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Apple rejects Samsung request to see iOS 6 source code
In the never-ending global legal battle between Apple and Samsung, the Korean electronics firm has been rebuffed by Apple in an attempt to see the source code for iOS 6. According to The Korea Times, Samsung argues that unless they have access to the source code, they won't know if iOS 6 infringes on its technology patents. Apple's legal representatives apparently called the demand "insane," with a Seoul Central District Court representative recalling an Apple lawyer as saying, "It doesn't make any sense. Samsung is saying that we should give up protecting our most important data." What Samsung is most interested in looking at is whether Apple infringed on its patents when iOS acquired Notification Center. As iOS users are aware, Notification Center lets users check status of things like messages, schedules and weather information by swiping down from the top of a screen. Samsung says they originally patented that feature in November of 2006, and put the feature into Samsung Galaxy smartphones and tablets before Apple did. The court hasn't yet decided whether to accept Samsung's request to see the source code.
Attempts to ban Apple devices could see Samsung fined $15 billion
The European Commission has made it clear that it's none too happy with Samsung over the company's attempts to get Apple devices including the iPhone and iPad banned there. The Guardian reports that the commission is claiming Samsung tried to use so-called standard-essential patents to request the bans, a practice that could see the company fined up to 10 percent of its 2011 revenue, or about $15 billion. Standard-essential patents are ones that a company agrees to license to any competitor, and if the two companies can't come to an agreement on a fair and non-discriminatory (FRAND) licensing fee, one will be determined by a court. In this case, the patents cover 3G technology. Apple has attempted to license them but hasn't been able to agree on a price with Samsung. Perhaps in anticipation of the European Commission's move, Samsung withdrew its request to have the iPhone and iPad banned in Europe earlier this month. In a statement, it cited a willingness to "protect consumer choice" and "compete fairly in the marketplace, rather than in court" as its motivation. The company is still seeking similar bans in other countries including the US, however. It must now respond to the commission, which will then decide if a fine will be levied. [Via BGR]
Apple withdraws patent claim against Samsung's Galaxy S III mini
Apple's patent claim against Samsung's Galaxy S III mini is no more, with Cupertino citing the phone's lacking availability in the US for the amendment to its original November filing. In the ongoing litigation between the two electronics giants, Samsung argued that it's Galaxy S III mini didn't warrant inclusion in the latest volley of Samsung devices Apple wants added to its patent lawsuit; Apple apparently agreed, and is thusly withdrawing its claim against that particular device. The argument also highlights the sad news that the S III mini won't join Samsung's Galaxy lineup in the US. An agreement filing spotted by Reuters from a San Jose, CA. US District Court revealed today's news, coming just days after Judge Lucy Koh dismissed a request to permanently ban sales on several Samsung devices. It's unclear if the other Samsung devices Apple asked to be added to the ongoing case are approved yet by the court, but we can certainly count the S III mini out for the time being.
Daily Update for December 28, 2012
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
Judge throws out Samsung's juror misconduct argument
In the seemingly never-ending battle between Apple and Samsung, Apple just won another round. As you'll remember, Samsung had alleged that juror misconduct was behind Apple's decisive victory against the Korean manufacturer earlier in 2012. Yesterday, Judge Lucy Koh denied Samsung's request for an evidentiary hearing -- to determine if jury foreman Velvin Hogan was biased against Samsung and influenced the outcome of the trial -- and a whole new trial. In what was considered a longshot for Samsung, the company had accused Hogan of deliberately hiding information about a lawsuit he was involved in. That lawsuit was against Seagate, the drive manufacturer in which Samsung recently became a major shareholder. Samsung alleged that Hogan was biased against Samsung as a result, and worked to sway the rest of the jury members against the company. In her filing yesterday, Koh pointed out that Hogan had admitted that he worked for Seagate during jury selection. That gave Samsung's legal team the opportunity to discover Hogan's lawsuit had the team "acted with reasonable diligence." It wasn't all roses for Apple yesterday, though -- Koh threw out Apple's request for a permanent sales ban on the Samsung products that had infringed on Apple's patents. The judge still has to make a ruling on Apple's request for additional damages and Samsung's request to reduce the damages already awarded to Apple.
Court adds iPhone 5, Galaxy Note 10.1 and Galaxy S III to patent lawsuit
Both Samsung and Apple may expand their patent infringement claims to include recently released devices, says a report in Computerworld. A California judge handed down an order that let Apple add the Jelly Bean OS and new Samsung products like the Note 10.1 and the Galaxy S III to an ongoing patent lawsuit between the two companies. The same order also lets Samsung amend its infringement device list to include the iPhone 5 and possibly both the iPad mini and the iPad fourth generation. The order was handed down by Paul S. Grewal, Magistrate Judge of US District Court for the Northern District of California. Apple filed this lawsuit in February 2012 and is one of two cases that are making their way through the California court system. In the other case, a jury ruled in favor of Apple and awarded Apple a $1.05 billion judgment.
