apple v. samsung

Samsung claims iPad Mini, latest iPod violate its patents

Samsung charged Wednesday that Apple's iPad Mini, fourth-generation iPad and fifth-generation iPod Touch violate its patents. The company asked a federal district court to add the products to its latest patent fight with the Cupertino, Calif., computer giant.

The Samsung complaint, which we've embedded below, alleges that Apple's latest products infringe the same patent as previous versions of its devices. Samsung essentially claims that "all Apple products including a built-in speaker and an external audio output port" infringe this particular patent, and thus argues that the newest Apple products should be included in the case. … Read more

Judge: Samsung gets to view Apple-HTC settlement details

Samsung will be privy to some details of a confidential settlement agreement between Apple and HTC, a California judge ruled today.

Samsung's lawyers were given the go-ahead to view confidential details of the agreement that made peace between Apple and HTC earlier this month, following an impromptu hearing ordered by Magistrate Judge Singh Grewal this morning.

That deal, announced November 10, put an end to all litigation between the two companies. Many expect the same thing to eventually happen between Apple and Samsung, but recent comments made by officials of the South Korean technology giant suggest even talks about a deal are out of the question. … Read more

Samsung wants details of Apple's settlement with HTC

Samsung is showing its first public interest in the settlement that ended the legal fight between rival Apple and HTC this past week.

Samsung this afternoon filed a request with the court for Apple to provide a copy of its patent license agreement with HTC.

That deal, announced on Saturday, put an end to the bitter battle between the two companies, a conflict that's similar, but smaller in scale to the one between Apple and Samsung.

In its filing, Samsung says it wants to see what patents were covered as part of the agreement since there may be some … Read more

Judge to review whether foreman in Apple v. Samsung hid info

Federal District Judge Lucy Koh will "consider the questions" of whether the jury foreman in Apple v. Samsung "concealed information" during the jury selection process and whether there was misconduct.

Koh said she will look into the matter during a December 6 hearing. As part of her inquiry, Koh said she will require Apple to disclose what information the company's lawyers knew about the jury foreman.

Samsung is trying to get the $1 billion patent judgment that a San Jose, Calif. jury awarded Apple in August thrown out. Apple filed suit against Samsung last year … Read more

Appeals court nixes a Galaxy Nexus ban requested by Apple

Samsung got a much-needed break from the courts today, as an appellate court overturned a sales ban on its Galaxy Nexus phone.

Today's ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit found that the district court in California "abused its discretion" in imposing a preliminary injunction on Galaxy Nexus sales.

The appeals court decision means that the case will go back to the court in California to be reheard, according to Reuters.

The appeals court found several flaws in Apple's arguments for a Nexus ban.

In one example, Apple claimed that the … Read more

So it looks like Samsung might not have tried to copy the iPhone

You remember the recent court case in which a vast amount of money was awarded to Apple?

Yes, the one in which Samsung was told to hand over $1.05 billion because quite a few of its products seemed to infringe on Apple's patents.

Well, those who like poring over these things have been spending long and, no doubt, sober nights examining the documents that were presented to the court -- documents that have now been unredacted.

What odd suggestions these documents make.

I am grateful to Groklaw for reading and reading and reading until its eyeballs were larger … Read more

Apple offered patent licensing deal to Samsung before trial

Apple proposed a reciprocal patent agreement to Samsung in the months leading up to their landmark trial, but the two could not arrive at a deal acceptable to both companies.

Apple's intellectual-property licensing director, Boris Teskler, outlined a deal to his equivalent at Samsung, Seongwoo Kim, in a three-page letter that was revealed this week after U.S. District Court Judge Lucy Koh rejected the companies' request to keep documents sealed.

Tesker's April 30 letter (see below) offered to license Samsung's 3G/UMTS patents for what it considered to be reasonable, and nondiscriminatory (FRAND) terms rather than … Read more

Samsung claims Apple patent verdict tainted by jury foreman

Samsung wants Apple's billion-dollar verdict thrown out, arguing it was tainted by the jury foreman's failure to disclose previous litigation with Seagate Technology, a company in which Samsung is a major investor.

Jury foreman Velvin Hogan was asked during jury selection about his involvement in lawsuits and should have revealed to the judge he had been sued by Seagate -- his former employer -- which led to his filing for personal bankruptcy in 1993, Samsung argued in a court filing Tuesday, according to a Bloomberg account.

"Samsung has a substantial strategic relationship with Seagate," the company … Read more

Samsung makes good on threat of patent suit against iPhone 5

Fresh off a courtroom victory against Apple today, Samsung filed another legal salvo against its chief foe.

The Korean electronics giant submitted an amendment to a lawsuit originally filed in April against Apple, adding the iPhone 5 to a list of devices that includes the iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPad 2, and the new iPad that Samsung accuses of infringing on several Samsung patents.

Samsung reportedly threatened to sue Apple last month for patent infringement over its then rumored use of long-term evolution (LTE) connectivity in the next-generation smartphone. While the new iPhone's debut last month confirmed that Apple'… Read more