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German court upholds ruling against Apple, clears Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1N for sale
Apple's legal team has been dealt another blow in Germany, where a court today shot down the company's requests for a preliminary injunction against the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1N. In a statement issued this morning, the Dusseldorf Regional Court said it found "clear differences" between the 10.1N and Apple's iPad, affirming a preliminary ruling handed down in December, and a similar decision announced in Munich this month. It's certainly not the news that Cupertino wanted to wake up to, but we're also a long way from this drama being over.
Motorola wins permanent injunction against Apple's iCloud in German court (update: ban lifted)
There's another legal brouhaha brewing in Germany, where Motorola today won an injunction against Apple's iCloud. In a decision handed down from the infamous Mannheim Regional Court this morning, Judge Andreas Voss issued a permanent injunction against Cupertino's cloud-based service and any devices that use it, following a complaint that Motorola originally filed in April of last year. The two companies, as you may recall, have been going at each other rather aggressively in Germany, where Motorola scored a similar victory, back in November. At issue in today's ruling is a European Patent that outlines a "multiple pager status synchronization system and method," upon which iCloud, Motorola claims, infringes. The injunction, as FOSS Patents explains, targets Apple's Ireland-based European distribution branch, but it only applies to the German market -- not Europe, as a whole. And while it's technically "permanent," it's still "preliminarily enforceable," which means Apple can (and likely will) appeal. Motorola, meanwhile, can seek to enforce it, if it's willing to post a €100 million bond. Apple had been seeking a bond of €2 billion, but was ultimately denied. For more of the legal nitty gritty, check out the source link below.Update 1: Citing a statement from Apple, Germany's Deutsche Presse-Agentur news agency is now reporting that the company has pulled the iPhone 3G, the iPhone 3GS, and the iPhone 4 from its German online store, along with any 3G/UMTS-enabled iPads. The move appears to come in response not to today's ruling, but to a decision issued in December, when Motorola won an injunction against Apple, on the grounds that its 3G/UMTS technology infringes upon one of Moto's European patents. According to FOSS Patents, Apple presumably lost its appeal to the Karlsruhe Higher Regional Court, after Motorola sought to enforce the injunction. Update 2: Apple has formally responded to each of today's events, confirming its plans to appeal the court's ruling on iCloud, and explaining its reasoning for pulling its products. "Apple believes this old pager patent is invalid and we're appealing the courts decision," the company said in an e-mailed statement to PaidContent. As for the 3G/UMTS case, Apple says it's still lobbying for a reversal, and that the pulled devices are still available at brick-and-mortar retailers within Germany. "While some iPad and iPhone models are not available through Apple's online store in Germany right now, customers should have no problem finding them at one of our retail stores or an authorised reseller," the statement reads. "Apple is appealing this ruling because Motorola repeatedly refuses to license this patent to Apple on reasonable terms, despite having declared it an industry standard patent seven years ago." Update 3: And just like that, the BBC is reporting that Apple's exhortations have been heard, and the ban has been lifted. Details are few, but Cupertino had this to say about this latest turn of events: "All iPad and iPhone models will be back on sale through Apple's online store in Germany shortly."
Motorola after an injunction against iPhone 4S, iCloud
Motorola has filed a new patent suit against Apple and now seeks an injunction against both the iPhone 4S and iCloud. FOSS Patents notes that the terms of Google's proposed acquisition of Motorola stipulate that Motorola can't initiate new intellectual property suits without Google's approval; that makes it sound a lot like Google is using Motorola's patent portfolio in a proxy war against Apple. Motorola already has one patent suit against Apple in progress, but that suit is too far along in the judicial process for the company to stack on the iPhone 4S and iCloud. Motorola has asserted six patents in its claim against Apple; all six are asserted against the iPhone 4S, and four are claimed to apply to iCloud. Companies seeking sales injunctions against rivals in patent suits may be an attention-grabbing move, but in fact those injunctions rarely go through. To date, no company has successfully gained a sales injunction against Apple despite numerous attempts, and Apple's own attempts to get injunctions against its rivals have also rarely succeeded. What's most interesting about Motorola's move is that it's occurred with Google's approval. Apple's suits against various Android handset manufacturers have often been viewed as a suit against Google itself in all but name, and from the beginning it's seemed inevitable that we'll see Apple v. Google on a docket eventually. With Google in the process of acquiring Motorola and giving its consent to new suits against Apple, that may happen quite soon.
