02/11, 1:40pm
Apple lawsuit vs Samsung expanded
An expansion upon what few details have been available from Apple's new Samsung lawsuit has suggested that it reaches more at the core of Android and less at Samsung's specific actions. Along with accusing Samsung of violating a newer unlock gesture patent than what was covered in Germany, a second patent for a "universal interface" for retrieving data appeared to Florian Mueller to accuse Samsung of violating Siri-style searches, where stitching together keywords presents just the immediately needed results. While Android on a base level doesn't do this, it would prevent Google from providing a narrower search method in Android.
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02/06, 4:50pm
Barnes and Noble may win Microsoft case after all
ITC staff lawyer Jeff Hsu in a discussion Monday said he would recommend to Administrative Law Judge Theodore Essex that Barnes & Noble hadn't violated the three patents at the heart of a Microsoft lawsuit. The recommendation isn't binding, but could be a strong clue as to the ruling Judge Essex may make on April 27.
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01/31, 6:10pm
ITC disagrees Microsoft abusing patents
The International Trade Commission gave an initial ruling Tuesday that Barnes & Noble couldn't bring its antitrust claims against Microsoft. An Administrative Law Judge granted Microsoft's motion to dismiss the claims that it was abusing patents to try and squeeze Android out of the market. Details of the full ruling were still unpublished, but the Office of Unfair Import Investigations had already hinted that Barnes & Noble wasn't passing legal muster on issues such as licensing, which isn't compulsory for Microsoft.
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01/29, 7:05pm
HTC may run afoul of patent after decision
An examination of a decision in a Chicago court in Apple's lawsuit versus Motorola could see most any Android device face inherent patent violations. Florian Mueller has noticed that Judge Richard Posner interpreted a realtime API (app programming interface) in such a way that Motorola and other Android supporters not only would be infringing on the technology, but wouldn't have an easy way around it. HTC had already been found violating the patent and could now see that definition enshrined in the courts.
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01/13, 6:20pm
Apple denied trade complaint versus Motorola
The International Trade Commission in a ruling (PDF) on Friday denied Apple's complaint against Motorola. Administrative Law Judge Theodore Essex didn't explain what the reason for the rejection had been in the case, which had accused Motorola of violating three patents mostly relating to touchscreens. The ruling is an initial one and will require final approval.
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01/11, 12:35pm
Microsoft reduces scope of complaint vs Nook
Microsoft has scaled back the reach of its dispute with Barnes & Noble has made a deal to streamline some of the case. A filing this week dropped one patent, for a browser loading status feature, from an International Trade Commission complaint against the Nook maker. Four other patents had some of their individual claims dropped.
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01/05, 7:35am
Apple manages tiny settlement to dodge Elan suit
Apple on Thursday opted to settle to end Elan's lawsuit over two multi-touch patents. Elan said Apple had paid a relatively small $5 million to avoid a final trial and a possible ban on iOS devices and Macs. The two would cross-license patents as part of the exchange, although it's not clear what Apple would give up in return.
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12/30, 7:05pm
Kodak SEC filing board loses third member
Kodak saw its hopes of bouncing back fade on Friday after it filed twice with the SEC to say three board members had resigned. Adam Clammer and Herald Chen were reported as having left on Tuesday, while Laura Tyson was now known to have left as of the Friday release. Neither release gave an indication as to the reasons for leaving.
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12/23, 2:55pm
Legal cases against 5 others continues
Rambus on Thursday said it had signed a patent license deal with Broadcom. In conjunction with the five-year agreement, the two companies have settled a legal battle that began last year when Rambus sued Broadcom and five other semiconductor makers of copying its memory technology as well peripheral connectivity technology. No other details of the agreement or settlement have been released.
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12/20, 5:35pm
ITC makes early ruling against Motorola
Microsoft achieved a key win as the ITC ruled in its favor in a complaint against Motorola. An early ruling from the trade agency found that some Motorola devices allegedly violate one of seven Microsoft patents. The Windows maker's deputy general counsel David Howard took the company's typical approach in a response, saying Microsoft was "pleased" and arguing that every Android device maker must pay royalties.
