A court in Germany has ruled that Apple's iPhone infringes upon Samsung's patents related to 3G wireless technology and has issued an order to stay a German Samsung v. Apple lawsuit. Patent blogger Florian Müeller who follows tech litigation explains that the case will be adjudicated only after the validity of this patent. Apple, of course, is challenging the validity of Samsung's patent, but that will likely take years to resolve...
If you're interested in taking matters into your own hands when it comes to unlocking you iPhone, then you may want to act fast, or else potentially be at risk of being labeled a law breaker. According to a report by Tech News Daily: On Saturday, January 26th, a DMCA exemption expires that made unlocking a phone on your own terms fully legal.
In all actuality, the exemption was nullified back on October 26 (read the final ruling here), but due to a 90 day grace period of sorts, the final expiration date takes place this weekend. Obviously, unlocking is a big subject here at iDownloadBlog, so we're interested to hear your thoughts on the matter. Bear in mind that it's not all gloom and doom, though...
The Galaxy maker, Samsung of South Korea, has cunningly persuaded judges to review their preliminary ruling that more than a dozen Samsung devices copied Apple's patented iPhone features, Bloomberg reports this morning.
Last October, a judge with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) recommended that trade agency impose an import ban on the infringing Samsung device. ITC confirmed Thursday it will review the preliminary ruling.
As a result, Samsung has managed to push back a final decision, which was originally scheduled for March 27...
Apple CEO Tim Cook will be questioned on February 20 alongside Google chairman Eric Schmidt, former Intel boss Paul Otellini and other top ranking officials of Silicon Valley companies in regard to allegations that these tech giants illegally instituted anti-poaching measures for financial gains.
U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh ordered Cook to be questioned by plaintiff attorneys for four hours. Five former employees of Apple, Google, Intel and others filed a civil suit alleging their former employers conspired to eliminate competition for each other's employees...
Apple isn't having as much litigation success in Europe as it's had over in the United States, where the jury hit Samsung with a massive $1.05 billion fine in the high-stake Apple v. Samsung trial. Courts in The Netherlands, for example, aren't nearly as sympathetic to Apple's infringement claims.
To refresh your memory, Apple has been claiming that Samsung's Galaxy tablets infringe upon its design patents for the iPad. However, it's been reported this morning that a Dutch court upon closer examination of Apple's claims has ruled that the Galaxy tablets do not infringe an the iPad design. Interestingly enough, the ruling mentions previous decisions in British courts...
Amazon last September asked court to drop Apple's suit over its use of the 'Appstore' term in relation to its application store, which launched as the Amazon Appstore for Android, but is now simply called the Amazon Appstore. The service is carrying mobile applications for Android devices and Amazon's own Kindle lineup of tablets and e-readers.
Apple's been arguing from the onset that Amazon has been attempting to free-ride on the popularity of the term Apple helped push by aggressively marketing its App Store. And now, a judge has ordered the two parties to enter settlement talks ahead of trial...
Earlier this year, The New York Times wrote a piece on the different methods Apple uses to sidestep "billions in corporate taxes." Like other articles in the publication's iEconomy series, it painted the Cupertino company in a not-so-favorable light.
But despite the workarounds, Apple says it still pays a significant amount in income taxes. According to a recent statement, it paid over $6 billion in US taxes during its fiscal 2012, accounting for $1 out of every $40 collected from corporations...
Samsung of South Korea has lost its bid to keep court records sealed indicating how many products were sold. The ruling by a San Jose, California federal judge denied the request, writing the information required by the court does not reveal product pricing or profit information. However, U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh, still deliberating whether Apple should receive additional damages to the $1.05 billion awarded in August, did seal a document showing Samsung operating profit for two phones, according to a report from yesterday...
Faced with a potential $15 billion fine by The European Commission over its misuse of standards-essential patents in litigation with Apple, Samsung earlier this month dropped its bid to ban Apple devices in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy and the Netherlands. Seemingly mirroring Samsung's move, Apple has now agreed to withdraw its patent infringement claims against a new Samsung phone it added to its U.S. suit on Black Friday, Reuters reports...
Reuters reported last week that the European Union would “very soon” formally charge Samsung for asserting standard essential patents against Apple.
Smelling danger, just days prior to the development the Galaxy maker had withdrawn all its injunction requests in European courts.
Friday morning, UK's The Guardian newspaper reported that the European Commission could now slap the South Korean conglomerate - the world's top cell phone maker by volume - with a substantial fine of up to ten percent of its global revenue, amounting to as much as fifteen billion dollars based on Samsung's 2011 revenue of $148.9 billion...
The European Union will "very soon" charge Samsung over its practice of filing injunctions against Apple in Europe, Reuters reported Thursday. The news arrives after Samsung dropped all of its injunctions and injunction requests against Cupertino, California-based Apple's gadgets in Europe and following a U.S. ruling that threw Samsung's alleged jury misconduct claim out of the window.
The European Union in January launched a formal investigation into a potential breach of EU antitrust rules concerning Samsung's use of standards-essential patents...
A United States International Trade Commission (ITC) judge ruled Tuesday that Apple's iconic iPhone did not infringe upon any of the patents owned by Google's subsidiary Motorola Mobility.
A spokesperson for Motorola said to the press that "we’re disappointed with this outcome and are evaluating our options".
Apple wouldn't comment but club Cupertino must be joyful with the outcome, especially knowing Google spent $12.5 billion just to get hold of Motorola's patent trove...