Apple

Samsung and Apple duke it out over whose multitouch is better

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 7, 2012

The Apple v. Samsung mega-suit may be behind us, but the legal spat between the two frenemies is far from over. Both companies are embroiled in complicated litigation spread across ten countries the world over. In a Hague, Netherlands court, for example, Samsung locked horns with Apple over who copied who concerning multitouch technology.

Samsung resorted to some interesting tactics there, claiming that its multitouch implementation is less capable than Apple's in an effort to prove it didn't breach any of Apple's many patents related to multitouch...

Korea launches probe into Samsung over wireless patents abuse

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 6, 2012

Samsung is under fire in its home turf of South Korea over an alleged abuse of its wireless patents, Reuters reported today. The Korea Fair Trade Commission confirmed that the country's watchdog has launched an investigation based on Apple's antitrust complaints against Samsung which alleges that the Galaxy maker is abusing its patents to gain an unfair advantage in the marketplace.

Of course, Apple won a landmark victory in a high-stake U.S. trial last month that found Samsung guilty of breaching Apple's design and utility patents. The jury awarded Apple $1.05 billion in damages and ruled that the iPhone maker had not violated any of Samsung's patents.

Samsung later promised to sue Apple immediately if the next iPhone is released with support for fourth-generation Long-Term Evolution (LTE) radio technology...

Samsung’s killing it, announces 20 million Galaxy S III sales in 100 days

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 16, 2018

Apple's biggest components supplier and the fiercest competitor in smartphones and tablets, South Korea-based Samsung, today announces that it has sold a whopping 20 million units of its flagship Galaxy S III handset, unveiled on May 3 and backed by a massive advertising campaign.

That's a marked achievement, even by Apple's standards, one that proves that Samsung's device has become the most serious contender to Apple's iPhone in just three months. Can Samsung sell 30 million units by year's end and, more importantly, will Apple with a little help of its next iPhone re-take the title of America's best-selling smartphone?

Report: Samsung can delay $1B payment to Apple until 2013

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 10, 2018

It's a good thing Apple is filthy rich and doesn't need the $1 billion in damages from Samsung any time soon. Due to the timing of post-trial paper-shuffling and other courtroom delays, the South Korean company may not pay its bill until 2013 -- if ever.

The two rivals are set to meet Dec. 6 for pre-trial motions. Then any jury award to Apple will get an automatic 14-day stay. Judge Koh could also modify the damage amount. Foss Patents also reminds us that Apple could ask for something off Samsung's huge parts bill.

Analyst guesstimates the Galaxy S III outsold the iPhone 4S in the US

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 4, 2012

Citing "channel checks", one analyst estimated that Samsung's three-month-old Galaxy S III smartphone has manage to outsell Apple's iPhone 4S in the United States during the month of August. Take it with a grain of salt as Apple doesn't break down iPhone numbers by model and Samsung stopped reporting phone and tablet sales for competitive reasons a year ago.

If true, this isn't terribly surprising given that the iPhone 4S is now almost a year old and especially knowing folks have been withholding their purchases in anticipation of the next iPhone...

Samsung has 20 times as many designers as Apple

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 4, 2012

Yet the Korean company is unable to come up with distinct enough designs to avoid being accused of purposefully creating products that look like knockoffs, per the ruling in the Apple v. Samsung trial. While Apple's products are created by a "kitchen" design team comprised of no more than twenty people and led by SVP of Industrial Design Jonathan Ive, Samsung has 20 times as many designers as Apple, Bloomberg reports...

Apple adds the S III and Note to new Galaxy Nexus complaint

Cody Lee ∙ September 1, 2012

The Apple-Samsung trial that ended last week was just the first of many to take place here in the US. Apple filed another lawsuit against the Korean company back in February of this year, which should go to trial sometime next summer.

Originally, the lawsuit was aimed at the Galaxy Nexus and some of Samsung's other older devices. But on Friday, Apple amended the complaint and added the Galaxy S III, the Galaxy Note, and the new Galaxy Note 10.1 to the patent suit...

Tokyo court rules Samsung devices don’t violate Apple patent

Cody Lee ∙ August 31, 2012

You have to feel for Samsung, it's had a pretty rough week. First, it lost a high-profile patent suit to Apple which will cost it in upwards of $1 billion. And now it's facing a US sales ban on 8 devices.

But this should help ease the pain: a Tokyo judge has just handed Samsung a court victory, ruling that its phones and tablets do not violate Apple's patent related to music and video syncing...

Samsung plans to use LTE patents to sue Apple over next-gen iPhone

Cody Lee ∙ August 30, 2012

If you thought Apple's victory last week was the end of the fighting between it and Samsung, think again. Samsung is still expected to file an appeal on the ruling, and an injunction hearing has already been set.

On top of that, Samsung is said to be gearing up for a major legal counter attack, preparing "all measures for all scenarios" to fight Apple in 50 patent disputes in 10 countries. In other words, "it's on..."

Apple victory already seen affecting Samsung devices resale value

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 25, 2016

While everyone is trying to figure out how Apple's recent court victory over Samsung will affect the smartphone market, the ruling is already making a fairly significant impact in the resell space.

The folks over at Gazelle, a popular gadget reseller, say they've noticed a a 50% increase in Samsung handsets since the ruling. And the surge in availability has negatively affected their resell price....

Apple’s patent war meets Star Trek in this parody video

Cody Lee ∙ August 29, 2012

Despite Apple's clear court victory last week, ultimately proving its theory that Samsung crossed the line with its iPhone and iPad copying, the Cupertino company is still taking heat from critics.

Some folks believe that Apple using its hefty library of patents to sue other companies will end up destroying innovation in smartphones. And, according to this video, the Starship Enterprise...

Apple’s $1B can’t buy exclusive TSMC chip deal

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 10, 2018

Nowadays, $1 billion doesn't get as much as it used to. That's what Apple reportedly discovered when it and Qualcomm each offered $1 billion for exclusive access to the production output of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world's largest chip producer. TSMC turned both companies down flat, reports Bloomberg.

Maybe TSMC has been following the Apple-Samsung trial. Back in 2011, before the two rivals' frenemies relationship had turned downright rabid. The Cupertino, Calif. company plunked down $7.8 billion for Samsung parts, turning it into the South Korean firm's largest customer. TSMC's finance chief wanted nothing of that.