patents

As far as java sippers go, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters is hot. They love its Keurig single-cup brewers and K-cups. Investors see a different company entirely, and the outlook for that one appears bitter.

AOL said Monday that it would sell 800 patents and their related applications to Microsoft and grant it a license for its remaining patents for a total about $1.06 billion in cash. AOL plans to return some of the proceeds to its shareholders.

Photography icon Eastman Kodak has filed for bankruptcy, as it seeks to boost its cash position and stay in business. The move comes as the ailing company has failed to find a buyer for its multibillion-dollar trove of digital imaging patents.

Pharmaceuticals are facing big patent cliff problems this year, but several biotechnology stocks have been doing quite well: Their biologic drugs command high prices, tend become blockbusters, and they are in far less danger from generic competition. Here are the big winners so far this year.

In an update Tuesday, Pfizer said it is discontinuing 15 of the projects in its development pipeline. The news comes a month after the world's largest pharmaceutical company announced large research and development cuts were on the way.

It seems that months of merger talks between French pharma Sanofi-Aventis and U.S. biotech Genzyme have entered the home stretch. This week, Sanofi is expected to offer $74 a share for Genzyme, with an option included potentially worth $5 to $6 a share.

Pfizer reported fourth-quarter earnings on Tuesday that nearly quadrupled from a year ago as revenue rose 6%. But it also lowered its sales guidance for 2012, due to some of its bestselling drugs going off patent. What's ahead for the world's biggest drugmaker:

In a complaint to the U.S. International Trade Commission, Sony has accused rival LG Electronics of infringing on seven of its patents, including one for photo-based caller ID technology.

Social-networking giant Facebook made a bit of progress in its five-year effort to trademark the world "face," at least when used in things like online chat rooms and social-networking efforts. The company received what's called a "notice of allowance," which means a decision could be coming in as little as six months.

In the latest round of a fight between two technology giants, Motorola punched back at Microsoft Wednesday with a patent infringement lawsuit. Its subsidiary, Motorola Mobility, filed 16 infringement claims against the software giant over its Windows mobile software, as well as its PC and server software and Xbox products.