Apple orders ban on 8 Galaxy smartphones in USA

This week the folks at Apple are continuing their assault on Samsung in the courtroom with further legal action against the manufacturer, attempting here early in the week to have 8 Android devices banned from the USA. These devices are all smartphones and the majority of them come from the Samsung Galaxy S II generation of Samsung smartphones. Along with that set of devices there’s also a 4G iteration of the original Samsung Galaxy S as well as a few other oddities.

The full list includes the Galaxy S 4G, each of the Galaxy S II devices that’ve been released in the USA over the past year, and the Droid Charge, Galaxy Prevail, and Galaxy S Showcase. These devices were each found “guilty” so to speak of patent infringement in one way or another in the 3-week court case that had its verdict read at the end of last week. This Apple vs Samsung trial has been what many have labeled the most important technology-related legal trial of the year as both sides of the battle are major players in the ever-growing mobile gadget market.

Galaxy S 4G
AT&T Galaxy S II (AT&T)
Galaxy S2 Skyrocket
T-Mobile Galaxy S II
Galaxy S2 II Epic 4G
• Galaxy S Showcase
Droid Charge
• Galaxy Prevail

We’ve had hands-on looks and reviews done of many of the devices you see above, each of their linked names leading to a post containing said material. These devices appeared in the full Amended verdict that was released over the weekend as well. The Samsung Galaxy S II line has been on the market for over a year with the international version of the original device not appearing here as it’s not sold inside the states. Similar trials are happening currently in several countries around the world.

A similar case in Korea recently results in not only Samsung smartphone bans, but the banning of Apple products as well. This South Korean case banned the iPhone, the iPad, and the Samsung Galaxy S II from being sold inside the country until further notice. Back in the USA, only one device is currently banned from Samsung’s sales lineup, and it’s about to be on appeal since it was not found to infringe on Apple’s patents in the case at hand: the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1.

Have a peek at our timeline below to see other key points in this trial and stay tuned to the main news feed to see if Apple does indeed get a court order on Samsung to stop the sales of their best-selling smartphones. Note also that the Galaxy S II lineup is still in stores as the Galaxy S III is now Samsung’s hero lineup – also available in stores across the USA right this minute.


Apple orders ban on 8 Galaxy smartphones in USA is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.


Google’s statement speaks volumes on Apple vs Samsung

A statement has been sent out this week by Google in direct response to the verdict of the USA-based Apple vs Samsung court case. This statement takes the possibility that the public will see this event as bad news for Android seriously, making sure that the public understands that they remain strong. Google’s statement makes certain that the reader understands that they’re not only confident that Android will be safe for manufacturers of the future to use, but that the case and its outcomes are being re-examined by the US Patents office.

It’s not just Apple that Google’s Android has had trouble with over the past few months, and this situation is providing that company with a large opening in the “trust” element of the market. While Microsoft remains a litigator, rather than the litigated, in the patent universe, Android appears to be on the wrong end of the law more often than not. Google maintains here that the case at hand – Apple vs Samsung – is not about the core system that Google itself created, but Samsung’s additions.

“The court of appeals will review both infringement and the validity of the patent claims. Most of these don’t relate to the core Android operating system and several are being re-examined by the U.S. Patent Office. The mobile industry is moving fast and all players–including newcomers–are building upon ideas that have been around for decades. We work with our partners to give consumers innovative and affordable products, and we don’t want anything to limit that.” – Google

Google had to have made a response such as this – it’s beyond nonsense that they would not have responded to the case in one way or another due to the major impact Android has had on both Samsung and Apple. Now that Android is the bones inside the beast Samsung has created – and is thriving with – they’ve got to keep their shields up when it comes to legal battles of all kinds. Each time a manufacturer takes a hit while they contain Android, Google has a sort of phantom reaction: we can’t really even see it in stock prices here while other companies are very visibly jolting, but they’ve got to keep long-term effects in mind.

Google’s response is short and smart. Google P.R. is clearly keeping their swords in check while the businesses related to them bring the guns out daily. Will Google become involved when their stocks start to show loss – will they ever even be on the losing end of a trail when they themselves don’t technically manufacture any Android devices as such?

We’ll be seeing very soon. Keep your eyes on the Nexus 7 and the Nexus Q – if the latter ever gets released beyond its first half-step that remains in developers’ hands today.