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12/19, 5:40pm
Apple wins definitively against HTC in ITC case
(Update: HTC statement) Apple scored a major coup Monday after the International Trade Commission ruled in favor of Apple in a repeatedly delayed decision as to whether HTC was violating Apple patents. An administrative law judge upheld the view that HTC was violating two claims. Some unnamed devices would be banned starting from April 19 to give times for carriers to switch to other hardware.
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12/16, 7:25pm
ITC finds enough to reexamine Apple exoneration
An administrative law judge at the International Trade Commission said on Friday that it would review one of the patent findings in its determination that Apple didn't violate HTC patents. The examination leaves the possibility that the agency could find Apple violating one of four patents HTC leveled in its countering dispute. It's not clear when the verdict will arrive.
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12/13, 11:00pm
ITC sets back Apple and HTC verdict one more week
A final ruling from the International Trade Commission was dealt a second, last-minute delay on Tuesday. HTC said that the final decision, already moved back to December 14, would now be held on December 19. No explanation was given for the setback.
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12/10, 2:05am
Apple has unusual Digitude pact on mobile patents
Apple may have been pressed into an unusual deal with a company to avoid a legal dispute. An ITC complaint (PDF) from Digitude Innovations, a company commonly seen as a patent troll through its lack of real products, is using two patents formerly owned by Apple as well as two more to push for royalties or a ban on Amazon, HTC, LG, Nokia, RIM, Samsung, and Sony. Although routed through Cliff Island, a shell company for Digitude's funding firm Altitude Capital Partners, a "Digitude-Apple" license document at the ITC confirms that Digitude had made the deal with Apple directly.
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12/09, 6:30pm
ITC agrees Nokia and Mosaid should give info
Barnes & Noble got an important win late this week after the ITC agreed (PDF) to make requests to Canada and Finland for evidence from patent holder Mosaid as well as Nokia. The calls would have Mosaid supply documents for its deal with Nokia through a letter rogatory, or a non-binding request to a foreign court. Nokia, meanwhile, would be asked for testimony from CEO Stephen Elop and other executives under the Hague Convention's Article 3, in which case the court wouldn't have much choice but to comply.
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12/08, 8:00pm
Bipartisan OPEN Act would target finance, not bans
A bipartisan bill (PDF) drafted by Democrat Senator Ron Wyden and Republican Congressman Darrell Issa could provide a potentially much less controversial alternative to the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). The Online Protection and Enforcement of Digital Trade Act, or OPEN, would use the ITC to investigate claims that sites are primarily for pirates. It could then make a cease-and-desist order and only then bring in the Department of Justice for an injunction, such as cutting off ad revenue and those processing income.
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12/05, 3:20pm
ITC gives HTC one-week reprieve in Apple case
The ITC has delayed its final ruling on Apple's win against HTC by a week. Originally slated for Tuesday, it's now understood to have been set back to December 14. No reason has been given for the shift.
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11/23, 8:50am
HTC admits S3 bought only for patent attack
HTC plans to "reevaluate" its buyout out S3 Graphics now that S3 has lost its ITC case against Apple, the smartphone designer said in a statement Wednesday. The brief response didn't give a likelihood but indirectly admitted that HTC had bought S3 solely on the basis of its interim patent win over Apple, which was just overturned this week. HTC had been prepared to spend $300 million.
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11/21, 6:10pm
ITC gives Apple huge win against S3
S3, and by extension HTC, was dealt a major blow on Monday after an Administrative Law Judge dismissed S3's initial ITC complaint. The ruling didn't explain the decision but completely rejected all of the claims across the four patents. An initial ruling had given two wins to S3 but has been overturned.
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11/18, 9:25pm
Graphics Properties Holdings claims video tech
The company resulting from the liquidation of once-giant workstation developer Silicon Graphics, Graphics Properties Holdings, hoped to profit from the work of the smartphone and TV industries after it quietly filed an International Trade Commission dispute late this week against key companies. It alleges that Apple, HTC, LG, RIM, Samsung, Sony, and Sony Ericsson are violating three patents for video technology. The patents appear to cover obvious technology, including floating point math to render the image, parcel instruction processing, and even widescreen LCD displays.
