Legal

Samsung alleges jury misconduct in Apple case

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 9, 2012

Federal District Judge Lucy Koh will look into claims of Samsung's attorneys that a foreman in the Apple v. Samsung lawsuit concealed information during the jury selection process. Attorneys for the South Korean conglomerate argue that that jury foreman Velvin Hogan didn't disclose he'd been sued by Seagate, which led him to file for personal bankruptcy in 1993. Samsung also states that it has a "substantial strategic relationship" with Seagate and insists Hogan should have informed the court about the case...

Patent troll VirnetX adds latest iOS devices and Macs to Apple lawsuit

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated November 19, 2018

Hot on the heels of the $368 million payout in the FaceTime suit, patent holding firm VirnetX is trolling Apple again, this time with claims that both the iPhone 5 and iPad mini infringe upon four patents. Both devices, along with the latest iPod and Macs, were added to the lawsuit. Just like the Facetime case could result in a ban of the iPhone 4S, this latest wrinkle might put sales of Apple's newest products in jeopardy ahead of the fast-approaching holiday season...

Apple adds Galaxy Note 10.1 and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean to Samsung suit

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated December 2, 2016

Apple's just expanded its second lawsuit against Samsung, seeking to include the South Korean company's 10.1-inch Galaxy Note tablet on a list of allegedly infringing products. In addition, the iPhone maker has alleged that Google's Android version 4.1 software, also known as Jelly Bean, infringes upon its patents. This could be the first time Apple directly sued Android over alleged patent infringement, though it wasn't immediately clear whether Apple's complaint involved the entire Android OS or just Samsung's TouchWiz overlay. The case is scheduled for trial in 2014. And so it continues...

Google still ‘interested in reaching an agreement with Apple’ over patents

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 5, 2012

Though it hinted it was tiring of patent wars and even dropped its ITC patent infringement claims against Apple (the move some deciphered as a gesture of goodwill), Motorola could be off the hook as Google was quoted as saying Monday that that a Wisconsin federal court tossed Apple’s “patent lawsuit with prejudice” out of the window.

The search monster relayed willingness of its subsidiary Motorola to license its patents portfolio at a reasonable and non-discriminatory rate "in line with industry standards", court documents have it. Apple in a filing last week hinted it would accept a license at a court-determined rate of up to $1 per iPhone on FRAND terms. Also indicative, the two companies in August demonstrated ability to resolve differences, having signed a patent licensing agreement in Germany...

Apple dodges its taxes outside the United States

Oliver Haslam ∙ Updated March 29, 2017

The subject of large companies paying their taxes is something of a hot button topic in the UK right now, which is why the likes of Starbucks have already found themselves thrown to the wolves over their accounting practices. Today, the latest multinational firm to be on the rack is Apple, with the news that it paid just 2% tax on its profits outside the US last year, leaving international taxmen considerably out of pocket.

Paperwork filed in the United States shows that Apple paid around 2% tax on its pre-tax earnings of $36.8B outside the US. That's down on the 2.5% paid the year before.

Oddly though, it's all perfectly legal...

Apple corrects inaccurate statement regarding Samsung patent infringement ruling on its UK website

Sébastien Page ∙ November 3, 2012

Apple just published a statement on its UK website to correct a previous apology that had been found inaccurate by the Court of Appeal of England and Wales. The statement can be found at the bottom of Apple UK website's home page, and links to a longer statement acknowledging that Samsung didn't copy the iPad.

This "updated" statement comes several days after Apple published a public apology on its website, at the request of the Court...

Phil Schiller to take the stand again in Samsung suit

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 2, 2012

The South Korean conglomerate Samsung will get another crack at questioning Phil Schiller, Apple's SVP of Worldwide Marketing, as part of the appeal proceedings concerning the Apple v. Samsung monster suit, a California court ordered yesterday following a request from Samsung lawyers. Apple must make Schiller available for another deposition this coming Monday. The massive lawsuit culminated when the jury handed the verdict, awarding Apple more than $1 billion in damages (the company wants more) while also ruling it did not infringe upon any of the patents held by its South Korean rival...

Apple loses rights to iPhone name in Mexico

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 30, 2017

Apple has lost a fairly significant court case in Mexico this week. A Mexico City Judge has denied the company's injunction request that would have allowed it to continue selling iPhone-branded products in the country.

Apparently, the "iPhone" moniker sounds too phonetically similar to iFone, a brand belonging to a Mexican telecommunications company. And the similarity is enough that Apple could be banned from using the name in the region...

Apple’s revised apology to Samsung hits UK newspapers

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 2, 2012

As required by the UK court of appeal, Apple today published a public apology to Samsung in The Guardian newspaper, following the previous U.K. ruling that Samsung tablets did not copy the iPad. Snarky Apple yesterday published a public notice of the ruling on its web site and ran into trouble because it cunningly inserted a paragraph quoting the Judge on how consumers can’t confuse the Galaxy Tab with the iPad because “they’re not as cool", prompting Judge Robin Jacob to order that the edits be made within 24 hours.

The iPhone maker has pulled the notice upon request by Samsung, which argued that Apple's version of the notice gave the “impression that the UK court is out of step with other courts". The company did not update its web site with a revised version of the notice at post time. I take it Apple employees are busy launching the iPad in 34 countries so nobody can update the web site...

UK Judge: Apple must remove “incorrect” Samsung apology

Ed Sutherland ∙ November 1, 2012

Note to Apple: UK judges don't get American snarkiness. The UK Court of Appeals Thursday told the iPhone maker its recent apology to Samsung was "incorrect" and required a new notice on the website "acknowledging the inaccurate comments." At issue: comments from the trial's first ruling in which the judge declared Samsung's tablet "not as cool."

Judge Robin Jacob ordered the changes to Apple's website be made within 24 hours, rejecting the Cupertino, Calif. firm's request for 14 days to make the edit. "This is Apple. They cannot put something on their website?" Jacob reportedly said...

Apple puts a price tag on Motorola’s wireless patents: $1 per iPhone

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 31, 2012

In a response to Motorola's motion from yesterday seeking clarification on essential wireless patents (which include both cellular and WiFi standards), Apple has formally acknowledged its willingness to accept a license at a court-determined rate of up to $1 per iPhone through a license agreement on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms.

The figure entails worldwide sales of covered products, the iPhone maker said. Apple's position on FRAND licensing is that the industry should set FRAND rates in order to prevent companies asserting wireless standards-essential patents against its rivals by jacking up prices.

Motorola, which is now a wholly-owned Google subsidiary, wrote in the filing that Microsoft's FRAND contract case had explicitly committed to the conclusion of a license agreement on court-ordered terms. Is there finally an end in sight to this patent mess?

Apple posts “Samsung didn’t copy the iPad” notice on UK site

Cody Lee ∙ October 26, 2012

A week ago, Apple tried appealing a recent ruling by the High Court in London that Samsung's Galaxy Tab didn't infringe on its design patents. As you may recall, this is the same case where the presiding Judge ordered Apple to run advertisements stating that Samsung didn’t copy the iPad.

Well, Apple lost that appeal. And this morning, it made good on its orders by posting a notice on the ruling to its UK website...