Apple, Samsung rest case in multimillion-dollar patent fight. Apple lawyer on Samsung scandal: "I'm old enough not to believe in coincidences anymore" Before I talk about the primary subject of this post, let me just say up front that I'm going to take a week off now (explanation provided further below), so unless something absolutely amazingly spectacular happens (such as an Apple-Samsung settlement), this blog won't be updated until at least the 14th. Yesterday's post on a court order regarding further discovery that will presumably result in sanctions against Samsung and its outside counsel -- involving highly confidential information about patent license agreements Apple struck with Nokia, Ericsson, Sharp, and Philips -- has sent shockwaves.
Not only has it received tens of thousands of hits on this blog but the copy of the document that I uploaded to Scribd was viewed more than 1.2 million times during the first 24 hours or so (not on Scribd itself but as an embedded document on various major news sites). I can't remember that any other document I uploaded was viewed by so many people on a single day. First week off in three years.
Samsung v Apple - more skirmishes in the patent war. A few new blows have exchanged this month in the on-going worldwide battle between Samsung and Apple discussed in previous newsletters. At the end of February, Samsung lost a case in the Tokyo District Court of Japan in which Samsung had attempted to show that Apple’s iPhone infringed JP 4,642,898 relating to 3G technology. In this case, Judge Ichiro Otaka ruled that Samsung had abused its position and had not acted in good faith. Firstly, the court noted that Samsung had made the patent in question essential by submitting it for the 3G (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System - UMTS) standard. The body (European Telecommunications Standards Institute - ETSI) which oversees the UMTS Standard requires that companies reveal any IPR that they have that may be essential to the adoption of a standard. This must be done in a timely manner. In the current case, Samsung had three patents that related to the UMTS standard.
Meanwhile, the battle between Samsung and Apple rumbles on. Samsung v Apple – again. Apple v Samsung: the long war continues. The on-going legal battles between the world’s two largest smartphone manufacturers continued recently with two significant decisions in different jurisdictions. A US court significantly reduced an award of damages to Apple and an English court ruled that three of Samsung’s patents were invalid. The landmark award of $1.049 billion in damages granted last August to Apple was reduced by approximately $450 million this month. The reduction was ordered by the judge on the basis that the jury had erred in law in making that particular award. The judge also ordered a re-trial to determine new damages for the amount she cut (subject to any appeal of her decision). The new jury will assess only the issue of damages; the finding that Samsung infringed Apple’s patents and designs relating to the iPhone 3GS will stand.
The result of a case before the English High Court saw three of Samsung’s patents invalidated.
Apple vs Samsung: the long war. US Proceedings Apple has lost its appeal to ban the sale of 26 patent infringing Samsung devices in the US after it failed to establish that these Samsung products had a detrimental effect on consumer demand for its products. The US Court acknowledged that while Samsung may have eroded Apple’s customer base, there was no evidence to suggest that the infringement would have wiped out Apple’s customer base or forced it out of the smartphone sector. The trial judge noted that ‘’the present case involves lost sales’’, not the lost ability to engage in the smartphone market. Samsung has issued a statement that it is pleased with the judge’s decision regarding Apple’s appeal and noted that it will consider whether further measures will be required in relation to a retrial (see below). Apple has declined to comment on the ruling.
In a separate filing, Samsung was denied its appeal for a retrial on the matter. US Patent European Proceedings.
German court says Samsung&Motorola dt infringe Apple. Samsung v iPhone 5. Samsung wasn't allowed to compare Apple's damages claim to cost of Curiosity Mars rover. Managing Intellectual Property | Topics | Smartphone patent wars. Revelations Apple-Samsung. Here's Apple's August 2010 Warning to Samsung on Patents - Ina Fried. Stung by what it saw as a rip-off of the iPhone, Apple met with Samsung in August 2010 to warn the Korean company that it believed its patents were being infringed.
“The Android software platform makes extensive use of Apple intellectual property … without Apple’s permission,” Apple said in the report, which was made public on Friday. “Samsung’s choice to use Android without a license undermines Samsung’s greater relationship with Apple.” In the report, Apple identifies dozens of patents it believed were being infringed by Samsung’s products, including some, but not all of the patents at issue in the current federal case being tried in San Jose, Calif. “Apple has identified dozens of examples where Android is using or encouraging others to use Apple patented technology,” Apple said.
“Apple has not authorized the use of any of these patents.” The company also showed other areas that it said amounted to copying, including the way that the Galaxy S was packaged.
Apple Emerges Victorious In Patent Trial Against Samsung : The Two-Way. In what was billed the "patent trial of the century," Apple emerged victorious in its fight against Samsung. A federal grand jury in San Jose, Calif. quickly worked through a 20-page verdict form, finding that Samsung violated many of Apple's patents, handing the Cupertino tech behemoth a major victory and a little more than $1 billion in damages. It was a complicated case but as the San Jose Mercury News puts it, in the end it was a clear victory for Apple. Perhaps what makes it clearer is that the jury did not award Samsung any damages on any of its counter claims. All Things D reports that the jury found Samsung violated utility patents as well as design patents. All Things D adds: "It wasn't a clean sweep as the seven man, two woman jury did find in Samsung's favor on some patents as to a handful of the 20-something phones and tablets that Apple had accused Samsung of infringing.
What happens next is unclear, but it is certain to rile the mobile market. Update at 9:55 p.m.
Samsung expected to adjust designs after $1B jury award to Apple. News Analysis August 27, 2012 12:17 PM ET Computerworld - Samsung intends to fight Friday's landmark jury award of $1 billion to Apple over smartphone and tablet patent violations -- possibly for years. But while it fights on, Samsung and other cellphone makers are expected to make changes to future Android smartphone and tablet designs to avoid further patent litigation. Some analysts suggested Monday that the loss in court could prod Samsung to produce more phones using Microsoft's Windows Phone operating system, instead of Google's Android, which played a key role in Apple's arguments to the jury.
Samsung is expected to appeal Friday's verdict, and it has vowed to fight on in nine other countries where it and Apple have filed more than 50 patent-related lawsuits. In coming months, the South Korean manufacturer will continue to produce new designs and concepts, and some may show up in the Galaxy S IV, which is expected to launch in 2013, analysts said.
Apple stock. 2012-08-16 Patent Wars in the Smart Phone Industry. In today's smartphone industry, fancy technology is no longer the only thing that allows a manufacturer to beat its competitors. Patent lawsuits may have greater firepower. In its latest legal case leveled against Samsung, Apple has accused the South Korean electronics giant of infringing upon its design patents and is seeking some 2.5 billion U.S. dollars in compensation.
A verdict is still to close to call, but the outcome of the case will have a large bearing on the way future patent cases are handled. Smartphone makers exploiting the patent system to squeeze their peers off the racetrack is hardly something new in the industry, but the frequency with which these companies are suing each other is a cause for concern as many fear the patent wars could stifle innovation and limit the scope of choice for the average consumer. So how do legal experts see the existing patent system that's meant to encourage innovation? And how will the patent wars shape the smartphone industry? Mobile phones: Difference Engine: Copying the copier.