Samsung takes aim at Apple with Australian Galaxy Tab ad, credits Cupertino for its popularity
Now that the Galaxy Tab 10.1 has been cleared for sale in Australia, Samsung is taking the opportunity to publicly celebrate its courtroom victory, at Apple's expense. Exhibit A: a local newspaper ad that flatly brands Sammy's slate as "the tablet Apple tried to stop." The spot, which ran in the Sun-Herald this week, came just a few days before Samsung Australia's mobile head openly credited Cupertino for making the Galaxy Tab a "household name." Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald, Samsung Australia's vice president of telecommunications, Tyler McGee, declined to say how much his company lost in sales revenue due to Apple's temporary injunction, but was more than willing to laud the iPad maker for inadvertently turning the spotlight on the Galaxy Tab. "At the end of the day the media awareness certainly made the Galaxy Tab 10.1 a household name compared to probably what it would've been based on the investment that we would've put into it from a marketing perspective," McGee explained. The exec went on to say that the manufacturer is bringing to market "as many units as we can," since it expects the device to be in "short supply against the demand." To the courtroom victor go to the spoils -- including, apparently, bragging rights.
Australian High Court just says no to Apple appeal, Samsung breathes a sigh of relief
First, Apple got Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 banned from Oz, then Sammy got the temporary injunction lifted. Undaunted, Apple vowed to appeal the Korean company's victory to the High Court of Australia, and today, The Register reports that the court has denied Apple's appeal. Details are sparse as to why Cupertino's arguments were unpersuasive, but one thing's for sure: Samsung's going to have a much more merry Christmas as a result of its latest legal victory. [Thanks, Jeremy]
Apple denied initial request to ban Galaxy products in the US
Late last week, U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh denied Apple's request for a preliminary injunction against Samsung. Apple accused Samsung of patent and trademark infringements and asked the court to ban the sales of the Galaxy Tab and other Galaxy smartphones. Judge Koh did suggest she believes Samsung may have violated some Apple patents, but said there was no evidence Apple would be irreparably harmed by the continued sales of the Galaxy devices. The two technology companies are embroiled in a messy legal battle which includes 20 suits in ten countries. Also last week, Australia overturned the injunction banning the sale of the Galaxy Tab down under. The injunction was supposed to end on December 2nd, but Apple was awarded a week-long stay. Apple can now use this time to argue why the injunction should remain in place. If Apple fails to convince the judge to keep the injunction, Samsung can begin selling the Galaxy Tab on Friday, December 9. [Via The Verge]
Apple's request to block Samsung Galaxy tablet, phone sales in the US is denied
As the legal drama between Apple and Samsung drags on around the world, US District Court Judge has rejected Apple's request to block the sales of Galaxy devices. Reuters reports the ruling came out late Friday, with the judge deciding "It is not clear that an injunction on Samsung's accused devices would prevent Apple from being irreparably harmed,". This isn't the first rejection for the folks from Cupertino either, after a request to speed up the trial was also denied back in July. The case itself will of course go on, but this means you'll still be able to get your hands on those Galaxy Tabs, Galaxy S IIs, and the like in the meantime.Update: While Apple has yet to comment on the ruling, Samsung has issued an official statement which you can check out after the break.Update 2: Feel like thumbing through the entire 65 page ruling? FOSS Patents has posted the entire document on Scribd, you'll find it embedded after the break. File has since been deleted by owner.