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11/10, 7:55pm
Microsoft wants to know Android scope in BN case
Another discovered document in Barnes & Noble's antitrust claims against Microsoft made to the Department of Justice has found that Microsoft is trying to build a defense by making Google provide details of its strategy. A motion to compel, dated October 4 but only found Thursday, would ask to get Google's vital business analysis for Android, including how it saw Microsoft's patent licensing scheme hurting Android, its current abilities as a PC platform, and how it saw Microsoft-made platforms like Windows Phone. Since Google led the Android Open Source Project, it would have to have opinions on Microsoft's impact, the motion read.
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11/07, 6:00pm
Kodak sells image sensors to Platinum Equity
Kodak late Monday sold off its Image Sensor Solutions group to merger and acquisitions giant Platinum Equity. The deal lets Kodak keep using the sensors for its cameras and high-end uses like satellites, but gives up a key factory and research plant in Kodak's home of Rochester, New York. Kodak made it clear that the selloff was to get it closer to being a strictly digital company.
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11/07, 9:50am
VirnetX tries to force cash settlement through ITC
VirnetX revealed on Monday that its latest lawsuit against Apple was being joined by a matching International Trade Commission dispute. The complaint touches on the same VPN-related patent used in the main lawsuit and which VirnetX has tried to wield against large parts of the technology industry. It hopes not just to ban future iPad, iPhone, iPod, and Mac sales but to stop all marketing and sales around whatever is currently in stores should it win.
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11/02, 6:50pm
Nintendo Wii cleared in initial ITC ruling
The US International Trade Commission gave Nintendo a respite late Wednesday after it defeated a patent violation claim by Motiva. An administrative law judge determined that the Wii didn't violate two of Motiva's patents for tracking movement through a controller. As with all ITC cases, the ruling is preliminary and will be reviewed by a Commission panel in March to decide if any of the verdict needs to be overturned.
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10/21, 1:45pm
Alternatives exist, ITC finds
The US International Trade Commission has dismissed public interest statements from Google and T-Mobile regarding a possible ban on HTC Android devices, reports say. In July HTC was ruled to be violating two Apple patents. The ITC is now reviewing that decision, and is scheduled to make a final decision on December 6th. The public is regularly invited to make statements on the potential damage of an import ban once a patent violation has been declared.
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10/17, 2:05pm
ITC sides with Apple on HTC's first complaint
HTC faced another setback in its attempts to counter Apple's legal campaign on Monday after the ITC denied its original patent counter complaint. Judge Charles Bullock determined that Apple hadn't violated four patents for basics such as phone dialing and energy management. The patents were valid, but Apple's iPads, iPhones, and iPods didn't violate them, Bullock ruled.
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10/07, 8:25pm
Google and T-Mobile oppose Apple ban on ITC gear
Both Google and T-Mobile attempted to stave off a possible ITC ban on HTC devices Friday with responses to the ITC's requests for input on Apple's win in the trade dispute before a December 6 hearing. T-Mobile wanted to deny a ban regardless of whether or not the ruling upheld infringement since it saw the loss of HTC's hardware as irreplaceable. Android buyers tended just to look for other Android devices, and Apple's suggestions of device picks as workarounds were disingenuous: it simply wanted to shut down competition from Android and suggested everything else that wasn't a similar threat, T-Mobile said.
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09/27, 6:50pm
ITC again agrees to investigate HTC vs Apple
The US International Trade Commission on Tuesday determined that it would look into the trade dispute accompanying HTC's latest lawsuit versus Apple. The agreement doesn't condemn Apple but does consider HTC's case serious enough to merit an investigation. If the ITC rules in favor of HTC, it could lead to bans primarily on iOS device sales.
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09/23, 5:50pm
S3 sues, files ITC gripes again versus Apple
S3 Graphics chose not to wait for the HTC acquisition to follow through to launch a second lawsuit and matching ITC dispute against Apple. The complaints, filed Thursday but publicized Friday, accuses Apple of violating patents both on a VGA graphics controller and on a rendering technique for 3D triangles. The lawsuit, submitted in a federal Delaware court, describes the scope as covering all iOS devices and Macs.
