Lawsuit

Judge tells jury: Samsung destroyed emails — but so did Apple

Ed Sutherland ∙ August 20, 2012

If the long-running courtroom battle between Apple and Samsung were a football game, the South Korean company would have received today a favorable call from the ref. U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh will tell jurors later this week that both companies destroyed emails, overturning a previous ruling inferring Samsung was solely to blame.

In instructions to be given the jury set to begin deliberations Wednesday, Koh will give identical instructions regarding company emails destroyed:

Both companies "failed to preserve evidence" that could be used in the litigation, Koh will say. "Whether this fact is important to you in reaching a verdict in this case is for you to decide."

Apple offered to license its portfolio of patents to Samsung in 2010

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 10, 2018

The high-profile patent trial between Apple and Samsung has exposed some pretty interesting intel on both companies. But the information brought to light tonight might be the best yet.

According to some new court filings, executives from the two tech heavyweights met in hopes of reaching a settlement back in 2010. And Apple actually offered Samsung a licensing deal...

Apple hit with China lawsuit over FaceTime patent

Cody Lee ∙ Updated October 25, 2016

It just doesn't seem like Apple's legal team can catch a break these days. Even when it's not fighting major handset-makers in high profile patent trials, it's still dealing with smaller lawsuits over Siri and other features.

And today we add another one to the list. A Taiwanese man is claiming that Apple's FaceTime service directly infringes on a patent he holds regarding "voice network personal digital assistant," and has just filed a lawsuit...

Before the iPhone, Apple considered building…a car?

Cody Lee ∙ August 3, 2012

Apple's high-profile patent trial with Samsung kicked off this week in a northern California courtroom. And in the 5 short days, it's already yielded some pretty interesting information.

We've seen early prototype designs, of both the iPhone and the iPad, and have learned some other previously-secret stuff about the company. And today, we find out about the iCar...

The Nexus 7 “Smart Cover” in action — how should Apple respond?

Jeff Benjamin ∙ August 2, 2012

Today I received my Nexus 7 "Smart Cover". Okay, it's really just a bulky case, but it closely mimics the function of Apple's innovative means of screen protection. I ordered it simply to compare it to Apple's original version of the Smart Cover.

As you have probably heard, the Nexus 7 contains an unadvertised feature — magnets on the front right-side of the device, which very much imitate the iPad's sleep/wake functionality.

Should Apple be upset with this unadvertised feature?

Several new iPhone and iPad prototype designs revealed

Cody Lee ∙ July 29, 2012

The highly-anticpiated patent trial between Apple and Samsung is set to kick off tomorrow in a US District court in northern California. And even if you're not interested in all of the patent-talk, there are still several reasons to look forward to the litigation.

The court-ordered revelation of early iPhone and iPad prototype designs, for example, is particularly exciting. Apple has kept information regarding the development of its two most popular products extremely close to the vest over the past ten years. And this trial will force the company to finally reveal at least some of those secrets...

Apple’s AuthenTec acquisition already under investigation

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 4, 2018

It hasn't been 24 hours since the news broke that Apple acquired AuthenTec, and there's already talk of foul play. It seems that two law firms are investigating the acquisition to see if AuthenTec's Board intentionally undervalued the company to reach a deal with Apple.

Although the investigation appears to only involve AuthenTec at the moment, a resulting lawsuit could have a major impact on, or even block, Apple's latest tech purchase...

Mediation talks fail between Apple and Samsung ahead of trial

Cody Lee ∙ July 23, 2012

Last week, Tim Cook met with top executives from Samsung Electronics to discuss the ongoing patent dispute between the two companies. The meeting was court-ordered, in a last-ditch effort to get the smartphone-makers to settle their differences ahead of next week's trial.

Unsurprisingly, the talks didn't go very well. A new report is out this afternoon claiming that the companies disagreed on "the value of each other's patents," and a settlement between the two sides is extremely unlikely to happen before the end of the month...

Department of Justice defends Apple e-book lawsuit

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 25, 2016

The US Department of Justice says it has received nearly 1000 public comments since it lodged its lawsuit against Apple and a number of major book publishers earlier this year. The suit claims that Apple worked in concert with the publishers in an effort to raise e-book prices.

The DoJ has responded to the comments today, and has strong words for both Apple and the accused publishers. Despite the pushback, the Department says that it has every intention to move forward with its e-book lawsuits and settlement talks as planned...

ITC dismisses Kodak’s patent case against Apple

Cody Lee ∙ July 22, 2012

In its heyday, Kodak controlled more than 90% of the US film market, and 85% of all camera sales. But a lot can change in 35 years, and unfortunately, time has not been kind to the Rochester, New York company.

Kodak is currently in the process of filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and looking to sell off its patent portfolio in hopes to restructure its business. But as it turns out, those patents may not be worth as much as it thinks they are...

Tim Cook met with Samsung execs again to talk patent issues

Cody Lee ∙ July 19, 2012

As ordered by US District Judge Lucy Koh, Tim Cook reportedly met with Samsung's CEO and President of Mobile Communications earlier this week to discuss the ongoing patent war between the two companies.

Apple and Samsung's two-year long battle has recently landed them in Koh's northern California courtroom. And with the trial set to kick off on July 30th, the judge wanted them to give peace talks one last shot...

Judge rejects requests for secrecy in Samsung-Apple case

Cody Lee ∙ July 18, 2012

This is interesting. US District Court Judge Lucy Koh has just rejected several secrecy requests from both Apple and Samsung in their ongoing patent dispute.

The proposals were made in hopes to keep patents and other "key documents" out of public view during the trial, which is set to kick off at the end of the month...