Daily Update for November 1, 2012
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
Dutch court finds Samsung does not infringe on Apple multitouch patent
Apple faced a legal setback in the Netherlands when a Dutch court ruled that Samsung's tablets and smartphones do not infringe on Apple's multitouch patents. This decision reaffirms an earlier, preliminary non-infringement ruling in a case that was heard in August 2011. The Dutch legal decision also mirrors those made in Germany and the UK. In the UK case against HTC, the judge found that there was no infringement and ruled that the multitouch patent was invalid.
Patent office invalidates Apple's "rubber-banding" patent in Samsung trial
According to FOSS Patents, the United States Patent and Trademark Office has invalidated all 20 claims of Apple's rubber-banding patent (U.S. Patent No, 7,469,381). This is a non-final decision that could be overturned by Apple if it convinces the USPTO that the claims are new and innovative enough to warrant a patent. Samsung didn't waste any time and already pointed out this rejection in a late-night request that was filed in the US District Court in North California.
USPTO has 'tentatively' invalidated Apple's key rubber-banding patent
The US Patent and Trademark Office may have just thrown a wrench into Apple's recent courtroom triumph over Samsung by invalidating one of the patents at the heart of the victory: rubber-banding. We noted at the time that Apple hit a "home run" with that particular IP, as jurors declared that all 21 disputed Samsung devices infringed it, no doubt resulting in a large part of the $1 billion (and counting) owed by the Korean maker. "Claim 19" of patent 7469381, which covers that feature, was invalidated by the USPTO on two counts, both of which were cases of prior art that allegedly existed before Cupertino claimed them. Either one could be enough reason to throw out that part of the patent, according to FOSS Patents, provided that the USPTO's ruling stands up. Either way, Samsung has already brought the new information to Judge Koh's attention -- which might bring about some new action very soon.
Samsung may be getting out of display supplier deal with Apple next year
A report in the Korea Times suggests Samsung will sever its contract with Apple and will no longer supply LCD panels to the Cupertino company, starting in 2013. An unnamed senior industry source told the newspaper that the company is not making enough money off the panels that it is selling to Apple. We are unable to supply our flat-screens to Apple with huge price discounts. Samsung has already cut our portion of shipments to Apple and next year we will stop shipping displays. Samsung is reportedly shipping fewer and fewer panels to Apple each quarter, with the Korean company expected to supply Apple with only 4.5 million LCD panels in the second half of the year. This is down from the 15 million panels that Samsung sent to Apple in the first six months of 2012. Samsung will reportedly turn to Amazon and its own handset division to make up for the loss of orders from Apple. Apple sources components from many companies, including displays from LG and Sharp as well as Samsung.
Apple's supply relationship with Samsung reportedly strained
The Korea Times is reporting that Apple's relationship with Samsung's supply arm is strained. According to the infamous "industry sources," (not to be confused with "people familiar with the matter"), Samsung did not participate in the development of Apple's A6 chip, which powers the iPhone 5. Instead, the company is assembling parts only. It's believed that Samsung took part in the development of Apple's A5. Just last week, we learned that Apple added Samsung's Jim Mergard to its talented staff. Last August, Bloomberg reported that Apple and Qualcomm tried to purchase exclusive access to TSMC chip production. Considering the contentious legal relationship between the consumer products divisions of Apple and Samsung, it'll be interesting to see where their manufacturing relationship goes.
Appeals court reverses ban on Samsung Galaxy Nexus
A U.S. Court of Appeals says that a lower California court "abused its discretion" by ordering a sales ban of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus and kicked the case back to the lower court, Reuters reports. The injunction, ordered by Judge Lucy Koh, came about in the days before Samsung and Apple went to trial in California. Samsung filed an appeal two days after the injunction was ordered. The appeals court took the chance to give its two cents regarding the entire mess. "Sales lost to an infringing product cannot irreparably harm a patentee if consumers buy that product for reasons other than the patented feature," the court said in its opinion. "If the patented feature does not drive the demand for the product, sales would be lost even if the offending feature were absent from the accused product." It also said there was not sufficient evidence to show that Apple would suffer irreparable harm if sales of the Galaxy Nexus were to continue, and the district court abused its discretion by having irreparable harm be a factor in determining the injunction to begin with. Judge Koh lifted the injunction on the Galaxy Tab 10.1 on October 3. Since the injunction was filed, a California jury found Samsung guilty of infringing on Apple's patents and awarded Apple $1.05 billion in damages. [via Engadget]
iPad, iPhone sales ban delayed in South Korea
Someone at Samsung must be getting very frustrated right now. Apple was facing a ban on sales of the iPhone and iPad in South Korea after a court found that those devices infringed on patents owned by Samsung. Now a Seoul court has ruled that Apple can keep the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPad and iPad 2 on store shelves at least until the appeals process has been completed. On the other hand, Samsung's Galaxy Nexus, Galaxy Tab 10.1, Galaxy S and Galaxy S II -- all of which are also covered by the August 24 ruling -- are still on the ban list. A Samsung spokesperson told Bloomberg that the company had "no comment" about whether it would file its own request to delay the South Korean sales ban.
