There's no doubt that Apple's been leveraging iMessage to keep customers from switching over to Android, using the proprietary messaging protocol as a powerful lock-in mechanism.
Android
Apple litigation won’t cripple Android, Samsung lawyer insists
The Great Apple-Samsung Legal War has been raging on for years now, and on a scale almost unprecedented in business history. The latest in the saga involves a California court awarding Apple $119.6 million in damages over Samsung patent infringement, a far cry from the $2 billion the iPhone maker was shooting for.
The ruling has prompted many watchers to question the wisdom of Apple's thermonuclear war on Android. Adding the latest damages award on top of the $900+ million awarded to Apple from the first patent megatrial barely results in $1 billion. I'm certain this is the price Samsung is happy to pay for profiting from willfully lifting Apple's patented iPhone technology.
But no amount of litigation will ever stop Android dead in its tracks, argues an attorney for Samsung who represents the South Korean conglomerate in the courtroom...
Apple may call Android creator Andy Rubin to testify in Samsung case
Andy Rubin is one of the original creators of Android and Apple may summon him to testify in a new trial set for late-March as part of the ongoing Apple v. Samsung legal battle. According to a report by TUAW, a witness list Apple filed with the court last week has revealed the iPhone maker is considering calling Rubin to testify on the potentially sensitive topics of the development of infringing Android features. He may also be asked to comment on "Google documents relating to such development"...
Judge says Apple could renegotiate iBook contracts with publishers
The judge in the government's antitrust lawsuit has weighed in on settlement negotiations between the Department of Justice and Apple.
The iPhone maker could reopen staggered renegotiations with e-book publishers, U.S. District Court Judge Denise Cote reportedly said Monday.
Government lawyers had recommend that Apple agree to drop its current e-book contracts and abstain from a new agreements for five years. Judge Cote, who ruled Apple conspired with publishers to raise prices of e-books ahead of the iPad's launch, also wants to hold another hearing, possibly to review guidelines she is suggesting...
Apple’s lawsuit against Amazon over ‘App Store’ name ends in draw
Apple and Amazon have taken off the gloves back in 2011, apparently deciding the 'App Store' name is big enough for both companies. An Oakland, California district court pulled the plug on the dispute at the request of the two app providers. The decision to walk away from just who owns the 'App Store' title follows Apple agreeing not to sue Amazon, according to a report this morning...
Google suffers setback preventing Apple from obtaining Android documentation
Earlier this week, we told you about Apple's complaint over Google's resistance to hand over parts of the Android source code documentation. Apple’s request is part of its ongoing California patent fight against Samsung. Bloomberg now reports that U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul S. Grewal ordered the Internet giant to disclose within two days what terms it’s using to find documents Apple has requested.
Despite Google's insistence that the collection of such information would be "too burdensome," the court also ordered that the search monster tell Apple "which Google employees those documents came from"...
Apple wants to take a peek inside Android source code
Apple's proxy fight against Google and its Android platform has just taken an interesting turn as the iPhone maker asked the court to force Google into turning over Android’s source code. The request is part of Apple's ongoing California patent fight against Samsung. Bloomberg reports today Apple is dissatisfied with Google's handling of the request.
According to Apple's lawyers, the search giant in “improperly withholding information” related to Android's source code documentation. Google's mobile operating system, Apple argues, “provides much of the accused functionality” and argues the Google platform is used in all of Samsung’s allegedly infringing products...
German court invalidates Apple’s slide-to-unlock patent, but it’s not big deal
A German court ruled invalid Apple's patent for a sliding touchscreen unlocking image, marking another win for allies of Google's Android mobile operating. In its ruling in favor of the Google-owned Motorola, the country's Federal Patent Court slammed the iPhone maker's slide-to-unlock patent as devoid of "technological innovation." Still, a long-running patent dispute which began in 2011 may still live on as Apple's legal team prepares for a round of appeals, according to Friday reports...
Apple prevails in UK’s Samsung 3G suit
Apple scored another legal victory against rival Samsung. In a UK court, a judge Wednesday ruled that the iPhone maker does not infringe patents held by the South Korean-based Android smartphone manufacturer. The court's decision marks more than two-dozen failed attempts by Samsung to claim it is owed royalties on standard-essential patents.
The company had alleged Apple did not pay royalties to use its 3G wireless technology patents in the iPhone...
Brazil lawsuit claims iPad 3 made intentionally obsolete
Did Apple withhold features from the third-generation iPad, then make the tablet obsolete just six months afterwards by unveiling the iPad 4 - with the missing items? That's the accusation being made against Apple in a class-action lawsuit filed Thursday in Brazil. At the heart of the lawsuit brought by the Brazilian Institute of Politics and Law Software (IBDI) is the charge Apple released the "new iPad" in May 2012, then in October introduced the iPad 4 alongside the iPad mini. By updating the processor and other features Apple has produced planned obsolescence...