Lawsuit

Apple could face U.S. ban on products over 3G patent

The U.S.-based court battle between Motorola and Apple may have been dismissed, but Apple's problems are far from over. As far as the ITC is concerned, the company is still facing a possible product import ban.

A new report is out this afternoon, claiming that the International Trade Commission is reviewing a previous ruling that says Apple is in violation of one of Motorola's patents. And the outcome, could be devastating...

Judge sets Apple e-book price fixing trial for 2013

Earlier this year, the United States Department of Justice filed an antitrust lawsuit against Apple and five major book publishers for allegedly conspiring to raise e-book prices.

Three of the five publishers have decided to settle with the DoJ. But Apple, however, maintains its innocence. And it'll get a chance to prove that in court, come next June...

Apple fined $2.29 million over “4G” iPad claim

Apple has bent the truth by advertising its iPad in Australia as having "4G" capability, thus misleading would-be buyers. For that, Cupertino has now been fined a whopping $2.29 million, Associated Press reports.

The case was brought by regulators shortly following the iPad's release in Australia, when the company began advertising the tablet as "iPad with WiFi + 4G" though it cannot connect to Australia's fourth-generation LTE network. Apple will also have to pay 300,000 Australian dollars in litigation costs...

Judge deals Kodak a major setback in Apple patent suit

Those of you longing for more news regarding the ongoing court battle between Apple and Kodak over image patents will be happy to hear that we've just received an update on the case.

It appears that the judge, today, has denied the struggling camera company's request to fast-track the trial, meaning that Kodak could go broke before a decision is reached in court...

Judge greenlights iPhone location tracking lawsuit

Today's a particularly bad day for Apple's legal sharks. Just as we learned that Apple won't be able to stop June 21 launch of Samsung's Galaxy S III in the U.S. as it hoped it would, Reuters now reports that Apple also failed to fend off the high-profile iPhone tracking lawsuit. Though a federal judge ruled against Apple, he conspicuously let the likes of Google, AdMarval, AdMob, Flurry and Medialets off the hook...

Apple settles Australian ‘4G’ iPad dispute for $2.25 million

Apple has taken a lot of heat over the use of the '4G' term in the name of its latest iPad. While the tablet is indeed LTE-capable here in the States, it isn't in most other places. And some folks found that misleading.

Perhaps its most public battle has been in Australia, where Apple has been getting sued by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission over the moniker. But the headache appears to be almost over...

Deciding enough is enough, judge scraps Apple-Motorola suit

Don't you just detest often silly legal proceedings in the technology business? I'm talking about an endless back and forth between Apple and Motorola over who copied whom, with no clear winner in sight.

Well, Apple's and Motorola's past childish behavior in the courtroom has really tested the limits of one judge's patience, who dismissed a patent infringement trial after hearing each side’s damages arguments.

This was bound to the first major lawsuit between Apple and Motorola following completion of the latter's acquisition by search giant Google...

Here’s what Google becoming a handset maker means for Apple

Earlier today, Google CEO Larry Page took to company blog to break the big news: having obtained necessary approvals from watchdogs on both side of the Atlantic, the search giant has finally closed its $12.5 billion acquisition of the ailing handset maker Motorola Mobility in a move meant to “supercharge the Android ecosystem”.

The transaction will close by May 23 and is rumored to see Google laying off up to one-third of Motorola staff.

Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha is stepping down (not unexpected) and will be replaced by Dennis Woodside whom Apple tried to poach last year. The new CEO already promised "fewer, bigger bets", meaning Motorola should streamline its portfolio to focus on a select few hero devices.

So, Googlerola is alive and the search giant is now officially a handset maker - one sitting on an enormous pile of patents. In fact, the search Goliath is now in a position to directly fight Apple's allegations against Android makers.

Taking it all in, we analyze what repercussions - if any - this development potentially poses for Apple and its ongoing legal spat against major Android backers such as HTC, Samsung and, yes, Motorola...

Tim Cook to start settlement talks with Samsung head today

Well it appears that Apple could be getting closer to resolving its 14 month-long patent dispute with Samsung. The two companies are slated to begin their court-ordered mediation session later today.

Reuters is reporting that it has learned that Apple's Tim Cook, and Samsung vice chairman Choi Gee-sung will be meeting in a San Francisco federal courthouse this afternoon to discuss a legal truce...

HTC alters functionality of US handsets to bypass Apple patents

If you ever wondered whether Apple's patent infringement claims against HTC were worth the pain, here's your answer.

Responding to a recent exclusion order by the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) concerning HTC One X and Evo 4G LTE shipments, the Taiwanese handset maker, once the dominant force in the Android camp, is now pre-loading its U.S. phones with an altered build of Android software.

Designed to bypass Apple patents, it changes the expected behavior of these devices. As a result, flagship HTC phones waiting to be imported into the United States now feature notably different functionality compared to HTC devices shipping elsewhere in the world.

The change is also impacting the uniformity of the Android experience, suggesting Apple was right to sue in the first place...