Get the Picture? Patent intimidation.

• Author: Taylor, Jeff
• Position: Citings - Brief article

BACK IN mid-2006--an epoch ago in the consumer electronics field--Toshiba and Canon wowed the trade show circuit with a next-generation flat-panel TV. Turning to old cathode-ray tube technology for low power consumption and inky, cinema-like blacks at low light levels, the sets were expected to replace both plasma and LCD screens in the near future. Then America's convoluted intellectual property regime kicked into action.

Nano-Proprietary, a tiny Austin company with 35 employees and just over $1 million in 2006 revenue, sued Canon for breach of contract. The Texas court sided with Nano in February: Canon had licensed one of Nano's many patents in the sketchy field of "carbon nano-tubes" and the court held that Canon couldn't go into business with Toshiba to produce screens using that technology. Meanwhile, Nano found a component manufacturer in Taiwan and is trying to produce its own sets while turning down a new licensing deal with Canon/ Toshiba.

The...