Samsung Claims Small Victory In The Apple/Samsung Pissing Contest

by Andrew Greenfield on Oct 19th 2011, 12:30pm
tagged apple, copy, court, judge, Samsung

Samsung won a minor victory yesterday when a California judge threw out some of Apple’s claims against it. Samsung asked U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh to throw out several of Apple’s anti trust complaints to which the Judge Koh was apparently happy to oblige to. However, she has still not come to a ruling about Apple’s request to block Samsung phones in the US. Another important note is that Apple can amend the claims slightly and bring them back to court if they so choose.

Will this ever end?

[via bloomberg]

Apple Wins Injunction, Galaxy Tab 10.1 Banned In Australia

by Harold Williams on Oct 13th 2011, 10:04am
tagged christmas, court, dispute, Galaxy Tab 10.1, holiday season, infringement, ipad, ruling, Samsung, smartphone, tablet

In the ongoing Apple vs. Samsung war, it looks like Apple has put a nail in the coffin one more time, this time in Australia. A little over a week ago Apple rejected a proposal from Samsung to end this tablet battle. What’s even more crazy is right before the ruling was to go down to possibly ban the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia, Samsung set up a temporary store two doors down from the Sydney Apple Store. Yesterday, the Federal Court granted Apple’s injunction to ban the Tab 10.1 in Australia until a trial is had to resolve the patient disputes between the two companies. Samsung has stated they would kill the release of the 10.1 if the injunction was granted as, without holiday sales, the tablet would be “dead” by the time it actually hit stores. The two players will be returning to court today to see if Samsung will be allowed to sell a modified version minus the technology that Apple sited in the complaint on two patents. Well, there you have it folks. I know this is getting old, but news is news. Take it as you will.

[via bloomberg]

Apple Says No Go To Offer From Samsung Regarding Tablet Dispute

by Joe Sirianni on Oct 5th 2011, 12:58am
tagged christmas, court, dispute, Galaxy Tab 10.1, holiday season, infringement, ipad, ruling, Samsung, smartphone, tablet

I don’t know about you but I’m a little worn out in regards to the Apple vs Samsung saga. However, we’re here to do a job and that is to report the news to our readers. So, without further ado, the latest on the forefront regarding the two handset giants coming to an agreement went south when Apple rejected an offer by Samsung to settle once and for all the dispute in regard to their alleged smartphone and tablet infringements. The refusal could subsequently cause great harm in the race for Samsung to plant a viable seed to kick off sales of their Tab 10.1 in Australia if not settled by the holiday season. Despite efforts on Samsung’s part, a lawyer for Apple explained to the Federal Court in Sydney that the offer proposed last week would simply not do and the company is still seeking for the court to rule on its behalf in that Samsung’s touch display technology is without a doubt infringing upon an Apple patent. Steven Burley, a lawyer for Apple had this to say in response:

“[The proposed deal] is one we don’t accept and there is no surprise. The main reason we are here is to prevent the launch (of the Galaxy 10.1) and maintain the status quo,”

As stated earlier, it’s no wonder Samsung is hard pressed to settle matters as quickly as possible. If Apple can halt or eliminate altogether the sales of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia they can squash any chance that Samsung had of catching up and cornering the market. An official court ruling is expected to take place next week some time.

Samsung has expressed their concern by stating to the court that if a ruling cannot be secured within an estimate of about two weeks time a certain lost opportunity will occur in attempts to get the device out before Christmas and that the company might as well takes its time arguing over the matter directly into 2012.

Neil Young, a lawyer for Samsung reiterates:

“If we can’t get a decision out by mid-October, there is no urgency”

This battle has currently reached suit in nine different countries in over 20 cases all with the hopeful outcome that Samsung will be able to move forward with sales its popular Galaxy Tab 10.1. It’s no wonder Apple isn’t letting this one go. Samsung’s smartphone and tablet sales have grown exponentially and it’s expected that Samsung may pass Apple up in regards to units sold, making it the number one handset vendor in the US. Stay tuned as the battle rages on in hopes that a settlement will come soon and/or those patiently waiting for a Samsung product to hit shelves this Christmas will be able to receive their stocking stuffer sooner than later.

[via Reuters]

HTC gets second chance in Apple patent dispute

by Stacy Bruce on Sep 19th 2011, 9:57am
tagged Apple lawsuit, court, HTC, HTC lawsuit, ITC, patent infringement, us trade commission

With all of Apple’s latest lawsuits a-many, it could be hard to stay up to date with who and why Apple is suing. On July 15th an ITC judge determined that HTC infringed on two out of four patents that were in question. The patents found to infringe are, software that allows transmission of multiple types of data, and a system that identifies a phone number in an email allowing the receiver to direct dial the number simply by clicking on it.

Luckily for HTC, the U.S. Trade commission recently decided to review the judges findings and will ultimately decide the fate of HTC and its U.S. product line. HTC is happy about the decision for review, “and we are confident in our case,” said HTC spokesman, Adam Emery. If found guilty a ban may be placed on all of their Android based phones which equate to 36% of all U.S. Android based phones. Apple doing what they do best, countered the finding and said that if the commission opted to review the patents that were infringed, the agency also should consider the two that were found to not be infringed.

