According to Photography Bay, Canon USA has filed an amended complaint against F&E Trading (BigValueInc, Electronic Valley & Others).</p>
<p>Photography Bay explains the amended complaint:</p>
<blockquote><p>In its Amended Complaint, Canon USA doesn’t really add on any additional egregious actions, but rather takes aim at pinning the alleged misconduct on Albert Houllou, who appears to be the principal owner/operator of F & E Trading.</p>
<p>As someone who used to practice corporate law, I can tell you that it is always a big win to get an individual (typically an owner or executive) on the hook for the wrongdoing (aka “piercing the corporate veil”). This allows the plaintiff (<em>e.g.</em>, Canon USA) to hold a person (not just a company) personally liable for the wrongdoing. If you can get at a person’s assets, then you can apply a whole lot more pressure in settlement negotiations or drive them into bankruptcy.</p></blockquote>
<p>According to Photography Bay, the following YouTube video is being cited by Canon USA as proof that Albert Houllou is the controlling party for all of the companies’ actions.</p>
<p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/i1i-R563tdg" width="728" height="409" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p><a href="http://www.photographybay.com/2015/12/06/canon-v-gray-market-retailers-lawsuits-update/" target="_blank">Read the full breakdown</a> and view the amended complaint at Photography Bay.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.northlight-images.co.uk/cameras/Canon_rumours.html" target="_blank">Northlight Images</a> has posted 3 more patents and a simple breakdown of each.</p>
<p>From Northlight:</p>
<ul>
<li>Patent shows more tricks you can do with split pixels for AF [<a href="http://pdfpiw.uspto.gov/.piw?PageNum=0&docid=09204067">USPTO</a>]</li>
<li>Patent about dividing longer exposures into shorter ones and adding them together [<a href="http://pdfpiw.uspto.gov/.piw?Docid=09204055">USPTO</a>]</li>
<li>Patent about moving the sensor micro lens array forwards/backwards to match up with main lens [<a href="http://pdfpiw.uspto.gov/.piw?Docid=09201289">USPTO</a>]</li>
</ul>
<p>We all expect the next generation of full frame Canon sensors to be a big leap forward in performance. In our opinion, Canon has no other choice.</p>

<strong>Tokyo, Japan, December 4th, 2015</strong> — Based on the memorandum of understanding entered into between Sony Corporation (“Sony”) and Toshiba Corporation (“Toshiba”) on October 28, 2015, the parties today announced that they have signed definitive agreements to transfer to Sony and to Sony Semiconductor Corporation (“SCK”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony, certain Toshiba-owned semiconductor fabrication facilities, equipment and related assets in its Oita Operations facility, as well as other related equipment and assets owned by Toshiba (the “Transfer”).</p>
<p>Under the agreements, Toshiba will transfer semiconductor fabrication facilities, equipment and related assets of Toshiba’s 300mm wafer production line, mainly located at its Oita Operations facility. The purchase price of the Transfer is 19 billion yen. Sony and Toshiba aim to complete the Transfer within the fiscal year ending March 31, 2016, subject to any required regulatory approvals.</p>
<p>Following the Transfer, Sony and SCK plan to operate the semiconductor fabrication facilities as fabrication facilities of SCK, primarily for manufacturing CMOS image sensors.</p>
<p>The parties expect to offer the employees of Toshiba and its affiliates employed at the fabrication facilities to be transferred, as well as certain employees involved in areas such as CMOS image sensor engineering and design (approximately 1,100 employees in total), employment within the Sony Group, upon the completion of the Transfer.</p>
<p><strong>Outline of 300mm wafer fabrication facilities, Toshiba Oita Operations</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Building completion: February, 2004</li>
<li>Location: 3500 Oaza Matsuoka, Oita City, Oita Prefecture, Japan</li>
<li>Building area: 24,100 m2</li>
<li>Total floor space: 48,800 m2</li>
<li>Main products: CMOS image sensors, memory controllers</li>
</ul>

<p><a href="http://www.northlight-images.co.uk/cameras/Canon_rumours.html" target="_blank">Northlight Images</a> breaks down a sensor patent from Canon that shows a way to subdivide high and low sensitivity pixels.</p>
<blockquote><p>Echoing a Nikon patent from November last year (7th) Canon look at ways of subdividing pixels into high and low sensitivity sub pixels or even high/medium/low triplets</p>
<p>“Variations of this approach have been tried by numerous manufacturers, going back to Fuji nearly 10 years ago. Designing the pixels is one thing, making all the rest of the circuitry to process the information for every pixel has been slower to appear.”</p></blockquote>
<p>I suspect we’re going to see new sensor tech to improve sensitivity performance in the upcoming EOS-1D X Mark II and EOS 5D Mark IV. There is probably going to be a lot more sensor tech patents showing up over the new few months as the cameras get closer to launch.</p>