China iPad sales up 80 percent on ProView deal

By Christian Zibreg on Nov 16, 2012

Following the successful trademark dispute resolution with ProView over the iPad moniker, Apple’s tablet sales in the 1.33 billion people market surged 80 percent, a new survey has it. Apple, as you know, back in July ended its legal spat with China’s bankrupt monitor maker by paying $60 million in exchange for ownership of the iPad name in China.

That deal has paved the way for the July 20 iPad launch in the country. According to an IDC research note issued Friday, iPad shipments in China nearly doubled following that deal.

An estimated 2.07 million units of the iPad were sold in China during the third quarter of this year versus the 1.15 million shipments in the previous quarter. Lenovo is a distant second with 278,000 tablet shipments. Samsung? It’s ranked as third with only 143,000 units moved… Read More

 

Samsung gathering 200 execs to talk biz and Apple litigation strategy

By Christian Zibreg on Nov 15, 2012

A report out Thursday from Korean news organization The Chosun Ilbo has it that some two hundred Samsung executives are scheduled to meet with Samsung’s top dogs in December. Corporate matters will be on the agenda, including that long-standing patent dispute with Apple which has poisoned business relationship between the two consumer electronics giants to the point of no return.

The report also mentions that Samsung recently fired its vice president in charge of matters relating to Apple, another indication that Samsung’s litigation strategy concerning Apple is about to change. The same news organization earlier in the week asserted that Samsung instituted a massive chip price hike that analysts feared could hurt Apple’s margins, but the story was debunked the following day by an unnamed Samsung executive… Read More

 

Apple appeals recent Chinese court ruling over pirated encyclopedia app

By Cody Lee on Nov 14, 2012

Back in September, a Chinese court sided with China Publishing House in an infringement lawsuit against Apple, and ordered the iPad-maker to pay about $83,000 in damages. The publisher claimed Apple allowed an application into its App Store that contained large chunks if its Encyclopedia of China works without the proper licensing.

Naturally, Apple is now appealing the decision. And what the court decides from here could have some major consequences for the Cupertino company… Read More

 

Apple the target of new lawsuit over iOS location services

By Cody Lee on Nov 13, 2012

Hot on the heels of last week’s screen rotation lawsuit comes another infringement claim aimed at Apple. NovelPoint Tracking, which fits the usual patent troll description, filed a lawsuit against the Cupertino company yesterday in the troll-friendly Texas Eastern District Court regarding its location-based patent…

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Google faces FTC ultimatum over patent and search abuse

By Christian Zibreg on Nov 12, 2012

Bloomberg reports that Google is facing an ultimatum from FTC on antitrust deal talks. Apparently, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jonathan Leibowitz is pressuring Google to make an offer and finally settle FTC’s antitrust investigation over whether the dominant search engine abused its market power in search and misused patent protection in smartphone wars. And should Google fail to “make an acceptable settlement proposal”, sources say, the FTC is prepared to mount a massive case against the search giant whose “Don’t be evil” motto has long become the subject of mockery… Read More

 

In Italy, AppleCare products removed over warranty policy shenanigans

By Christian Zibreg on Nov 12, 2012

Bloomberg in October reported of Justice Minister Viviane Reding pushing EU regulators into probing Apple over its ambiguous warranty advertising in the European Union. And earlier in the year, consumer groups demanded that eleven EU countries pressure Apple into complying with EU’s consumer laws. As a result, Apple’s warranty plans with extended device coverage are about to be pulled from retail channels in Italy. Better still, Apple is finally informing buyers that EU law entitles them to a minimum two-year seller guarantee, free of charge… Read More

 

Apple’s Android settlement with HTC could be worth at least $3 billion

By Christian Zibreg on Nov 12, 2012

Apple and HTC last Saturday announced a global settlement in their long-standing Android dispute. The agreement dismissed all patent-related lawsuits between the two firms and put forth a 10 year cross-licensing deal for all current and future patents. While the terms of the settlement are confidential, one analyst thinks that Apple gets up to eight bucks per every Android-based HTC phone sold. With 30-35 million Android-based HTC smartphones sold annually, Apple could pocket a cool $280 million annually on this patenting pact… Read More

 

Apple ordered to pay Samsung’s legal fees in failed UK patent suit

By Cody Lee on Nov 11, 2012

Apple’s legal team has had a rough go of it in the UK over the past few weeks. After losing a patent suit against Samsung, and then the ensuing appeal, the company was forced to write a public apology on its UK website.

