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The US Congress has voted on thepatent reform billthat has been in development with the support of major corporations, and has been passed. The bill, which makes some major overhauls to the patent system in the US, was voted in at 304 to 117. The bill means that those who first submit an application gets the patent, instead of the first to invent. It also ensures that the Patent and Trademark Office keeps more of the revenue from inventor’s fees with which to fund itself....

Anew surveytaken by PriceGrabber highlights how far Windows Phone has yet to go before it can be considered a leading mobile operating system. When US consumers were polled, only 7% indicated that phones running Microsoft software were their preference. Apple products stormed the results, snagging 48% of the pie, while Android counted for 19% of consumer preference. However, there was a gleam of light for Microsoft’s products: They now beat BlackBerry in the eyes of smart phone shoppers....

It seems like we’ve heard this story before, but apparently the FTC wasn’t listening. Google was served, some six weeks ago, with subpoenas but nobody really knew why. Now, according toThe Wall Street Journal, we get some insight and it appears that the focus of the investigation is on Google’s actions with Android and Web search. The questions that arise surround whether Google is preventing smartphone manufacturers from using competing products when they license Android....

Google has been given clearance by the US Department of Justice (DoJ) to move ahead with its $900 million opening bid for a number of technology patents that will be auctioned next week by telecommunications company Nortel Networks Corp.,the Wall Street Journal reports. According to sources familiar with the matter, the DoJ concluded that Google’s ownership of the patents would not raise “any major competitive concerns”, giving the company an advantage over its rivals in its bid for the patents which could help it fight future patent litigation....

In a decision that Google is sure to celebrate, the US Government today decided to consider its Apps product alongside of Microsoft’s productivity tools for a coming contract. Google dropped its lawsuit over the matter as a result. The contract, which amounts to nearly 50 million dollars, is a flash point between the two giants, as they spar for space in the enterprise and government sectors. Google’s Apps suite is an up and coming tool, while Microsoft’s products are what might be called the ‘default’ option....