Legal

Apple tells Amazon China to pull the iPad off its online store

Oliver Haslam ∙ Updated October 25, 2016

Apple has seemingly told Amazon China to pull the iPad from sale in the country, according to a report from MIC Gadget.

The news comes as Apple is in the midst of a trademark battle in the region, with display maker Proview claiming to own said trademark for use inside China. Interestingly, Proview also claims to have had no knowledge of Apple's latest move, stating that the company had not requested Apple remove the iPad from sale in Beijing, which is where Amazon is located.

Unsurprisingly, Apple is currently refusing to comment on the situation...

Apple suing Samsung over autocorrect patent

Jake Smith ∙ Updated February 6, 2016

The battle between Apple and Samsung over patents has been going on for quite a while, and it seems there are new lawsuits every week. Yesterday, PaidContent reported that Apple has once again sued Samsung in a U.S District Court in San Jose, for two patents it was granted in December, adding to the mass of lawsuits already happening between the two companies.

The first patent pertains to Apple's famous autocorrect...

German court dismisses Motorola 3G-related lawsuit against Apple

Oliver Haslam ∙ February 10, 2012

A German court has today ruled that Apple does not infringe upon patents held by Motorola which pertain to 3G/UMTS technology.

Motorola had claimed that Apple's iPad and iPhone infringed upon patents held by the company. Judge Andreas Voss of the Mannheim Regional Court today ruled that Motorola did not present conclusive evidence of any infringement taking place and as such decided not to award an injunction.

The ruling relates to claim 9 of European Patent 1053613, entitled "Code and System for Generating a Complex Pseudonoise Sequence for Processing a Code Division Multiple Access [CDMA] Signal." Snappy title indeed...

Proview Asks Apple for $1.5 Billion Over iPad Trademark Hiccup

Oliver Haslam ∙ Updated January 25, 2016

It seems that Apple's legal team just cannot catch a break these days, and the company's lawyers certainly seem to have their work cut out if they are to avoid a large payout to Proview, a monitor and display company.

Proview is apparently the owner of a Chinese trademark for the term "iPad" and is currently locked in a legal battle with Apple over the use of the word for its – you guessed it – iPad.

The matter has already found its way into the courts, with large sums of money currently being discussed. The biggest number to come across our computer screens today is a staggering one, with Proview apparently set to ask Apple for a cool $1.5 billion in compensation for the whole ordeal...

Apple 3G Devices Briefly Banned From German Online Store

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated May 16, 2016

I woke up this morning finding out that the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, and 3G iPads had been banned from sales on Apple's online store in Germany, due to an injunction won by Motorola Mobility, following the company's first big legal victory against Apple in the country a couple months ago.

By the time I took a shower and got to my computer though, the ban had already been lifted. That was quick...

EU Launches Antitrust Probe into Samsung

Oliver Haslam ∙ January 31, 2012

Apple may have struck a blow in its current battle with Samsung over wireless technology patents, without actually doing anything.

News broke today that the European Union is launching a formal investigation into Samsung and its potential breach of EU antitrust rules. The investigation itself will focus on FRAND patents which means patent appliciations related to standards must be “fair, reasonable, and on non-discriminatory terms.”

The EU obviously believes Samsung hasn't been acting entirely above board with regards to its current patent dealings with Apple...

Apple Appeals Decision About iPad Trademark in China

Oliver Haslam ∙ January 31, 2012

In the latest round of trademark roulette, Apple has appealed a Chinese court decision that asserts a local monitor company owns the "iPad" trademark.

The company in question, Proview, apparently sold a selection of trademarks to a company representing Apple in 2006 but, according to Proview, the iPad trademark for China was not one of them.

Proview had claimed as much back in 2010, saying that it had sold the global trademark for "iPad" to IP Application Development, but that two trademarks in Mainland China were not included...

Dutch Judge Denies Apple Appeal, Deems Galaxy Tab Legal

Oliver Haslam ∙ January 24, 2012

Apple today lost the latest round of its legal battle with Samsung, with a Dutch appeal court siding with the Korean tablet and smartphone maker.

Apple had claimed that Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet had infringed upon some of company's iPad patents, and sought a ban of the infringing hardware. At an appeal hearing today however, a Dutch judge at The Hague deemed the Galaxy Tab 10.1 to be a legal device, saying that it does not infringe on Apple's patents...

German Court Scuppers Samsung’s 3G Patent Lawsuit Against Apple

Oliver Haslam ∙ January 20, 2012

With Samsung and Apple locked in the middle of so many lawsuits these days, it can be difficult to keep up, but the latest movement in the saga sees the Korean smartphone maker receive a black-eye after a German court rejected one of its patent claims.

Samsung had claimed that Apple infringed upon one of its patents which pertained to 3G/UMTS technology and took the matter to the German courts. One of seven such claimed infringements, this one in particular has met an early death, with Germany's Mannheim Regional Court rejecting Samsung's claim of patent infringement.

Judge Andreas Voss made the decision although the reasons for it are currently a little opaque, with FOSS Patents left to venture a guess...

iPads Being Switched for Clay at Some Canadian Retail Outlets

Oliver Haslam ∙ Updated August 24, 2016

As is the case with any desirable piece of technology, the iPad has been the unfortunate subject of more than a few scams in its time, and a new one has come to light in Canada recently.

According to reports, some unlucky buyers have picked up new iPad 2 units from some Best Buy, Future Shop, Walmart and London Drugs stores only to find that the boxes do not actually contain iPads as expected, but rather a giant grey slab of modelling clay.

It's not even a nice color...

Samsung Wants Apple to Reveal Its Contract with Qualcomm

Oliver Haslam ∙ Updated March 18, 2019

Samsung has requested details of the contract between iPad and iPhone maker Apple and the company which provides the chipsets for those machines, Qualcomm.

With Samsung currently locked in a legal battle with Apple over the Cupertino firm's possible patent infringement, the nature of the deal between them and Qualcomm could leave Apple almost immune from Samsung's claims.

If Qualcomm has licensed its technology to Apple directly then the company effectively has the same deal as Samsung, meaning "Apple's buying Qualcomm chips is as good as paying for the patents" and neutralizing any litigation in the process...

Apple Set for Legal Battle over iBook Piracy in China

Oliver Haslam ∙ Updated July 10, 2017

As if Apple's lawyers don't have enough on their plate right now, it appears that they will soon be needing to hop on a plane and head to China, with a new legal bruhaha brewing.

Apple is now being asked for $1.88 million dollars, with a collection of Chinese authors claiming that 37 of their works are being distributed illegally on the iBookstore – Apple's Kindle competitor.

As if to add insult to injury, Apple has been taking its customary 30% of all sales in the store, effectively receiving money thanks to pirated materials...