Apple appeals Samsung tablet ruling, Galaxy Tab 10.1 sales still blocked in Australia
As expected, Apple has decided to appeal a ruling on its injunction blocking the sale of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia to the High Court. The means Samsung cannot start selling its slates at 4PM as a lower court had decided, and puts the devices on ice until at least December 9th. What, after months of litigation in multiple countries, you thought either side would just walk away from this? We'll see you all back here in a week or so for the next incremental legal happening.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Samsung and Apple patent skirmishes heat up
Another day, another patent skirmish with Samsung. The battles are heating up on two fronts, with news of a possible Samsung victory in Australia and Apple unleashing a legal salvo against the Korean foe in Germany. On the Western front, an Australian federal court lifted a preliminary injunction imposed by a lower court banning sales of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 Down Under. Apple still has a chance to respond -- the same court offered a stay until Friday afternoon so that Apple's lawyers can figure out another legal maneuver to keep the iPad lookalike out of stores until after the critical holiday buying season. Meanwhile, on the Eastern front, Apple filed a preliminary injunction request in Germany to ban sales of the Galaxy Tab 10.1N. This model of the Galaxy Tab was a revised version of the original -- which was already banned in Germany -- with a slightly different bezel design and relocated speaker. The 10.1N was an attempt by Samsung to squeak around Apple's assertion that the Galaxy Tab design is just too close to that of the iPad. The two companies meet up in a German court in Dusseldorf on December 22nd for a hearing, which means that the Samsung tablet is still ripe for consumer plucking this holiday season.
Samsung wins a patent battle to sell Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia, war with Apple not over
The latest development in the patent skirmish between Samsung and Apple is a decision in Australia's Federal Court to overturn a ban on Galaxy Tab 10.1 sales that was placed in October. The Sydney Morning Herald reports local retailers are still unsure when they may be able to sell Samsung's slate, as Justice Lindsay Foster ruled the ban will remain until 4PM Friday, giving Apple time to appeal the case to the High Court first. Like its battle over the redesigned slate just introduced in Germany, this war between the electronics giants will continue on -- we'll let you know when there's another decision of consequence.Update: You can read the decision yourself, linked below under more coverage. [Thanks Steve Man!]
Chanel counterfeiters beware: US federal court orders domain names seized and de-indexed
We're well versed in the art of the gadget KIRF 'round these parts, but counterfeiting's a problem faced by the fashion world, too. Chanel filed suit in federal court to stop hundreds of websites from selling KIRFs of its gear, and the judge recently ordered the seizure and transfer of those domain names to GoDaddy to hold in trust until the case is resolved. It was also decreed that they be stricken from the indices of search engines and social media -- including, but not limited to Bing, Google, Facebook, and Twitter. So it seems the federal courts have obtained the ability to order that legal remedy (the de-indexing) be given by companies not party to a lawsuit (Google, et al), though we know of no law granting it such powers. Of course, we can't know for sure until one of the accused copycat sites decides to lawyer up and fight back. Until then, fashion KIRFs beware: the feds can apparently wipe every trace of you from the internet.
Apple puts Galaxy Tab 10.1N on the chopping block, asks German court for preliminary injunction
It wasn't long ago that Samsung modified its Galaxy Tab 10.1 to get it back on the German market, and it didn't take long for Apple to respond. Apparently, Cupertino didn't take kindly to Sammy's sneaky workaround, and has filed for an injunction to stop the 10.1N from showing up on store shelves in Germany. The slate's fate will be determined on December 22nd, so we'll have to wait and see whether it joins its siblings on the sidelines, or is around to deliver some Honeycomb delights to those in Deutschland come Christmas morn.
IPCom to enforce injunction against HTC, ban sales of its 3G devices in Germany
HTC's had a rough go of it in the legal arena this year, and the company just got hit with another judicial setback in Germany. Patent holding firm (read: patent troll) IPCom was granted an injunction in 2009 against HTC based upon HTC's devices alleged infringement of an IPCom patent on UMTS 3G technology. HTC appealed that injunction in 2009 to suspend its enforcement, and today the German court upheld the previous decision. With the injunction back in full effect, IPCom plans to seek sanctions against the Taiwanese firm and ban the sale of its devices in Deutschland. So, that means HTC will have to pony up the cash to license the IP in question or leave lots of Beats fanatics disappointed come Christmas morning.
