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Samsung Galaxy Tab cleared for sale in The Netherlands, says Dutch court
Despite Apple's attempts to get Samsung's Galaxy Tab 7.7, 8.9, and 10.1 banned from sale in The Netherlands (per ongoing litigation between the two companies), a Dutch court in The Hague struck down that request in a ruling today. Apple claimed Samsung's Galaxy Tab line too closely resembled its own line of iPads, but apparently Dutch officials disagreed -- Apple is paying Samsung €63,678 ($84,755) in court costs as a result. This isn't even the first time a Dutch court sided with Samsung over Apple's claims on its Galaxy Tab line. The two companies are engaged in a worldwide patent struggle, each trying to get the other company's products banned for sale in various regions. The situation in The Netherlands is particularly contentious, with some serious back-and-forth over various devices across the past several years. Today's news is just one more small step in the ongoing patent saga between Samsung and Apple, sadly, and we'll assuredly see much more minutiae before the two are through.
Apple signs lease for new store in The Hague
Apple is reportedly moving into a new space in The Hague (Netherlands), but its arrival may disappoint holiday shoppers next year. According to a report in ifoAppleStore and iPhoneClub.nl, Apple has allegedly signed a lease to occupy a three-level space that once housed the Selexyz bookstore. As part of the terms of its lease, Apple prohibits the decade-long tradition of displaying a large Christmas tree in the rotunda of the mall because it will block the company's retail storefront. The new Apple store will occupy an 18,800-square-foot space in the historic The Passage mall, which was built in a Neo-Renaissance style and dates back to 1882. Apple will officially open in mid-2013 after the bookstore finishes moving out of the premises. [Via ifoAppleStore]
Dutch court rules that Samsung didn't infringe on Apple multi-touch patent
Once again, a decision has been made on an Apple versus Samsung patent dispute. This time, it's a Dutch court in the Hague, ruling that Samsung does not infringe on a Cupertino patent relating to certain multi-touch commands that the Korean firm implements in some of its Galaxy phones and tablets. This isn't the first time that the Netherlands-based court has found in favor of Samsung, and Apple had already lost a preliminary injunction on this same patent last year. Reuters also reports that the Hague court's decision comes in the same week that the International Trade Commission is expected to decide about further patent disputes between the two firms, which went in favor of Apple the last time around. At the very least, this long and bumpy ride isn't over yet.
Samsung will seek compensation from Apple following 3G patent ruling
Samsung will seek damages from Apple after a ruling yesterday in The Hague stating that Apple had infringed on a 3G patent. The Dutch court ruled in favor of Samsung, stating that Apple must pay compensation for infringing European patent EP1188269. Previously, Samsung had unsuccessfully attempted to ban sales of iPhones and iPads in Europe based on four patents that are essential to implementation of 3G. The court ruled that the technology in question is subject to "fair, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory (FRAND)" licensing, so Samsung was not entitled to ask for a ban on sales of the infringing Apple devices. Those devices include the iPhone 3G, 3GS, and 4, as well as the iPad 1 and 2. The ruling of the court means that Apple will need to pay damages to Samsung for these devices, which use baseband chips manufactured by companies other than Qualcomm.
Dutch court rules in favor of Samsung in 3G patent case against Apple, could lead to compensation
Remember that Apple versus Samsung case? You know, the one with the patents? Okay, well while these disputes are not rare, they do occasionally finally get decided upon. A District Court in the Hague, Holland, has ruled that some of Apple's older iPads (versions one and two) and iPhones (3G, 3Gs, and 4) violate one of the Korean firm's 3G patents. This comes after the same court shot down two of Samsung's other patent claims. Today's ruling regards European Patent EP1188269, which protects "Apparatus for encoding a transport format combination indicator for a communications system." Dutch site WebWereld.nl reports that the court ruled that the two tech giants try and reach a compensatory deal. Despite this, Samsung will still have to pay up €800,000 in costs to Apple for the two cases it lost. There is no talk of a sales ban at this time.
The Hague to Samsung: no injunction for 3G patent infringement if Apple's willing to FRAND license
Since it's been more than 24 hours since the last bit of news in the ongoing legal battle between Samsung and Apple, we figured you could do with another litigation revelation. Late last year, the Hague shot down Sammy's request to prevent iPads and iPhones from being sold in the Netherlands. Today, the Dutch court went a step further, telling the Korean company that it can't pursue any other injunctions based upon its FRAND 3G patents as long as Cupertino's willing to talk about licensing them. Not only that, it went on to hold that those patents don't apply in Sammy's case against the iPhone 4S due to the theory of patent exhaustion. The allegedly infringing bits in the handset are made by Qualcomm, who licensed the technology directly from Samsung -- granting Apple protection under the license as a third party beneficiary -- and Apple prevailed using arguments not unlike those it made in a suit it recently filed against Motorola. Score one more legal victory for Tim Cook and company, but as you already know, the war is far from over.