Samsung goes after credibility of jury foreman
If you thought that the end of the Apple vs. Samsung patent infringement case was really the end, you're sadly mistaken. Yesterday saw Samsung filing a lawsuit against Apple for alleged patent infringement in the new iPhone 5, and today the Korean electronics giant is attacking the foreman of the jury, saying that he lied about his past history to get onto the jury. Foreman Velvin Hogan has provided multiple interviews since the end of the trial, and Samsung has picked apart those statements saying that his "incorrect and extraneous legal standards had no place in the jury room." In addition, Hogan didn't tell lawyers in pre-trial hearings about the time he was sued by former employer Seagate Technology -- owned partially by Samsung -- and had to file for bankruptcy. Samsung lawyers believe that he deliberately lied during jury selection, and that the only solution would be to hold a new trial. Hogan told a Bloomberg reporter that he was only required to disclose litigation he was involved with during the past 10 years, and the Seagate litigation took place in 1993. Hogan said that "I answered every question the judge asked me... [Samsung] had every opportunity to question me." Samsung has a number of other tricks up its sleeve to try to either get the judge to throw out the US$1.05 billion verdict or at least reduce it, and we're sure to see many of them arise during the next few months.
Judge Koh lifts Galaxy Tab 10.1 sales injunction
Judge Lucy Koh lifted the injunction that banned the sales of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the US, says a Reuters report. The court issued the injunction as part of a contentious legal battle between Apple and Samsung in the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California. In August, a jury found that Samsung's devices violated several Apple patents, but ruled that the Galaxy Tab 10.1 did not infringe Apple's D889 patent. This was a critical decision as the infringement of the D889 patent was the basis for the Tab 10.1 injunction. Samsung argued that the ban should be lifted now that jury determined its device was not infringing, while Apple wanted to keep the ban in place during the post-trial phase. Judge Koh did not agree with Apple's request and opened the doors for Samsung to begin selling its Tab 10.1 tablet.
Samsung sues Apple over iPhone 5
As promised, Samsung has filed a lawsuit against Apple's iPhone 5. In a statement cited by Reuters, Samsung said, "we have little choice but to take the steps necessary to protect our innovations and intellectual property rights." Samsung alerted the United States District Court for the Northern District of California in September that it would seek to include the iPhone 5 in its allegations of patent infringement against Apple. Samsung formally filed this request with the court on Monday, October 1. In its request, Samsung argues that the iPhone 5 should be included in its current case because the smartphone "has the same accused functionality as the previously accused versions of the iPhone." This court case is the second legal battle between Apple and Samsung and was filed in early 2012. It is slated to go to trial in March 2014. Judge Lucy Koh, who presided over the first lawsuit, is also presiding over this second case. The first lawsuit is in the post-trial stage now that Samsung has been found guilty of infringement.
Apple wants Samsung injunction hearing date moved up
Late last week, Apple asked US District Court Judge Lucy Koh to speed up the decision on its injunction request against eight Samsung devices, says a report in FOSS Patents. Koh scheduled an injunction hearing in September, but the court will discuss the current ban against the Galaxy Tab 10.1, not Apple's injunction request. The Galaxy Tab 10.1 was banned earlier this year, but the jury found that the device does not infringe on any Apple patents. Samsung wants the injunction overturned now that the jury ruled in its favor. Koh scheduled a second hearing in December to discuss Apple's injunction against Samsung, but Apple isn't pleased with that later date. Apple points out that this schedule is "asymmetrical" and asked the judge to make a decision on Apple's injunction before it considers the ban on the Galaxy Tab. Apple is likely pushing for an earlier hearing so it can ban Samsung from selling its devices during the holiday shopping season. [Via Electronista]
Samsung wins victory over Apple in Japan court
On Friday, a Japanese court gave Samsung a small boost when it ruled that the Korean company did not infringe on an Apple patent that covers media synchronization between a device and servers. According to a New York Times report, this is one of several patent suits Apple has filed against Samsung in Japan. Still pending is a more important case that claims Samsung's devices infringe on Apple's patented "bounce back" effect. Apple has asked for an injunction in that case, and Samsung has countersued claiming Apple violates its patents. Samsung, however, was pleased with the small victory it was awarded in Japan. In a statement provided to the media, the company reasserted its position that it does not copy Apple. "Samsung has strongly asserted that its technology is altogether different and does not infringe on Apple patents. The ruling recognizes the legitimacy of Samsung's assertions and is highly valid," it said. Samsung may have won small legal victories in Japan and Korea, but the company was handed a major setback in the US. In a sweeping win for Apple, Samsung was found guilty of infringement on several Apple patents and trade dress claims. The Korean company faces an injunction against eight of its smartphones and must pay Apple a minimum of US$1.05 billion in damages.
Daily Update for August 29, 2012
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
