Intellectual Ventures is suing a group of companies for patent infringement. Companies being sued include Acer, Adata Technology, Asustek Computer, Best Buy, Dell, Elpida Memory, Hewlett Packard, Hynix Semiconductor, Kingston Technology, Logitech International, Pantech and Wal-Mart. According to TechCrunch, the patents deal with memory technology and methods.

Intellectual Ventures is a company known for applying for tons of patents. They make a lot of money from forcing companies into paying them for royalties. It turns out that Intellectual Ventures made $700 million in 2010 licensing revenue or $2 billion total to date. Intellectual Ventures was started by former Microsoft CTO Nathan Myhrvold. Some people believe that Intellectual Ventures is a patent troll, but if you have read Superfreakonomics, you will learn that the company is involved in creating some useful inventions. [TechFlash]

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and former CTO Nathan Myhrvold are credited for the invention of a “temperature-stabilized storage container” used for storing and transporting “water or flavored water, dairy product or fruit juice, carbonated soda, wine, beer, or distilled spirits.”  This type of container “may store a beverage such as beer, for example, at a temperature appropriate for serving depending upon the type of beer.”

Looks like Bill and Nate are putting their geekiness to good use here.  The high-tech keg would also have an electronic display that shows the temperature using transmitters and sensors.  If the patent is granted, then it would become intellectual property of Searete LLC.  Searete is tied to Intellectual Ventures, a Bellevue-based company run by Myhrvold.  Gates and Myhrvold meet fairly often to come up with different ideas.

Whoever thought that Bill Gates wasn’t hip may have a different opinion of him now.  Personally I’d like to see an advanced keg like this start becoming available at higher learning institutes.  That way in about 20 years from now, I can look at my kids and college and tell them how our kegs were made only out of metal and a tube and that is all we needed.

[via TechFlash]