Lawsuit

No iOS VPN changes on already shipped devices

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 26, 2013

On April 5, Apple acknowledged via a support document that it “will be changing the behavior of VPN On Demand for iOS devices using iOS 6.1 and later” due to a lawsuit by patent holding firm VirnetX file against Apple in November 2011. VPN technology, which stands for Virtual Private Networking, extends corporate networks securely across public networks like the Internet, allowing users to access a private network as if they were directly connected to it.

Apple originally planned to remove the 'Always' configuration option for VPN On Demand with the 'Establish if needed' option. The revised document specifically mentions Apple will not be changing the VPN behavior on "devices that have already been shipped"...

Apple loses three copyright infringement cases in China

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Apple has lost three copyright infringement cases in China as No.2 Intermediate People's Court ruled Tuesday that the iPhone maker's App Store infringed on the copyrights owned by Beijing-based Motie Press and Chinese writers Mai Jia and Yu Zhuo.

As part of the ruling, Apple was ordered to pay damages of CNY 520,000, or approximately $141,563 to Motie Press, in addition to CNY 200,000 (about $54,447) to Mai Jia and CNY 10,000 (about $2,722) to Yu Zhuo...

ITC drops Motorola’s complaint against Apple over proximity sensor patent

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 23, 2013

Apple's patent troubles with the struggling handset maker has largely been viewed as a proxy fight with Google, which acquired Motorola Mobility along with its vast patent portfolio in August 2011 for $12.5 billion. Two and a half years ago Motorola asserted its proximity sensor patent against Apple. Monday, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) threw Motorola's complaint out of the window, invalidating Motorola's patent because it's too obvious. That's good news for Apple as Google was hoping to leverage that patent to seek an import ban against iPhones...

iPhone 4 owners begin receiving ‘antennagate’ settlement checks

Cody Lee ∙ April 23, 2013

Ah, who could forget the infamous iPhone 4 'Antennagate' debacle? It had barely been a month since Apple had introduced its newly-redesigned handset, when users began to complain of severe signal attenuation when holding the device a certain way.

Steve Jobs and company held a press conference to defend their product, but it wasn't enough to keep the lawsuits at bay. Apple was forced to offer free bumpers, or $15 in cash, to iPhone 4 owners. And now, 3 years later, the checks are finally on their way...

Apple to pay $53 million in iPhone warranty class-action settlement

Ed Sutherland ∙ April 12, 2013

Have you been frustrated by Apple's repair or replacement policy? You could be in for some cash, according to a Friday report.

The iPhone maker supposedly has signed a settlement deal worth $53 million ending a class action lawsuit that claimed Apple dragged its feet on honoring warranties for the iPhone and iPod touch.

The settlement, reportedly signed Wednesday by Apple's head litigation attorney, could affect "hundreds of thousands" of iPhone, iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS owners, as well as people who bought the first three generations of the iPod touch media player...

Apple wins court order blocking class action in anti-poaching lawsuit

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 7, 2013

Apple, along with Google and five other Silicon Valley technology heavy-weights, has won a court order blocking a potentially devastating class-action antitrust lawsuit concerning alleged anti-poaching conspiracy.

Bloomberg reported that U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh Friday denied class action certification over accusations that said companies illegally conspired not to recruit one another’s employees, which the plaintiffs said resulted in their incomes being held down by their employers...

ITC judge finds Samsung guilty of infringing on Apple’s text selection patent

Cody Lee ∙ April 7, 2013

In a decision issued on March 26, but kept classified until earlier this week, an International Trade Commission judge found Samsung to be infringing on Apple's US RE41,922 patent that covers things like text selection and translucent buttons.

It's only a preliminary decision, and the judge only found Samsung guilty of infringement on one of two patents listed in the complaint. But if the decision gets upheld, Samsung could once again be looking at a major product ban in the US...

German court invalidates Apple’s slide-to-unlock patent, but it’s not big deal

Ed Sutherland ∙ April 5, 2013

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...

Upcoming firmware update to force VPN behavior changes over VirnetX patent loss

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 5, 2013

VirnetX, a patent holding firm with an impressive intellectual property portfolio, in November 2011 sued Apple over a breach of a collection of its network patents, originally seeking north of $900 million in damages. A year later, in November 2012, a federal jury in a Texas court ordered the iPhone maker to pay $368.2 million in damages.

The two parties later worked out a royalty agreement that should be decided upon on April 12, but as a result of the damages awarded to VirnetX, Apple today has acknowledged via a support document that it "will be changing the behavior of VPN On Demand for iOS devices using iOS 6.1 and later"...

USPTO again invalidates rubber-banding patent, Apple says not to worry

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated April 18, 2016

Having rejected Apple's iPad mini trademark application last week, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has now dealt another major blow to the iPhone maker. For the second time, USPTO has invalidated the key claim of Apple's so-called rubber-banding patent, an iPhone feature which bounces the user interface when a user scrolls content past the end of a page. USPTO last October ruled the invention invalid. On the other hand, while this "final" decision certainly has more weight than the first, Apple still has a few options left until the ruling becomes truly final...

Apple’s EarPods trademark challenged by HearPod maker Randolph Divisions

Ed Sutherland ∙ April 2, 2013

When you have a few hundred million in walking around money and are worth more than any company on the planet, you become a magnet for lawsuits. That's the lesson Apple is learning as the iPhone maker fields increasing numbers of trademark infringement legal cases.

The latest: a hearing aid maker claims Apple's EarPods sounds just too much like its HearPod. Randolph Divisions filed the lawsuit against Apple in Hawaii District Court. According to the company, it registered the 'HearPod' trademark in 2007, years before the smartphone maker unveiled in 2012 its EarPods for the iPhone 5. Win or lose, at least Apple's legal team gets a trip to Honolulu to argue the case...

Court rules you can’t resell your iTunes songs

Cody Lee ∙ Updated March 18, 2016

While it's legal in the US to purchase a physical CD or DVD and then resell it to someone else, that's not the case with digital media. The unauthorized transfer of digital music is considered to be illegal under the Copyright Act of 1976.

And that sentiment was reaffirmed this weekend by US District Court Judge Richard Sullivan, as he ruled in favor of Universal Music Group’s Capitol Records in its lawsuit against digital music reseller ReDigi for copyright violation...