Samsung wants to take a peek inside Apple’s patent settlement with HTC

By Christian Zibreg on Nov 16, 2012

Always on the lookout to possibly improve its legal position in the ongoing stand-off with Apple, Samsung on Friday filed a court order seeking to force Apple to turn over a copy of the HTC agreement. As Cody told you, Apple and HTC settled litigation with a ten-year licensing agreement worth nearly $3 billion.

Neither company has released the specifics of the deal, leaving Samsung to wonder whether the agreement includes the famous iPhone software features that Apple successfully asserted against Samsung. You know, the stuff like rubber-band scrolling, pinch zoom and other iPhone perks… Read More

 

Judge rules Apple and Samsung may add Jelly Bean and iPhone 5 to patent suit

By Christian Zibreg on Nov 16, 2012

Bloomberg reports that a federal judge has ruled that Apple may add Jelly Bean, the latest and greatest version of the Android operating system powering smartphones and tablets, to its patent infringement claims asserted against Samsung. At the same time, the South Korean conglomerate was allowed to add the iPhone 5 to its suit as the company looks to retaliate for losing $1.05 billion in damages by targeting Apple’s latest handset. Though U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul Grewal allowed Apple to target the Jelly Bean software, the scope is limited to Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus devices… 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 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 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

 

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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