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Spanish firm NT-K beats Apple in court, files extortion charges
Two months ago, Spanish tablet maker Nuevas Tecnologías y Energías Catalá (or NT-K for short) won a design infringement lawsuit Apple filed against it a year earlier. Now, NT-K is on the offensive and seeking damages from Apple; the company has filed extortion charges against Apple, according to The Mac Observer. NT-K's tablets were all seized when Apple successfully obtained an injunction against sales of the devices, and NT-K argues this was a severe detriment to sales. It's hard to argue with their reasoning, but analysis by FOSS Patents questions whether Apple pursuing its legal rights in an infringement case falls under the umbrella of extortion. "For now I don't see evidentiary support for the claim that Apple sought to 'extort' NT-K and possibly other small companies," Florian Mueller writes. Over the past year, Apple has aggressively targeted companies it feels are copying designs of the iPad and iPhone. Companies both large and small have borne the brunt of Cupertino's wrath, from smaller outfits like NT-K all the way up to industry giants like Samsung. .
Apple loses iPad design lawsuit against NT-K
Apple has lost an iPad design infringement lawsuit it brought against the small Spanish tablet maker, Nuevas Tecnologías y Energías Catalá. Nuevas created an Android-powered tablet called the nt-k Pad, which Apple believed was a knock off of the iPad. Interestingly, Apple filed not just a commercial lawsuit, but a criminal one against the company too. As noted by FOSS Patents: Apple accused nt-k in November 2010 of "copying" the iPad and went straight for a customs ban. As a result, Spanish customs seized shipments from China containing nt-k's Android-based tablet. The little company temporarily appeared on an EU-wide list of product pirates, but worst of all, after some correspondence between the two companies, Apple also brought criminal charges on December 9, 2010 (as it had previously threatened in writing). From the front, the nt-k does resemble the iPad, but with more buttons. However, there's no way anyone could mistake it for Apple's device once they saw the back of it and noticed its rather thick bulk. The Spanish court ruled that there wasn't "sufficient justification" for the case and threw it out of court. Yesterday, Nuevas posted a blog (Google translation) on their website that they had defeated Apple and now they are suing the Cupertino company for monetary damage compensation, lost profits, and "moral damages." The company is also urging the Spanish courts to pursue an antitrust investigation against Apple.
Victory in Valencia: Android tablet maker gets Apple's iPad design lawsuit dismissed in Spain
Apple's taken its war on Android around the world and has won several battles recently, but the latest news from Spain isn't so rosy for Cupertino. Last year, Apple filed suit against Spanish firm NT-K, alleging it was infringing Apple's iPad design-related IP. Shortly thereafter, Apple scored a customs ban on NT-K's tablets, but yesterday a Spanish court decided to dismiss Apple's legal complaint and set NT-K's Gingerbread slates free. Victory in hand, the company plans to pursue a civil suit against Apple for damages caused by the ban. Score one for the green bot army, let's see if Samsung and HTC can follow their fellow Android OEM to the courtroom winner's circle.