» Read the rest

German Retailers Can Continue To Sell And Restock Galaxy Tab 10.1

by Harold Williams on Sep 11th 2011, 10:53am
tagged apple, ban, court, Dusseldorf, Galaxy Tab 10.1, lawsuits, patents, Samsung

Well isn’t this is interesting. We reported the other day that Apple was successful in getting the Galaxy Tab 10.1 banned in Germany, but it looks like there are some loopholes. It turns out that though Samsung Germany can no longer sell or advertise the Tab 10.1, this doesn’t apply to everyone else. This means that other retailers do not have to remove the device from their shelves and can continue to sell them. They will also be able to replenish their stock as long as the devices aren’t purchased through Samsung’s German branch. While this still poses a bit of a pain to reroute shipments from somewhere else, a retailer like Media Markt is simply rerouting their shipments from the Netherlands. So close, but still so far Apple. Nice try though. What do you all think about this?

[via osnews]

[Breaking] Apple is victorious in getting Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 banned in Germany

by Robert Nazarian on Sep 9th 2011, 8:12am
tagged apple, ban, court, Dusseldorf, Galaxy Tab 10.1, lawsuits, patents, Samsung

Back in August, A Dusseldorf issued a preliminary injunction on the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. It was originally for all of Europe (minus the Netherlands), but later changed to just Germany.

Today, the same court upheld that injunction which means the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is banned from any sales in the country. Presiding Judge Johanna Brueckner-Hofmann said the following when delivering the verdict:

“The court is of the opinion that Apple’s minimalistic design isn’t the only technical solution to make a tablet computer, other designs are possible. For the informed customer there remains the predominant overall impression that the device looks like the design Apple has protected in Europe.”

The judge said the court didn’t compare the Galaxy Tab 10.1 with the actual iPad, but instead focused on a design Apple filed with the European Union intellectual property agency in Spain.

» Read the rest

Apple forces Samsung to remove the Galaxy Tab 7.7 from IFA show floor

by Robert Nazarian on Sep 4th 2011, 12:40pm
tagged apple, Berlin, court, courts, Dusseldorf, Galaxy Tab 7.7, Germany, IFA, IFA 2011, Netherlands, patent troll, patents, Samsung

Apple is at it again. Samsung recently unveiled the Galaxy Tab 7.7 at the IFA Conference in Berlin, but they were forced to remove it from the show floor because a Dusseldorf court granted Apple’s request to ban sales and marketing of it. The above picture shows them covering all references to it.

“Samsung respects the court’s decision,” Chung said, adding that the company believes it “severely limits consumer choice in Germany. Samsung will pursue all available options, including legal action, to defend its intellectual property rights, he said.

If you remember, last month the Dusseldorf Regional court granted a preliminary injunction for all of Europe (except the Netherlands) on the Galaxy Tab 10.1 because it simply looked like the iPad. It was later changed to just Germany.

The Netherlands court threw out 9 out of the 10 patents that Apple claimed Samsung infringed, and gave Samsung until October 13th to remedy the remaining patent, which will most likely be a software update.

This latest judgement in Dusseldorf took place on Friday, one day after the Galaxy Tab 7.7 announcement. Lets also not forget that Apple might have tampered with evidence.

» Read the rest

Hearing To Be Held On August 25th For Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 Ban In Europe

by Axl Logan on Aug 13th 2011, 8:20am
tagged apple, copyright infringement, court, Galaxy Tab 10.1, German, patent, Samsung, tablet, troll, trolling

Well, that was quick. With the recent injunction granted by a German court to halt all Galaxy Tab 10.1 sales in Europe, the hearing was moved up to August 25th after initially thought to be on September 15th. Samsung hopes to fight the ban and remain on target to sell its popular tablet despite Apple’s effort to squash that plan. Stay tuned to Talk Android as we follow up on the hearing which is expected to turn over a verdict a few weeks following that date. Feel free to leave your thoughts and rants in the comments below.

[via engadget]

Samsung sued again by Apple in South Korea for iPhone design copy

by Jesse Bauer on Jun 24th 2011, 10:58am
tagged apple, court, courts, galaxy, galaxy s, galaxys, infringement, infringement suit, InfringementSuit, ipad, iphone, lawsuit, lawsuits, legal, patent, patent infringement, PatentInfringement, patents, Samsung, Seoul, South Korea, SouthKorea, suit, suits

Apple is at it again, with another lawsuit against Samsung for allegedly copying the iPhone’s design with some of their Galaxy S family of devices, this time the suit is made in South Korea. This comes after the heated stories a couple months back about Apple doing the same thing, and Samsung slapping them back with 10 patent infringements of their own.

Since April, Apple has been gathering more information and adding it to their claims that Samsung has copied more specifically, the 3rd gen iPhone in design with the Galaxy S, and added the Droid Charge, Infuse 4G, Nexus S 4G, Galaxy Tab 10.1, the Galaxy S II, and a fistful of other devices. This likely won’t amount to much, but you never know…Apple did just get awarded a touchscreen patent, so stranger things have happened.

[via engadget]

California Supreme Court rules unwarranted search of text messages legal

by Dustin Karnes on Jan 10th 2011, 3:39pm
tagged Android, arrest, ca, california, court, Phone, sms, supreme, text

Time to clear out anything from your private texts that you don’t want anyone to see if you’re in CA. The Supreme Court has declared that it is now legal to include your SMS messages in the list of things that can be checked without a warrant. The ruling states that your missives folder is now part of your “incidentals”, which also includes your pockets or bags, and can be checked without reason.

The ruling was challenged by two judges, who stated:

Never before has it been possible to carry so much personal or business information in one’s pocket or purse.

What do you think of this decision? Be sure to let us know in the comments.

[via phonearena]