Samsung modifies Galaxy smartphones to satisfy Dutch court, plans to resume sales soon
Earlier this summer, a judge in The Netherlands ruled to ban sales of Samsung Galaxy S, S II and Ace smartphones, stating that the devices violated an Apple patent which deals with a "method of scrolling." Well, nearly two months have passed, and Samsung is just now getting around to releasing "upgraded" versions of the affected devices, presumably implementing a non-infringing scroll tool. A Samsung spokesman told Reuters that the three phones will "shortly be available for sale," neglecting to provide an exact release date -- so we wouldn't suggest lining up to get your Galaxy S II fix just yet. This small victory is only the latest in the Apple / Samsung lawsuit saga, which has created quite a stir in a handful of courts around the world. We have yet to hear about a solution to the Galaxy Tab 10.1 ban in Australia, for example, where fingers are being pointed in every direction.
Did Apple shrink the Samsung Galaxy S in Dutch lawsuit filing?
We haven't had a chance to head on down to The Hague to have a look-see for ourselves, but Dutch tech site Webwereld spotted some more inconsistencies in Apple's Samsung lawsuit filings. This time the culprit is a shrunken Galaxy S, standing side-by-side with an identically tall iPhone 3G -- when in reality the Samsung phone is seven millimeters taller than its Apple counterpart, and slightly wider as well. The image, filed in the Netherlands, is part of an intellectual property suit against Samsung, and came to light just days after accusations that Apple manipulated photos of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 that it submitted to a German court. While misleading, this latest error isn't nearly as concerning as last week's shrunken Tab -- which could easily be described as image manipulation, considering that the tablet included in that filing represented an incorrect 4:3 aspect ratio, while the Samsung device has a 16:10 display. Update: The phone pictured above is the Samsung Galaxy S, not the Galaxy S II. [Thanks, Florian]
NL ruling on Apple vs. Samsung dispute due on 9/15, courtroom antics catalogued
Apple has succeeded in getting the Galaxy Tab 10.1 blocked from import into most of Europe -- but not the Netherlands. Today the initial proceedings in the legal dispute between the two companies there came to a close, an apparently entertaining show that saw Apple attempting to make the case that its design is being stolen. Apple presented online market research indicating that 80% of respondents found the iPad and Galaxy Tab 10.1 to be "identical" or at least "similar in general impression," a study that apparently did not impress the judge. Apple also alleged infringement from the Galaxy S and the Galaxy Ace, while Samsung, for its part, said Apple's claims were far too vague, enough so that any digital photo frame would be in trouble.While Danny Crane sadly did not make an appearance the presiding judge still seemed rather amused, calling the various legal representatives "terriers" according to Andreas Udo de Haes, an editor at Webwereld who live-tweeted the proceedings. The judge finished by saying a ruling would come on September 15th and if indeed an injunction were coming it won't appear until October 13th. So, tablet fans in the Netherlands, know that you have at least two months worth of worry-free shopping ahead of you.[Thanks, Paul]
Holland's net neutrality act threatens to disrupt mobile carriers' pricing schemes
Net neutrality advocates are gaining momentum in The Hague as Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs, Maxime Verhagen, agreed to begin drafting legislation prohibiting teleco providers from blocking or charging extra for specific data traffic. Verhagen's action comes at the request of majority leaders in Netherland's Lower House, which adopted a motion to modify the Telecommunications Act in support of bit equality. The change should cause waves throughout the nation's mobile industry as Holland's largest provider, KPN, recently announced it would use deep packet inspection to monitor and selectively charge customers based on their usage. Currently, Vodafone blocks VoIP unless customers pay extra and T-Mobile has previously suggested it might follow suit. The Economic Minister is now working with officials in Brussels to ensure the legislation is compatible with the EU framework, and the proposal is expected to go before the Dutch parliament within a few weeks. Skype and WhatsApp have received particular attention, as mobile providers argue they must offset the losses caused by these apps with surcharges -- or to block them altogether. Perhaps it's not the best week to be a telco exec in the Netherlands, but users of these "controversial" apps surely have reason to smile. [Image courtesy Flickr]
TomTom sues Garmin, but surprisingly not for patent infringement
As you probably already know, there's nothing we love more around here than some intense courtroom drama (our Series3 is already at capacity thanks to 24/7 Law & Order), so we were excited to learn that the age-old grudge match between GPS kings Garmin and TomTom is about to enter a thrilling new chapter. To quickly recap the events so far: American manufacturer Garmin sued its Dutch rival over patent infringement in February of this year (something about technologies designed to calculate which streets are important enough to a driver's route to be displayed), after which TomTom countersued with infringement claims of its own. Garmin then fired back at TomTom in August with yet another patent claim, but instead of continuing this amusing game of tit-for-tat, TomTom decided to go after its rival in familiar territory, filing a suit in The Hague that accuses Garmin of copying the look and feel of its devices. As The Register notes, Garmin and TomTom split the US market 50.8% / 26.9% and the European market 16.7% / 30%, respectively, so the stakes in this battle are pretty high, with each company fiercely trying to one-up the other on its home turf. Since all of these legal proceedings will probably take years to get sorted out, your best bet is to just sit back, enjoy the show, and don't let either combatant lure you off a cliff or into a big pile of sand.
