handset makers, may have lowered their chipset orders for the fourth quarter of the year,according to a report byDigiTimes. Citing its sources at Taiwan-based chipset manufacturers, the publication claims that handset makers are on track to achieve their target shipments in the ongoing quarter, but are wary enough of the current global economic conditions to have lowered their orders for the next one. The report goes on to say that HTC has lowered its internal shipment targets for mobile devices from 70 million for the current year to between 50 and 60 million units, and that Apple has also reduced orders for iPhone parts....

Bankrupt communications corporation Nortel has announced today that a consortium lead by Apple, Microsoft and RIM have purchased its 6,000 strong patent portfolio for a total of $4.5 billion. The auction, which began on Monday, concluded on Friday with all of Nortel’s remaining patents and patent applications bought by a group including ofApple, EMC, Ericsson, Microsoft, Research In Motion and Sony. As a result of the auction, each of the companies involved will now be able to incorporate Nortel’s former intellectual rights which cover wireless, 4G, data networking, optical, voice, Internet, semiconductor technologies....

Nokia has announced in apress releasethat the Finnish phone manufacturer and Apple have finally settled all of theirpatent disputesthat resulted in an agreement that withdraws all complaints filed by Nokia and Apple to the US International Trade Commission. The agreement entails a one-time payment, as well as the continued payment of royalties, payable by Apple to Nokia for the term of the agreement. The specific terms of the contract are confidential....

Apple and Nokia, along with Qualcomm and several other companies, are still weighing bids for InterDigital Inc in order to scoop up its trove of patents for wireless tech,reports Reuters. The company is up for sale and is proceeding with its auction. The news that Apple and Nokia are interested in the roughly 8,800 patents available from a purchase of InterDigital isn’t in itself all that surprising. Many have viewed the InterDigital auction as the next big patent hoarding battleground for some time now....