Google’s statement speaks volumes on Apple vs Samsung is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.


Nokia and Microsoft see massive opportunity in Android legal case

There’s nothing better for a couple of companies with a fledgeling operating system between them than two of their main competitors battling it out in the courtroom. In this case, Microsoft and Nokia have the opportunity to make a swift grab for a giant amount of average citizens here in the United States who are seeing the Apple vs Samsung legal case as a weakness not only for Samsung, but for Apple as well. Windows Phone is more than ready to take on a position as a “reliable” brand while Android and iOS are appearing newly questionable – to your mother and father watching only the news coverage offered up by their newspapers and nightly television news.

One of the great things that Microsoft has had going for it with Windows Phone since the beginning (all those months ago) was the trust factor. People believe in Windows as an operating system for their desktop computer, so they’re prone to trust Microsoft’s mobile OS as well – that’s the ideal situation. Here Microsoft – and their best buddies at Nokia – have the opportunity to say: “look, our OS doesn’t rely on the factors that Apple and Samsung are warring about, we’re completely independent of such petty things.”

Of course if you follow Microsoft’s war on Android via patents, you know that the situation is nothing of the sort. Carolina Milanesi of the research firm Gartner Inc. spoke up about the situation this week:

“I am sure that vendors in the Android ecosystem are wondering how long it will be before they become Apple’s target. This might sway some vendors to look at Windows Phone 8 as an alternative, and for the ones like HTC Corp. and even Samsung, who have already announced plans to bring to market a WP8 device, how much stronger their investment should be.” – Milanesi

It would appear that a situation like this is already starting to happen – now Microsoft and Nokia have only to hold on for dear growth. Nokia’s stock jumped up to 12 percent at its best today while Microsoft jumped a slightly less impressive 1 percent to $30.87. Meanwhile Apple, traditionally a stock that doesn’t stay still for long, went up just 2.3 percent today while Samsung went down by 8 percent. Also of note is BlackBerry’s price – RIM gained 3.3 percent today as well.

[via Washington Post]


Nokia and Microsoft see massive opportunity in Android legal case is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.


Apple asks that eight Samsung devices be banned from US store shelves

Apple asks that eight Samsung devices be banned from store shelves

Favorable infringement findings in hand, we knew Apple would seek injunctions to ban Samsung devices from being sold in the US. And now we know that Tim Cook and company are following up on that billion dollar verdict and are seeking to enjoin eight handsets from being sold. As you can see in the chart above, the Galaxy S 4G, four Galaxy S II variants, the Galaxy S Showcase, Droid Charge, and Galaxy Prevail are all on the chopping block. Why is Apple only going after eight of the twenty-something devices found to be infringing its IP? Well, most of them are no longer being sold, and we all know how Judge Koh just hates having her time wasted.

Filed under:

Apple asks that eight Samsung devices be banned from US store shelves originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Aug 2012 14:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink The Verge  |  sourceCourt Filing (PDF)  | Email this | Comments

Samsung sends memo to employees, to continue fighting Apple

I am quite sure that the Samsung camp is still reeling from the recent verdict in the patent case where Samsung was judged to have infringed upon Apple’s patents, while Apple got away scot free – literally, with none of Samsung’s charges sticking. Teflon-smooth Apple will also be $1 billion richer as well, which should be more than enough money to pay off Apple’s legal team with a handsome amount left over. An internal memo which was sent out to Samsung’s employees today stated that they were “disappointed” with the guilty verdict, but will continue to appeal against Apple by doing its “utmost”. I personally find this sense of protectionism rather distasteful, but I guess to each his or her own. Go on and read all about the memo in the extended post.

(more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Apple and Samsung receive partial product bans, fined in South Korea, Apple’s sanction against Samsung denied by Judge (updated),

Apple vs Samsung Amended verdict form released

In the first of what may very well be a long line of “amended” verdict forms in the Apple vs Samsung case here in the USA, a full list of damages has been displayed with each of the smartphones and tablets at hand listed aside their amount. Samsung has been quite vocal thus far on how little they agree with the charges, of course, and this first amended list will certainly be strengthening their case for the entire trial to be re-thought. This set of changes sits aside comments over the weekend by the jury that have led the public to wonder how solid their deliberations were as well.