Samsung modifies tablet to satisfy German ruling, begins selling Galaxy Tab 10.1N (update: Samsung speaks)
Sick of those trips across the border to smuggle a banned Galaxy Tab 10.1 into Germany? Samsung has come to the rescue, modifying its familiar Honeycomb tablet to work around the injunction issued in August and upheld in September as part of Apple's patent litigation in Düsseldorf. It's not entirely clear what's different with the relaunched tablet, which appears to have a black bezel that extends slightly further towards the metal rim, but the Galaxy Tab 10.1N, as it is now being called, has appeared on a German e-tailer's website with a shipping window of two to four days, along with the text "Galaxy Tab is back!" at the bottom of the listing. Samsung isn't entirely in the clear just yet, but unless its new "N" model is also found to be infringing on Apple's patents, gadget-hungry Germans shouldn't have to worry about the iPad-alternative disappearing again anytime soon.Update: Samsung has just issued a statement on the modified Galaxy Tab, with some clarifications on its design changes. "The newly modified device will be renamed the Galaxy Tab 10.1N and we've made two changes to the design," spokesman Jason Kim said. "The design of the bezel has been changed and the speaker has also been relocated."
Australian iPhone 4S injunction hearing set for March
Last month, Samsung filed for an injunction that would ban the sale of the iPhone 4S in Australia. Samsung filed this injunction based on three patents it holds for WCDMA and HSPA connectivity. Rather than push for an immediate temporary injunction that would affect the holiday quarter, Samsung has agreed to pursue an expedited full injunction to be decided in March 2012. Samsung released a statement and is reportedly happy with the decision to seek a full injunction. Samsung is pleased with this outcome as we believe expediting the main proceedings will be the most effective way for Samsung to protect our intellectual property rights and bring about a final resolution to this case. Apple, though, may not be as pleased with this decision. Lawyers for the Cupertino company pushed for a later trial date in July or August because it needed the extra time to schedule its witnesses. Apple is involved in several trials with Samsung worldwide and is apparently running into scheduling conflicts. The judge in this case denied Apple's request and said such a long delay would make the injunction useless. Unless something changes, Apple will continue to sell the iPhone 4S in Australia for the next four months. Samsung, on the other hand, is still fighting an injunction that bans the sale of Galaxy devices down under. The next hearing in this case with Apple will take place on November 25. Samsung is hoping to overturn this injunction and cash in on some of the lucrative holiday sales. [Via GigaOM]
German court grants injunction against Apple for infringement of Motorola patents (update: Apple responds)
Motorola just confirmed that earlier today, the Mannheim District Court in Germany granted a default judgment in its case against Apple that bars the sale of Apple products in Deutschland. In addition to the confirmation, Motorola also issued the following, rather unrevealing statement: "As media and mobility continue to converge, Motorola Mobility's patented technologies are increasingly important for innovation within the wireless and communications industries, for which Motorola Mobility has developed an industry leading intellectual property portfolio. We will continue to assert ourselves in the protection of these assets, while also ensuring that our technologies are widely available to end-users. We hope that we are able to resolve this matter, so we can focus on creating great innovations that benefit the industry."The ruling comes as a role reversal of sorts for Apple, which most recently received a pair of injunctions in Germany, banning the sale of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 in that country, along with the rather embarrassing removal of the Tab 7.7 from the show floor at IFA. According to FOSS Patents this is a default judgment, meaning Apple did not respond to Moto's filing and as a result got hit with the injunction, which could result in its products being pulled or the company being required to pay damages. And so the saga continues... Dust off the pocket translator and hit up the source link for the full ruling in German.Update: We just got the following statement from Apple regarding the ruling: "This is a procedural issue, and has nothing to do with the merits of the case. It does not affect our ability to sell products or do business in Germany at this time."So, it appears our iDevice-loving German friends have nothing to worry about, at least for now.Update (11/7): FOSSPatents has posted a second update accessing the procedural rules, how they (might) affect this case and whether or not Apple has anything to worry about. If you can't get enough FRAND and Zivilprozessordnung news you can read through it -- we'll just hang on until the courts make another decision or someone's products actually get pulled from shelves.
