Hasta La Gadget!

Annabelle Bennett is no stranger to Apple/Samsung litigation — the Federal Court of Australia judge has had a hand in the companies’ disputes for at least the past year. And it would appear that she’s grown a bit impatient, following a Samsung move that she’s labeled as “just ridiculous.” According to a Bloomberg report, the trial began with Samsung’s attorney stating that Apple refused to pay a fee to license three patents related to 3G data transmission. Apple’s counsel, however, explained that the company did offer to pay, but Samsung refused. Bennett responded by asking “why on earth are these proceedings going ahead?,” following up with “why shouldn’t I order the parties to mediation?” — a question she expects to be addressed by the end of the week. There doesn’t appear to be any official ruling at this point, though the trial certainly isn’t off to a great start for Samsung. Ultimately, the duo may be forced back to the negotiating table, letting Bennett move on to other cases until the next patent rouse.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless

Judge calls Samsung vs. Apple 3G suit ‘ridiculous,’ suggests mediation instead originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Jul 2012 10:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple and Samsung’s trial is expected to start in the United States on July 30th, but both companies were ordered by Judge Koh to sit down and discuss the possibility of mediation. Apple CEO Tim Cook met with Samsung executives Choi Gee-sung and Shin Jong-kyun on July 16th, according to a Korea Times article that has since been removed. It marks the second time that high-level executives at the companies have met to discuss the case.

Sources speaking to The Korea Times say that Samsung believes Apple is a “very important business partner”, not surprising given that the Korean company supplies many of the chips and components for Cupertino’s range of iDevices. Still, both companies are asserting patents and claims against each other in courts across the world, with Apple recently taking a blow in the UK thanks to a ruling that indicated the Galaxy Tab line does not infringe on the iPad.

Not only that, but Apple has been ordered to advertise this fact on its website and in British newspapers. Apple will have to show on its website for a period of six months that Samsung did not copy of the design of the iPad, although the terms of the newspaper advertisements aren’t as clear. Apple is naturally appealing the ruling. As for the case in the United States, both companies have previously discussed the possibility of a settlement, although no arrangement could be agreed upon.

Both companies have been ordered to streamline their patent claims in the case by Judge Koh, who fears that a jury would become confused by the sheer amount of information thrown at them. Time restrictions also play a big part in the trial, with Apple and Samsung seeing limitations that will only allow them to place emphasis on the most crucial claims.

[via The Next Web]

Tim Cook reportedly met with Samsung execs over patent case is written by Ben Kersey & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Microsoft scored a win against Motorola back in May, with the ITC ruling that the smartphone manufacturer had violated an ActiveSync patent on its handsets. The ban is scheduled to come into effect starting from today, but Motorola has said that it has a plan that will allow its products to remain available to customers. The company issued a statement regarding the imminent ban, saying only that it had taken “proactive measures” to ensure its devices remain available.

Ars Technica believes that the company may simply have enough devices stockpiled in the US, allowing carriers and consumers continued access for the foreseeable future. The affected devices aren’t exactly cutting edge either, with the ban affecting the Atrix, Backflip, Bravo, Charm, Cliq, Cliq 2, Cliq XT, Defy, Devour, Droid 2, Droid 2 Global, Droid Pro, Droid X, Droid X2, Flipout, Flipside, Spice, and Xoom.

However, the ban does still apply to any future products that continue to infringe on Microsoft’s patent, with the company asserting that the infringement is present across other devices not named at the ITC proceedings as well. Motorola may have enough stock in the United States for any affected products, but the company had to pay 33 cents for every device it imported during the 60 day review period. Just like HTC, Motorola will find any newly imported products held at Customs until the matter has been resolved.

It’s not clear what will happen going forward either. Motorola has paid Microsoft for the ActiveSync patent in the past, between 2003 and 2007, then dropped the license for its more recent products. The company could renew its license, or simply apply a software update to the affected devices that will remove the infringing feature. HTC faced a similar situation in a legal battle with Apple, with the HTC One X and EVO 4G LTE prevented from importation for a short time. The company then issued a software update to Android that removed the offending patent, allowing both handsets through Customs.

Motorola Android device import ban takes effect today is written by Ben Kersey & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Today comes news of a new Apple patent that could cause problems for most of the Android devices floating around out there. The patent in question is US patent 8,223,134, and it covers disappearing vertical scroll bars on touchscreen devices in a pretty broad fashion. With the patent covering things like portable devices with a touchscreen display, vertical scroll bars that disappear after a short time, and moving the vertical bar through touch, it’s pretty easy to see why this have could have a negative outcome for Android and manufacturers working with Google’s Mobile OS in general.

The Verge is quick to point out that Android has been using a disappearing vertical scroll bar since at least version 2.3, so the vanishing scroll bar has been one of Android’s embedded features for quite some time. Apple, obviously, likes to hoard patents relating to touchscreens and smartphones in general, so Google could soon have to pay Apple a fee if it would like to keep using those sleek looking scroll bars in present and future Android versions.

From our iPhone 4S review – see if you can spot the scroll bar in play in iOS 5:

Google does have another option, however: using a full-length, non-disappearing vertical scroll bar. Apple’s freshly-award patent doesn’t cover the conventional ever-present scroll bars we’re used to seeing on our desktops and laptops, so Google would be able to get away with using those despite Apple’s patents. Will it though? That remains to be seen, as it’s hard to tell if Google will be willing to sacrifice the unobtrusive scroll bars in order to save a bit of money.

Apple patents mobile scroll bar is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Apple filed a stealth lawsuit last summer alleging that the Motorola Xoom violated the design patent that underpins the iPad. While Apple has had some success leveling its big patent gun against Samsung, the same can’t be said for Motorola: a German court just declared that the reference Android tablet doesn’t infringe on Apple’s design claim. The ruling isn’t a complete win for Motorola, however, as the court wouldn’t invalidate the patent — it could theoretically be leveled against other tablets in the future. The loss will still sting for Apple, which now has to resort to a multi-touch patent claim (among others) if it wants to make Motorola feel the heat in Mannheim.

Filed under: Tablet PCs

German court rules Motorola Xoom doesn’t violate Apple’s iPad design patent originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Jul 2012 11:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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