Apple

German court dismisses $2 billion patent troll suit against Apple

Cody Lee ∙ February 28, 2014

Earlier this month it was reported that Apple was getting sued for over $2 billion by known patent troll IPCom. The german company alleged that the iPad-maker violated one of its patents pertaining to priority access to channels for emergency responder.

But it doesn't look like the suit will ever make it to trial. FOSS Patents is reporting that in a string of rulings handed down by the Mannheim Regional Court in Germany today, two of IPCom's suits against Apple and one against HTC have been dismissed...

Apple top target for patent trolls, sued 92 times in 3 years

Cody Lee ∙ Updated February 6, 2016

Apple has taken much criticism over the years for its patent litigation efforts, for going after Samsung, Motorola and other companies for violating its intellectual property. But what many don't know is that the iPad-maker defends itself against just as many lawsuits.

In fact, according to some recently filed FTC documents, Apple has been litigated against by PAEs (or Patent Assertion Entity, commonly known as a patent troll) 92 times during the past 3 years. And that's just the number of cases that actually made it to a courtroom...

German patent troll hits Apple with $2+ billion claim over standards-essential patent

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated December 24, 2017

Apple and its billions are definitely the favorite target of patent trolls around the world and this newest case just exemplifies the fact. IPCom GmbH, a German patent holding firm, is suing Apple for patent infringement and is seeking north of $2 billion in damages over the use of a standards-essential wireless patent pertaining to an emergency service standard.

The use of the emergency service standard is required by law in many countries around the world! A trial in this case is scheduled for Tuesday, February 11, before Germany's Mannheim Regional Court...

University of Wisconsin takes Apple to court over A7’s performance-enhancing tricks

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 3, 2014

The University of Wisconsin via its patent-licensing arm, the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, has filed a lawsuit against Apple alleging the company's in-house designed A7 chip infringes the foundation's patent designed to improve "the efficiency and performance of contemporary computer processors" by introducing a new process for allowing quicker execution of processor instructions.

It's been reported Monday that Apple's 64-bit A7 chip, which acts as the primary engine driving the iPhone 5s, the iPad Air and the iPad mini with Retina display, apparently uses this technology without permission...

VirnetX files motion to add Apple’s newest products to latest infringement suit

Cody Lee ∙ January 14, 2014

VirnetX announced today that it will attempt to add Apple's most recent slate of products—including the iPhone 5s and iPad Air—to its ongoing patent infringement suit against the company. It filed the motion this morning in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.

For those unfamiliar with VirnetX, it's a well-known patent holding firm that won in upwards of $400 million in damages from Apple in a case involving the FaceTime feature last year. Apple has since changed the feature to avoid further infringement, but apparently not enough...

The Apple-Nokia patent deal is expiring December 31, 2016

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 13, 2014

You may remember that back in June 2011 Apple lost a patent infringement case that the Finnish handset maker Nokia had filed against the Cupertino company, resulting in an undisclosed one-time payment and ongoing royalties to Nokia for use of their patents. The Nokia CEO Stephen Elop was “very pleased” to have Apple join Nokia licensees.

However, the essentials of the contract have for the most part remained confidential. Today, we get to learn more about the terms of the deal as Samsung told a U.S. court that the patent pact is expiring on December 31, 2016...

Apple, Samsung CEOs agree to mediation ahead of patent trial

Cody Lee ∙ January 8, 2014

According to new paperwork filed earlier this afternoon, Apple and Samsung have agreed to attend a mediation session next month ahead of their second major US patent trial, which is slated to begin on March 31.

The meeting is to take place on or before February 19, and is to be attended by Tim Cook, Samsung's Oh-Hyun Kwon and their respective in-house lawyers. And they will attempt to discuss settlement opportunities...

Apple and Samsung again discussing patent dispute settlement

Cody Lee ∙ December 30, 2013

Apple and Samsung are said to again be conferring over a possible settlement to their years-long patent dispute. According to a new report, the two companies are in "working level discussions" regarding a potential deal.

There are still major obstacles though, and the two firms have a lot of work to do in terms of narrowing their differences over royalty fees and patent access. Apple, for example, wants Samsung to pay up to $30 per device...

Court denies Samsung’s motion to stay damages in Apple patent retrial

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 26, 2013

As you know, in a retrial last week a jury of six women and two men determined that Samsung owes Apple $290 million for lifting patented iPhone technologies, bringing the total amount of damages to $929 million versus the original $1.05 billion ruling. The South Korean Galaxy maker has immediately filed a motion to delay the payout on the grounds of reevaluation of the validity of the Apple patent No. 7,844,915, which covers the famous pinch-to-zoom gesture.

The presiding Judge Lucy Koh denied Samsung motion's last night as she appeared concerned about the potential implications of such ruling, including whether granting a stay would unethically favor Apple...

The verdict is in: Samsung must pay Apple an additional $290 million

Cody Lee ∙ November 21, 2013

The verdict is in folks. After just a few days of deliberation, a jury of six women and two men reached a conclusion for the retrial between Apple and Samsung over damages, and it's ruled in favor of the iPad-maker. Samsung must pay Apple $290 million.

This is in addition to the damages awarded in the original trial last fall, bringing the total amount Samsung owes up to $890 million. So essentially, Apple won back most of the damages that Judge Koh cut in March after finding the initial verdict flawed...

Appeals court gives Apple another chance to ban Samsung devices

Cody Lee ∙ November 18, 2013

The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has vacated Judge Lucy Koh's earlier denial of Apple's request to ban 26 Samsung devices that infringed on its patent. The move will give Apple another chance to permanently halt the sales of these devices in the US.

Now the issue will be sent back to Koh's court, where Apple's lawyers will no longer have to prove that the patented features in Samsung's products were the sole reason for driving sales, but only that there is some connection between the features and demand for Samsung devices...

Phil Schiller says iPhone was a ‘bet the company’ product

Cody Lee ∙ November 15, 2013

As the Apple v. Samsung trial to recalculate the damages Samsung owes continues, Phil Schiller took the stand yesterday. Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing was called up to speak with just 11 minutes left in the session.

But that still proved enough time for Schiller to dish out some interesting details about his role at Apple, and its early days of iPhone development. He said around 100 people worked on what was referred to as the 'bet the company' product...