Of course, Apple complied and posted the apology, but the judge wasn’t impressed with its snarky tone. So in addition to asking the iPad-makers to correct it, he’s also ordered them to pay Samsung’s legal fees… Read More

 

Apple ordered to pay $368 million in FaceTime patent case

By Cody Lee on Nov 7, 2012

VirnetX Holding Corporation is a patent holding firm that has a pretty impressive portfolio of IP (Intellectual Property) related to wireless networking and LTE technology. And as you’d expect, it’s not afraid to use it.

The company is currently entangled in legal battles with the likes of Cisco and Siemens, and it actually took more than $100 million from Microsoft in court. And according to a new report, it just took Apple for 3x that… Read More

 

Apple adds Galaxy Note 10.1 and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean to Samsung suit

By Christian Zibreg on Nov 6, 2012

Apple’s just expanded its second lawsuit against Samsung, seeking to include the South Korean company’s 10.1-inch Galaxy Note tablet on a list of allegedly infringing products. In addition, the iPhone maker has alleged that Google’s Android version 4.1 software, also known as Jelly Bean, infringes upon its patents. This could be the first time Apple directly sued Android over alleged patent infringement, though it wasn’t immediately clear whether Apple’s complaint involved the entire Android OS or just Samsung’s TouchWiz overlay. The case is scheduled for trial in 2014. And so it continues… Read More

 

Google still ‘interested in reaching an agreement with Apple’ over patents

By Christian Zibreg on Nov 5, 2012

Though it hinted it was tiring of patent wars and even dropped its ITC patent infringement claims against Apple (the move some deciphered as a gesture of goodwill), Motorola could be off the hook as Google was quoted as saying Monday that that a Wisconsin federal court tossed Apple’s “patent lawsuit with prejudice” out of the window.

The search monster relayed willingness of its subsidiary Motorola to license its patents portfolio at a reasonable and non-discriminatory rate “in line with industry standards”, court documents have it. Apple in a filing last week hinted it would accept a license at a court-determined rate of up to $1 per iPhone on FRAND terms. Also indicative, the two companies in August demonstrated ability to resolve differences, having signed a patent licensing agreement in Germany… Read More

 

Apple loses rights to iPhone name in Mexico

By Cody Lee on Nov 2, 2012

Apple has lost a fairly significant court case in Mexico this week. A Mexico City Judge has denied the company’s injunction request that would have allowed it to continue selling iPhone-branded products in the country.

Apparently, the “iPhone” moniker sounds too phonetically similar to iFone, a brand belonging to a Mexican telecommunications company. And the similarity is enough that Apple could be banned from using the name in the region… Read More

 

Apple puts a price tag on Motorola’s wireless patents: $1 per iPhone

By Christian Zibreg on Oct 31, 2012

In a response to Motorola’s motion from yesterday seeking clarification on essential wireless patents (which include both cellular and WiFi standards), Apple has formally acknowledged its willingness to accept a license at a court-determined rate of up to $1 per iPhone through a license agreement on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms.

The figure entails worldwide sales of covered products, the iPhone maker said. Apple’s position on FRAND licensing is that the industry should set FRAND rates in order to prevent companies asserting wireless standards-essential patents against its rivals by jacking up prices.

Motorola, which is now a wholly-owned Google subsidiary, wrote in the filing that Microsoft’s FRAND contract case had explicitly committed to the conclusion of a license agreement on court-ordered terms. Is there finally an end in sight to this patent mess? Read More

 

Apple wins significant ITC ruling against Samsung

By Cody Lee on Oct 24, 2012

Apple’s legal team has suffered some major blows over the past few weeks, in their ongoing battle with Samsung. First, they lost an appeal on a UK ruling that will force the company to publicly state that Samsung did not copy the iPad. And just a few days ago, the USPTO invalidated one of Apple’s more significant patents.