Some of the un-changed rulings sit in this document as well, including the ruling that said Apple was unable to keep their “trade dress” for the iPhone and iPad, but that the iPhone 3GS trade dress would stand. This ruling allows Apple to continue to seek damages against manufacturers that create smartphones with a look that’s significantly similar to the shape of the iPhone 3GS. It also sets a prescient for Apple’s next devices in the iPhone 5 and possible iPad mini / iPad Air of the future. As for damages changed in this ruling, they are as follows (in $ USD):

Captivate . . . . . . . . . .80,840,162

Continuum . . . . . . . . . .16,399,117

Droid Charge. . . . . . . . .50,672,869

Epic 4G. . . . . . . . . . .130,180,894

Exhibit 4G . . . . . . . . . .1,081,820

Fascinate. . . . . . . . . .143,539,179

Galaxy Ace . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0

Galaxy Prevail. . . . . . . .57,867,383

Galaxy S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0

Galaxy S 4G . . . . . . . . .73,344,668

Galaxy S II (AT&T). . . . . .40,494,356

Galaxy S II (i9000). . . . . . . . . .0

Galaxy S II (T-Mobile). . . .83,791,708

Galaxy S II (Epic 4G Touch).100,326,988

Galaxy S II (Skyrocket) . . .32,273,558

Galaxy S (Showcase) . . . . .22,002,146

Galaxy Tab . . . . . . . . . .1,966,691

Galaxy Tab 10.1 WiFi . . . . . .833,076

Galaxy Tab 10.1 4G LTE . . . . . . . .0

Gem. . . . . . . . . . . . . .4,075,585

Indulge . . . . . . . . . . .16,011,184

Infuse 4G . . . . . . . . . .44,792,974

Intercept. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0

Mesmerize . . . . . . . . . .53,123,612

Nexus S 4G . . . . . . . . . .1,828,297

Replenish. . . . . . . . . . .3,350,256

Transform. . . . . . . . . . . .953,060

Vibrant . . . . . . . . . . .89,673,957

Several of these devices were originally costing Samsung quite a bit more than zero – not a mistake that Samsung is taking lightly. Check out the full first amended verdict form here in PDF format. Per Groklaw, there’ve been some comments from the jury that the following was true once the first ruling was found to be incorrect:

The jury appears to have awarded damages for the Galaxy Tab 10.1 LTE infringing — $219,694 worth — but didn’t find that it had actually infringed anything….A similar inconsistency exists for the Intercept, for which they’d awarded Apple over $2 million.

Intercept: “The jury found no direct infringement but did find inducement” for the ’915 and ’163 utility patents. If a device didn’t infringe, it would be rather hard for a company to induce said non-existant infringement.

These quotes are also listed on live coverage of the reading of the events from The Verge who sat in on the trial. Stay tuned to our coverage of the trial as it continues on well past the reading of the verdict. Expect Samsung and Apple to stay at war for months to come, and for the results of this trial to be quite long-lasting as well!


Apple vs Samsung Amended verdict form released is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.


The List of Google’s Paid Bloggers Is Way Less Fun Than We Wanted It to Be [Letdowns]

Well, to be fair, any list of bloggers is going to be less fun than any expectation you could possibly have for it. (And your expectations for a blogger list better be pretty low to begin with.) But this list of who commented on the Oracle vs. Google trial, while also being paid by Google? Dud. More »

Samsung: “We will continue until our arguments have been accepted”

An internal memo distributed among Samsung employees has been published, with the company’s execs expressing “disappointment” at the $1bn Apple verdict last week, but vowing to fight on nonetheless. The document, released through Samsung’s corporate blog, paints Apple as lawsuit-fixated, with Samsung saying it “initially proposed to negotiate with Apple instead of going to court, as they had been one of our most important customers.”

That relationship sees Apple spend billions of dollars each year on Samsung components, including systems processors for iOS devices, flash memory, and more. Despite Samsung’s claimed reluctance to take the arguments into the courtroom, however, the company says “Apple pressed on with a lawsuit, and we have had little choice but to counter-sue.”

Unsurprisingly, Samsung highlights differences between the outcome of the jury trial in San Jose and the verdicts reached in courts elsewhere in the world. Those – including the UK, Korea, and Germany – found that Samsung had neither copied Apple’s UI interactions nor dismissed its claims about Apple infringing Samsung’s own standards patents. In the US, however, Samsung was awarded zero damages for that, with the jury deciding that Apple had not infringed whatsoever.

