Nov 09
Apple continues to make an absolutely huge mess of apologising to Samsung, with the Javascript that initially hid the legal correction from view now removed from the UK site so its half-arsed apology is a little more visible. More »
Nov 04
The saga of Apple’s court-enforced public apology to Samsung continues. The first, newspaper-printed mea culpa read as too tongue-in-cheek for the judge’s liking. Now it turns out that the follow-up, a condensed contrition on the Apple Store’s UK home page, has come with a few caveats as well. Namely, that you have to go hunting for it. More »
Nov 03
After trying to be snarky and biting with its court ordered apology to Samsung, and being reprimanded by the UK court and told to fix it, Apple has now put a second, simple, much less back-handledly “Samsung’s dumb and we’re the coolest” apology on their UK webpage. Hopefully this will be the end of it. More »
Oct 24
Remember that $1 billion decision that Samsung violated Apple’s patents? One of the patents in question, the famous “rubber banding” or “physical inertia” patent, has been completely nullified by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Samsung informed Judge Koh earlier this week. The patent describes how when scrolling on a touch screen, and you reach the end of a passage, how the screen bounces back up. The request to reexamine the patent was filed during the spring, but the non-final office action nullifying its claims wasn’t filed until earlier this week. The process isn’t final, though: the new declaration is a “first-glance” verdict that could be overturned in the future.
The patent in question, “List scrolling and document translation, scaling, and rotation on a touch-screen display,” is a key patent that Apple has used to defend what it claims is its intellectual property. It’s a core Apple patent, so expect a lengthy period of reexaminations and appeals. If Apple still isn’t happy after the USPTO makes its final decision, they could appeal the decision conceivably all the way to the Supreme Court.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Jury foreman in $1.05 billion Samsung v. Apple case has a serious conflict of interest, HTC 4G patents brought up against Apple are probably valid, says US Judge,
Oct 23
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.
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Apple, Samsung
USPTO has ‘tentatively’ invalidated Apple’s key rubber-banding patent originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Oct 2012 06:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Oct 20
The smartphone fanboy wars seem both ridiculous and eternal. It’s like everywhere you go on the Internet, a simple statement of preference—even one that isn’t pig-head and disparaging—can serve as the flash point for a fanboy skirmish. Isn’t it about time we signed a peace treaty? More »
Oct 18
Remember when a UK judge said that Samsung couldn’t have copied the iPad with its Galaxy Tab because it wasn’t “as cool” as the iPad? Well, Apple has just lost the High Court appeal to have that decision overturned, meaning that despite the backhanded compliment, it will still have to run adverts in the press stating that the Korean giant had not copied its tablet designs.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Filed under: Tablets, Apple, Samsung
Apple loses out in UK tablet design case against Samsung originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Oct 2012 05:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Oct 13
While Apple and Samsung have been duking it out over patents, there’s always been the quiet, underlying irony that Samsung makes a whole bunch of the chips Apple relies on. Now, according to reports from CNET and MacRumors, Apple’s trying to change that. More »
Oct 11
Apple Hires Away Top Samsung CPU Designer to Build Custom Apple Chips [Chips]
Posted in: Today's Chili
Apple just took a big step toward upping its chip-making game, and took a big swipe at Samsung in the process. According to the Wall Street Journal, Cupertino’s hired away Jim Mergard, a well respected and vastly experienced engineer, from the Korean company. More »
Oct 11
Court reverses Galaxy Nexus sales ban in the US (updated with Samsung’s statement)
Posted in: Today's Chili 
A United States appeals court has overturned the injunction banning the sale of Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus, arguing that the California district court had “abused its discretion” in granting it. The case between Apple and Samsung, which centers around four patents relating to unified search and Siri, will now be returned to the court of Judge Lucy Koh for reconsideration — in the same way that she had to reverse her previous decision regarding the Galaxy Tab 10.1.
The injunction was granted on the basis that Apple could demonstrate “irreparable harm” to its business, and, that its case had a high likelihood of succeeding. However, the panel of judges felt that Cupertino could do neither of those things to the court’s satisfaction, and as such, Samsung’s handsets will be available to purchase as soon as the company can get them onto shelves. If you’d care to delve into the full text of the remand order yourself, it’s available at the source link.
Update: Here is Samsung’s jolly statement regarding the reversal:
“We welcome this reversal by the Federal Circuit, finding that the District Court abused its discretion in ordering a preliminary injunction against the Galaxy Nexus. Today’s decision confirms that the role of patent law is to protect innovation and not to unreasonably stifle competition and restrict consumer choice. We will continue to take all appropriate measures to ensure the availability of our innovative products.”
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Court reverses Galaxy Nexus sales ban in the US (updated with Samsung’s statement) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Oct 2012 11:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The Verge | Remand Order (PDF), Reuters | Email this | Comments
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