Hasta La Gadget!

Well, so much for that. Samsung’s Executive Vice President of Product Strategy — Won-Pyo Hong — didn’t say a whole heck of a lot on stage here at AsiaD, but he did clarify one thing near the end of his interview: he has ‘no idea’ where those earlier rumors came from. With “those rumors” regarding the matter of designing the Galaxy Nexus specifically to avoid patent troubles with Apple. According to Dr. Hong, the actual development of the Galaxy Nexus started with Google before the initial lawsuit hammer fell between the two outfits, making it impossible for the suits being flung back and forth today to have any impact on that decision.

We believe it. These phones are designed months — if not years — in advance, and the actual process from concept to shipping takes a relative eternity. Furthermore, the original source (linked in More Coverage) only tied the quotes from Sammy’s Shin Jong-kyun loosely to the Galaxy Nexus, and we’re guessing that Samsung takes a look at all potential legal implications before shipping any product. In other words, the company’s probably doing everything it can — including paying Microsoft for every single Android device sold — to avoid these nasty legal battles, but the Galaxy Nexus wasn’t engineered just to sidestep another fight with the lawyers in Cupertino. And now you know.

Update: In response to a question from Joanna Stern regarding Samsung’s rethinking of hardware and software (mainly TouchWiz) in order to lessen its chances of being sued in the future, Dr. Hong did muster a very vague affirmation that a newer build of TouchWiz will eventually surface, and that it’ll almost certainly be tweaked in a way that’ll cause Apple’s lawyers to salivate less.

Samsung’s Won-Pyo Hong: Galaxy Nexus wasn’t designed just to skirt Apple patents originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Oct 2011 05:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Earlier this summer, a judge in The Netherlands ruled to ban sales of Samsung Galaxy S, S II and Ace smartphones, stating that the devices violated an Apple patent which deals with a “method of scrolling.” Well, nearly two months have passed, and Samsung is just now getting around to releasing “upgraded” versions of the affected devices, presumably implementing a non-infringing scroll tool. A Samsung spokesman told Reuters that the three phones will “shortly be available for sale,” neglecting to provide an exact release date — so we wouldn’t suggest lining up to get your Galaxy S II fix just yet. This small victory is only the latest in the Apple / Samsung lawsuit saga, which has created quite a stir in a handful of courts around the world. We have yet to hear about a solution to the Galaxy Tab 10.1 ban in Australia, for example, where fingers are being pointed in every direction.

Samsung modifies Galaxy smartphones to satisfy Dutch court, plans to resume sales soon originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Oct 2011 08:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Verizon was the first carrier to come to Samsung’s defense in the company’s patent dispute with Apple, but it’s not the last. As Reuters reports today, T-Mobile has now also sided with Samsung in the lawsuit, stating in a court filing that a sales ban on certain Samsung products would “unnecessarily harm” the carrier and its customers, and that, “at this late date, T-Mobile could not find comparable replacement products for the 2011 holiday season.” The carrier also noted that its ads also “prominently feature” some of the Samsung products in question, and that those investments “cannot be recouped easily.” As for the case itself, the next big date is an October 13th hearing on the injunction request.

T-Mobile joins Verizon to support Samsung in Apple patent lawsuit originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Sep 2011 11:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Seems like we can’t go a week without another patent infringement lawsuit being filed, and this one’s no different. Apparently, VIA Technologies, maker of fine computational processors, is mad as hell with Apple’s allegedly infringing ways, and it’s not gonna take it anymore. Filed in the US District Court in Delaware, VIA claims that Cupertino’s iThings and Apple TVs infringe patent numbers 6,253,312, 6,253,311 and 6,754,810, which cover various microprocessor functions. A complaint’s also been lodged with the ITC — in order to hasten the settlement talks, no doubt. So, all that’s left is the countdown until these two shake hands, exchange checks and go on about their business… preferably outside the courtroom.

VIA Technologies sues Apple for patent infringement originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 22 Sep 2011 22:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Man. Exciting stuff, here. Stuff like lawyers yelling at each other in varied continents because “your stuff looks too much like my theoretical stuff.” The long, winding and increasingly mind-numbing battle between Samsung and Apple has taken yet another turn in Australia, with the former slapping the latter with a bold countersuit. According to The Wall Street Journal, Sammy feels that the iPhone and iPad 2 both “violate a number of wireless technology patents held by Samsung.” Spokesman Nam Ki-yung stated the following: “To defend our intellectual property, Samsung filed a cross claim for Apple’s violation of Samsung’s wireless technology patents.” The suit is being filed just days / weeks before a ruling will decide on whether the Galaxy Tab 10.1 can be legally sold Down Under, and in related news, Samsung is also appealing a recent ruling back in Germany. If ever the world needed an out-of-court settlement…

Samsung countersues Apple in Australia, claims iPhone / iPad 2 violate its patents originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 18 Sep 2011 13:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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