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09/02, 6:25pm
Apple says Rubin mimicked patented code in Android
Apple in a response to HTC's review request for a loss at the ITC directly accused Google's mobile VP Andy Rubin of poaching ideas for Android while he worked at Apple. During his tenure as an engineer at the company during the early 1990s, he supposedly worked under those who invented one of the real-time programming interfaces that HTC was accused of violating. The iPhone maker admitted it wasn't directly relevant to the review but said it was proof of HTC altering the truth, such as when it said that the underpinnings only ever began at General Magic or Danger, where he co-created the Sidekick.
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08/22, 3:35pm
Microsoft and Motorola formally launch
Microsoft on Monday formally launched into the ITC side of its patent dispute with Motorola. The trial will answer Microsoft's allegations that Motorola's Android hardware violates seven patents. If successful, the case would ban imports of key Android phones, although most of those named in the suit, like the Droid X and Backflip, are either discontinued or on their way out.
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08/17, 7:50pm
Motorola lawsuit won't outpace Microsoft at ITC
Motorola's attempt to countersue Microsoft and fend off Android attacks was dealt a large setback Wednesday when Microsoft was granted a motion (below) to transfer the lawsuit. The step takes the suit out of the Southern District of Florida, where the lawsuit would likely have gone quickly, to a Western District of Washington court. It followed a delay from October to March 2012 and now doesn't have a definite date at all.
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08/11, 3:00pm
Microsoft accused of leaking code in Motorola case
Google asked the ITC to punish Microsoft on Thursday for what could be a major breach of trade secrets. Microsoft allegedly leaked "highly confidential" Android source code to expert witness Dr. Robert Stevenson in its complaint against Motorola. Google noted that Stevenson had consulted for Microsoft as well as HP, raising the possibility that he could hand code over directly, not just to Microsoft's attorneys.
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08/09, 12:10am
Latest round in ongoing legal battle
The ongoing series of patent disputes involving HTC (who bought original complainant S3 Graphics) and Apple took yet another turn today as the International Trade Commission (ITC) agreed to review Apple's second patent-infringement complaint against the smartphone and tablet maker, which could result in a block of some current and future HTC products if Apple wins the review, Bloomberg reports.
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08/02, 12:45pm
ITC clears investigation into Apple vs Samsung
The ITC said Tuesday that it would look into Apple's patent complaint against Samsung. Its step determines that the complaint against Samsung's Android phones and tablets is valid enough to go ahead. Officials have 45 days to set an estimated date for the end of the case.
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07/27, 6:05pm
ITC will look into Samsung patent claims vs Apple
The International Trade Commission on Wednesday said it would investigate Samsung's complaint against Apple. Its decision determines that the claims are serious enough to verify. Officials will have to set an estimated date for a ruling within the next 45 days.
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07/26, 12:25pm
InterDigital uses ITC against Huawei, Nokia, ZTE
InterDigital momentarily overlooked its plans to sell itself on Tuesday and filed a complaint at the International Trade Commission against Huawei, Nokia, and ZTE. It claims that any devices the trio makes that use either WCDMA (HSPA) or CDMA2000 for 3G violates at least one of seven patents. Phones, tablets, portable routers, and other devices all qualify, the company said.
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07/26, 8:20am
HTC says talks on and off with Apple
HTC CFO Winston Yung mentioned on Tuesday that his company would be willing to talk a deal with Apple following a stalemate between the two. Following Apple's win at the ITC negating HTC's buyout of S3, Yung claimed HTC was willing to look at "all sorts of solutions" with Apple if they were "fair and reasonable." No formal talks had been held since the ITC ruling, but he told Bloomberg that negotiations had been frequent if irregular before.
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07/21, 11:40pm
Judge says 6b too much for Oracle-Google lawsuit
Judge William Alsup in a court hearing Thursday hinted that Oracle would have to scale back the multi-billion dollar damage claims against Google in its patent lawsuit over Android's use of Java. He argued that an attorney making "$700 an hour" had invented the damage amounts, which at their extreme end would hit $6 billion. He was equally frustrated with Oracle's rapidly shrinking claims as to what Google was actually infringing in Android's Java engine as it had started from 123 and was now likely to go below 25.