Samsung concludes with the suggestion that Apple will not win over customers by litigation, but that its own “pursuit of innovation” will give it success in the long-term. Both companies will file post-trial motions over the coming weeks, with an injunction hearing tentatively scheduled for September 20.

[Internal Memo] Regarding the Jury Verdict in California

On Friday, August 24, 2012, the jury verdict in our trial against Apple was announced at the US District Court for the Northern District of California. The following is an internal memo that reflects Samsung’s position regarding the verdict:

We initially proposed to negotiate with Apple instead of going to court, as they had been one of our most important customers. However, Apple pressed on with a lawsuit, and we have had little choice but to counter-sue, so that we can protect our company.

Certainly, we are very disappointed by the verdict at the US District Court for the Northern District of California (NDCA), and it is regrettable that the verdict has caused concern amongst our employees, as well as our loyal customers.

However, the judge’s final ruling remains, along with a number of other procedures. We will continue to do our utmost until our arguments have been accepted.

The NDCA verdict starkly contrasts decisions made by courts in a number of other countries, such as the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, and Korea, which have previously ruled that we did not copy Apple’s designs. These courts also recognized our arguments concerning our standards patents.

History has shown there has yet to be a company that has won the hearts and minds of consumers and achieved continuous growth, when its primary means to competition has been the outright abuse of patent law, not the pursuit of innovation.

We trust that the consumers and the market will side with those who prioritize innovation over litigation, and we will prove this beyond doubt.”

[via 9to5Mac]


Samsung: “We will continue until our arguments have been accepted” is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.


Read Samsung’s Sad "We Got Our Asses Kicked by Apple" Memo [Apple Vs Samsung]

Last Friday, Samsung got punched in its collective corporate throat by Apple’s legal team and a jury of its peers. Apple chief Tim Cook immediately celebrated… with a memo! Samsung’s memo was less fun. Much less fun. But hopeful! More »

Samsung demands Galaxy Tab 10.1 US sales permission plus Apple damages

Samsung has asked that the Galaxy Tab 10.1 sales ban in the US be overturned and is demanding damages for lost sales from Apple, after the tablet was deemed not to infringe on any patents. Apple secured a preliminary injunction against the 10.1-inch Android tablet back in late June, with Judge Lucy Koh describing it as “virtually indistinguishable” from the iPad and iPad 2. The Apple vs. Samsung jury did not agree, however, ruling that the Tab 10.1 did not in fact overstep the mark on any of the Cupertino firm’s IP, potentially giving Samsung a chance to grab at least part of the $2.6m bond its rival posted to secure the sales block.

Samsung needs the court to actively cancel the preliminary injunction, however; it’s not enough that the jury decided against Judge Koh’s original decision. The Korean firm filed its motion to make that request late on Sunday, writing that:

“On June 26, 2012, the Court preliminary enjoined Samsung from “making, using, offering to sell, or selling within the United States, or importing into the United States, Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet computer, and any product that is no more than colorably different from this specified product and embodies any design contained in US Design Patent No. D504,889″. Samsung timely filed a notice of appeal that same day. A trial in this matter was held from July 30-August 24, 2012, resulting in a finding by the jury that the Galaxy Tab 10.1 did not infringe Apple’s D’889 patent. The Court has entered final judgment reflecting the jury’s verdict. Accordingly, Samsung requests that the Court dissolve the preliminary injunction and retain the $2.6 million bond posted by Apple pending a determination of damages suffered by Samsung as a result of the injunction” Samsung filing

Exactly when that determination will take place is unclear, though the court has already set a tentative September 20 date for the injunction hearing. Apple and Samsung must first file their own post-trial motions, with Apple expected to demand the maximum possible penalty from Samsung, a total that could exceed $3bn.

In those terms, the $2.6m bond Apple posted to secure the Galaxy Tab 10.1 preliminary injunction seems like small change, but it’s a minor victory for Samsung all the same. Concerns have already been voiced from some quarters about the speed at which the jury reached a decision and whether it awarded damages to Apple out of an attempt to punish Samsung rather than – as legally required – compensate the Cupertino firm.

[via IDG]


Samsung demands Galaxy Tab 10.1 US sales permission plus Apple damages is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.