Lawsuit

Here’s what Apple’s chief lawyer will tell Congress tomorrow regarding FBI’s controversial request

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 29, 2016

As you know, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has obtained a court order demanding that Apple produce a special version of iOS with decreased security to help government spooks brute-force their way into an iPhone 5c which belonged to San Bernardino shooter Syed Farook.

Following the interview that Apple CEO Tim Cook gave to ABC News, in which he said that the government is asking for “the software equivalent of cancer,” Apple's Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Bruce Sewell, will testify before the House Judiciary Committee tomorrow.

Here's his opening statement in which he challenges the government's request and argues that the FBI should have no say over the products American companies create.

Apple’s $120 million patent victory against Samsung overturned

Cody Lee ∙ February 26, 2016

An appeals court on Friday ruled that Samsung won’t have to pay Apple $119.6 million for infringing its patents, reports Bloomberg. The court found two of Apple's patents, including one for its slide-to-unlock feature, to be invalid and a third wasn’t infringed.

Today's ruling overturns a verdict reached by a California jury in May 2014, which found Samsung devices to infringe on Apple's patents. It also upholds a decision to make Apple pay Samsung $158,400 in damages for infringing on its video compression patent.

Apple vehemently opposes FBI request to create iPhone backdoor in San Bernardino court case

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 17, 2016

Apple is vehemently opposing the FBI's request to create a backdoor in iOS that would permit authorities to access encrypted data on the iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino shooters. In an open letter to all customers posted on the company's website, CEO Tim Cook acknowledges that Apple believes that the FBI's intentions are good and makes note of the fact that his company has done “everything that is both within our power and within the law” to help the authorities.

“But now the U.S. government has asked us for something we simply do not have, and something we consider too dangerous to create,” he wrote. “They have asked us to build a backdoor to the iPhone.”

Law firm moving forward with class action lawsuit over ‘Error 53’ iPhone bricking

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 12, 2016

Seattle-based law firm Pfau Cochran Vertexes Amala (PCVA) has decided to follow through with plans to drag Apple to court over software safeguards in iOS which have been specifically designed to render iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus handsets inoperable after unauthorized Touch ID and Home button repairs.

As first noted by AppleInsider yesterday, the pending class action lawsuit was filed with with the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, alleging the Cupertino firm has “gone too far” in employing the extreme measure of bricking users' handsets without any advance warning.

Error 53: Apple could get sued over iPhone bricking

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 9, 2016

'Error 53,' the infamous cryptic message that appears on an iPhone after iOS 9 renders the device inoperable due to an unauthorized Home button repair, is attracting attention of top law firms which are reportedly considering taking Apple to court over the snafu, reports The Guardian.

“At least one firm of US lawyers said it hopes to bring a class action against the technology giant on behalf of victims whose £500 phones have been rendered worthless by an Apple software upgrade,” the British paper said.

VirnetX seeking to extract $532 million from Apple in patent infringement retrial

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 26, 2016

Patent holding firm VirnetX yesterday told a federal jury that Apple should be slapped with a $532 million fine over an alleged patent infringement pertaining to FaceTime, iMessage and VPN technologies used in its products, which is nearly 45 percent higher than an initial damages award vacated last year.

According to Bloomberg, the notorious patent troll “keeps moving the boundary, asking for more and more and more,” said Apple’s lawyer.

Apple wins US sales ban on outdated Samsung phones that are no longer sold

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 19, 2016

Following its multi-year patent spat with Samsung, Apple has finally won a United States sales ban on some older Samsung smartphones, FOSS Patents reported Tuesday.

The sales ban covers certain features of some Samsung phones, but the injunction is practically useless as it affects outdated devices, not the flagship Galaxy lineup, which are no longer available in the United States.

Apple on the hook for $5+ million over hindered performance of older iPhones with iOS 9

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 30, 2015

Apple is under fire over planned obsolescence concerning the iOS 9 software update, with a new class-action lawsuit accusing the company of intentionally slowing older iPhone models with the update, AppleInsider reported Wednesday.

Filed with a New York district court on Tuesday, the lawsuit also accuses Apple of deceptive trade practices and false advertising which assured customers that iOS 9 would run fine on older handsets dating back to four-year-old iPhone 4s models without stating that the upgrade would cripple legacy handsets severely.

Apple wants additional $180 million in supplemental damages from Samsung

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 28, 2015

Apple wants a Christmas present from Samsung in the form of an additional $180 million in supplemental damages (damages for infringements after the cutoff date of the jury trial), FOSS Patents reported this past weekend.

The iPhone maker on Christmas Eve filed a motion seeking the additional $180 million on top of the initial $548 million settlement that Samsung has agreed to pay to Apple (though a reimbursement may be demanded later).

Federal judge dismisses iMessage lawsuit over undelivered texts to Android phones

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 23, 2015

A lawsuit centered on an iMessage issue which turned former iPhone owners' phone numbers into a black hole for text messages after making a switch to Android has been tossed out of the window by United States District Judge Lucy H. Koh, Business Insider reported this morning.

The lawsuit alleged that Apple's messaging system interfered with the delivery of texts, going as far as to suggest that Apple wiretapped those users by intercepting, and then failing to deliver, text messages sent from an iPhone to an Android phone.

Samsung to pay Apple $548 million settlement, but reserves right to seek reimbursement

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 4, 2015

The long-standing Apple vs. Samsung patent dispute has been dragging on for five years now without any meaningful resolution in sight, despite Samsung announcing a settlement payment of $548 million to the iPhone maker today.

According to patent blog FOSS Patents, even though the Galaxy maker will send the payment to Apple by December 14 it's found a loophole that would give it the right to seek reimbursement of all amounts required to be paid as taxes, and then some more.

iPhone chips infringe University of Wisconsin’s tech, Apple faces $862M in damages

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 14, 2015

The Apple-designed, TSMC/Samsung-manufactured A7, A8 and A8X mobile chips that power the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices released since 2013 have been found to infringe technology patents owned by the University of Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF).

As a result, Apple is now facing a damages payout of $862.4 million, Reuters reported yesterday. The aforesaid chips power the iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPad Air, iPad Air 2, iPad mini with Retina display, iPad mini 3 and iPad mini 4.