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07/18, 6:40pm
ITC maintains original ruling on Kodak innocence
The US International Trade Commission on Monday upheld an earlier ruling that said Kodak didn't violate Apple patents. Officials reached the decision sooner than the original September 19 deadline. Details of the ruling were still forthcoming but rejected the idea that Kodak's camera and imaging technology borrowed from Apple.
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07/15, 6:05pm
Apple gets partial win in ITC complaint vs HTC
Apple landed a crucial blow in its patent fight with HTC Friday when the ITC found that HTC had violated two Apple patents. The ruling on Apple's original complaint would block the import of infringing devices and would force it to take those devices off the market in the US. Most of those devices in the original dispute included older Android hardware like the Nexus One but also some Windows Mobile-era hardware.
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07/12, 8:35am
Apple loses key attorney as Samsung files motion
Apple may have faced two blows in its legal efforts on Tuesday. A leak has revealed that the company's chief counsel on patent issues, Richard Lutton Jr., is leaving. A tip to Reuters didn't explain why but confirmed that HP's previous deputy general counsel BJ Watrous had already been hired as a replacement.
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07/11, 9:55am
Apple looks to ITC for more blocks against HTC
(Update: device, patent details) Apple on Monday stepped up its conflict with HTC again on Monday by filing a new complaint with the International Trade Commission. The gripe follows the first complaint in alleging that multiple HTC devices violate its patents. An ITC complaint if successful would ban the hardware from sale.
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07/06, 5:20pm
Apple hits back at Samsung through ITC
(Update: devices, patents explained) Apple on Wednesday filed a complaint with the US International Trade Commission (ITC) over patent violations by Samsung devices. The dispute is a direct response to Samsung's ITC dispute and is expected to focus on Galaxy S and Galaxy Tab devices. A ruling that Samsung infringed patents could lead to the Android hardware being banned from import into the US.
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07/01, 8:00pm
Apple increasing summer iPad, iPhone panel orders
Apple on the verge of the Independence Day weekend asked a Northern District of California court for a preliminary ban on four of Samsung's most important Android devices in the US. The injunction request is the result of a successful exploration and would have the court halt US sales of the Droid Charge, Galaxy S 4G, Galaxy Tab 10.1, and Infuse 4G until the lawsuit is resolved. Apple picked four alleged violations that it said needed the ban, three of which focused on "electronic device" designs and a fourth for list scrolling and manipulating documents on a touchscreen.
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07/01, 11:10am
Samsung takes on Apple in US with patent lawsuit
Samsung escalated the war of words against Apple on Thursday with a formal lawsuit. The Delaware complaint followed just days after an ITC dispute and alleged that the iPad, iPhone, and iPod were copying "many of Samsung's innovations." The Korean company has already sued Apple outside of the US but largely avoided the country until this week.
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06/30, 5:50pm
ITC alters ruling vs Kodak's Apple, RIM complaint
The ITC on Thursday decided to mostly uphold a ruling from January that Apple and RIM didn't violate Kodak patents. It said it would "reverse" some aspects but also dismissed some of Kodak's views. The commission believed the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 didn't "literally" violate a patent for taking photos while previewing moving footage and that Kodak would have to argue on a doctrine of equivalents.
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06/29, 10:15am
Samsung ITC complaint steps up heat
A brief notice from Samsung has seen it escalate its legal responses to Apple by filing a complaint with the International Trade Commission (ITC). The company claims that the iPad and iPhone infringe on patents and is hoping to block imports of the devices into the US. More details of the complaint are unavailable.
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06/23, 7:20pm
ITC pushes Kodak view on Apple and RIM to June 30
The ITC on Thursday postponed its decision on Kodak's loss to Apple and RIM in a patent infringement complaint. The US agency was to have said whether a second look found Apple and RIM violating image preview patents but has instead put off that decision to June 30. No reason was given for the setback.
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05/26, 11:10pm
Nokia has ITC review two patent issues
Nokia won a minor reprieve Thursday after the US International Trade Commission agreed to review two of the five patent claims against Apple that were tossed out in March. The patents would be reexamined to verify the meanings of particular terms. Nokia is hoping to bring the two patents back into play and use a threatened ITC ban of related Apple products to force a settlement of a matching lawsuit.
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