But things may be looking up for the Cupertino litigators. According to a new report, an ITC (International Trade Commission) judge has just ruled in Apple’s favor in a complaint case against Samsung, a ruling that could see some of its devices blocked from entering US… Read More

 

Dutch court rules Samsung did not violate Apple’s prized multitouch gesture patents

By Christian Zibreg on Oct 24, 2012

A court in The Netherlands let Samsung off the hook, ruling that some of the South Korean conglomerate’s many Galaxy smartphones and tablets did not infringe upon Apple’s prized patents related to multitouch gestures on iPhones and iPads. As you know, Apple took Samsung and other handset makers to court, arguing they copied the zoom to pinch feature and other multi-finger gestures on iOS devices.

This ruling alone won’t help Samsung evade the $1+ billion payout from a massive loss in the Apple vs. Samsung mega-suit in the United States. The U.S International Trade Commission is set to determine on Thursday whether Samsung really infringed on Apple’s patents… Read More

 

US Department of Justice probing Samsung over use of FRAND patents against Apple

By Christian Zibreg on Oct 24, 2012

The South Korean conglomerate Samsung has become the target of another antitrust investigation concerning suspected abuse of FRAND-pledged standard-essential patents, which the company asserted against Apple in litigation and recently used to sue the Cupertino, California firm over 4G wireless technology utilized for the iPhone 5.

This time around, the United States Department of Justice is preliminary probing Samsung, which could lead to a full-blown investigation. If it finds an unlawful use of standard-essential wireless patents on Samsung’s part, it’ll clear Apple of a possible U.S. import ban sought by Samsung because the iPhone maker had refused to accept a Samsung-suggested per-device royalty fee of 2.4 percent (Apple wanted to pay half a cent per device)… Read More

 

US Patent Office invalidates Apple’s rubber-banding patent

By Cody Lee on Oct 23, 2012

This is a pretty big deal: the United States Patent and Trademark Office has just tentatively invalidated Apple’s rubber-banding patent. This is the infamous ’381 patent that covers the ‘bouncing’ effect when scrolling on a touch screen.

Why is this a big deal? Because this was one of the major patents Apple used in its $1 billion victory against Samsung back in August. And if the USPTO’s decision holds true, Samsung could be looking at a much smaller penalty… Read More

 

Apple’s request to seal financial documents from Samsung trial denied

By Cody Lee on Oct 18, 2012

Apple must have really hated divulging all of those secrets during the high-profile patent trial against Samsung this summer. We saw everything from iPhone and iPad prototypes, to how Apple creates its products.

And it looks like we’re about to learn some more interesting information, as Judge Lucy Koh handed down an order late last night denying Apple’s motion to keep certain financial documents sealed from the public… Read More

 

Apple appeals Japan patent suit loss to Samsung

By Cody Lee on Oct 16, 2012

In late August, a District Court in Tokyo ruled that Samsung’s mobile devices do not violate Apple’s patents. Not only did Apple lose the lawsuit, but it was also ordered to pay all attorney fees and court-related costs.

Obviously, the decision didn’t sit well with the Cupertino company, and they’re not giving up without a fight. Reports surfaced late last night that it has filed an appeal with Japan’s Intellectual Property High Court… Read More

 

Appeals court reverses Galaxy Nexus sales ban as a new Nexus phone looms

By Christian Zibreg on Oct 11, 2012

The Galaxy Nexus, a Samsung-made smartphone providing so-called stock Android experience (one free of carrier crapware and skinning) may soon be back on store shelves in the United States as the country’s appeals court warned that a “district court abused its discretion”.

Back in June, U.S. Judge Lucy Koh granted Apple’s request for a preliminary injunction. The appeals court now reversed Apple’s injunction warning that the iPhone maker did not prove people bought Samsung’s phone because of the infringing technology.

The appeals court has sent the case back to a lower California court for reconsideration… Read More

 
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