Zediva ordered to permanently shut down operations, pay $1.8 million to MPAA
The last time we checked in with Zediva, the DVD streaming service was reeling from a court-ordered preliminary injunction that effectively brought its operations to a halt. At the time, the California-based company was still pinning its hopes on the promise of a forthcoming appeal, but those hopes were summarily quashed on Friday, when US District Judge John Walter rendered the injunction permanent. Zediva had previously exposed an apparent loophole in US copyright law, by allowing users to stream movies from physical DVDs located in Silicon Valley. This strategy allowed the firm to offer newly released movies well before other on-demand services, but according to Judge Walter, it was also illegal. Zediva will now have to cease all operations and pay $1.8 million in damages to the MPAA. The defendant has yet to comment on the decision, but MPAA Associate General Counsel Dan Robbins seemed understandably delighted: "This result sends a strong message to those who would exploit the studios' works in violation of copyright law, on the Internet or elsewhere, and it is an important victory for the more than 2 million American men and women whose livelihoods depend on a thriving film and television industry."
Samsung appeals Australian Galaxy Tab injunction
On Thursday, Samsung began the appeal process that could overturn an injunction preventing it from selling the Galaxy Tab in Australia. Samsung lawyer Neil Young argued that Justice Annabelle Bennett "made errors of law in her approach" and based her injunction decision on "irrelevant considerations." Justice Lindsay Forster, who is presiding over the appeal, allowed Samsung to proceed and expedited the process so the Korean company could have a chance to overturn the injunction before the end of the holiday shopping season. A date for the appeal has not been set, but Foster hopes to schedule it for the week of November 21. Apple is also turning its attention to third-party resellers in Australia that are still selling the Galaxy Tab. A few brazen retailers like MobiCity.com.au and dMavo.com.au have received threatening letters from Apple. A dmavo spokesperson confirmed the company intends to continue selling the Galaxy Tab and is not responding to the request in case it goes to court. Now that it has been granted an injunction against Samsung, Apple could file for additional injunctions against other companies. A fight against MobiCity and dMavo may be difficult as these two companies are based in Hong Kong which makes jurisdiction a thorny issue. Other retailers, like Australian-based Kogan, have complied with Apple's request and stopped selling the Galaxy Tab. [Via Sydney Morning Herald]
Samsung seeks iPhone 4S sales ban in Japan, Australia
After facing setbacks in Germany and Australia, Samsung is striking back at Apple by filing an injunction request for the iPhone 4S, the iPhone 4 and the iPad in Japan. Samsung filed the injunction based on one patent the company holds for HSPA connectivity and three it holds for UI design. The three UI patents cover the airplane icon for airplane mode, aspects of home screen customization and an on-phone method for browsing apps on sale. Samsung also filed an injunction request in Australia claiming Apple's iOS devices violate three patents it holds for WCDMA and HSPA connectivity. Australia is a hotbed of legal action between the technology giants. After several legal volleys and an attempt by Samsung to reach a compromise, Apple was recently granted an interim injunction against Samsung that bans the sale of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the country. This legal victory is a major setback for Samsung and could cause problems for other Android handset makers as the patents are broad and can extend to other devices.
Apple granted injunction against Samsung in Australia, no Galaxy Tab 10.1s allowed in the land of Oz
Among the many battlegrounds in the legal spat between Samsung and Apple, the case filed down under has had some of the most action. Just over a week ago, Apple wanted nothing to do with Samsung's attempt to settle the suit. Today, the crowd in Cupertino is glad that they rebuffed Sammy's overtures, because the Federal Court in Australia granted Apple's injunction barring the Galaxy Tab 10.1 from appearing in Aussie stores. That means that Sammy's svelte slate will not be for sale (legally, anyway) in Australia unless it can convince the court that its tablet doesn't infringe Apple's patents at trial. You've won this battle, Apple, time will tell if you win the war.
