Legal

A California judge today sided with Amazon and its attempt to toss out claims by Apple about false advertising in a lawsuit involving the use of "app store" in marketing materials.

In an order today, U.S. District Court Judge Phyllis Hamilton granted Amazon's motion for a summary judgment to remove a part of the complaint that involved false advertising claims against it.

Apple sued Amazon in April 2011, accusing the online retail giant of misappropriating the "App Store" moniker, a name it attempted to trademark in 2008 following the launch of the App Store … Read more

Apple has agreed to withdraw patent infringement allegations against Samsung's new Galaxy S3 Mini in exchange for assurances that the South Korean electronics giant will not market the smartphone in the U.S.

Apple disclosed the agreement today in a filing with the U.S. District Court for Northern California. The iPhone maker requested last month that the new smartphone and other Samsung products be added to the ongoing patent dispute between the two companies. Samsung countered that the S3 Mini was unavailable for purchase in the United States, however Apple noted that the new smartphone was listed on … Read more

A Beijing-based judge has sided with a group of Chinese authors in a copyright infringement lawsuit against Apple, according to China Daily. The judge ruled today that the tech giant must compensate eight authors who claim their books were illegally sold in Apple's App Store.

It's unclear exactly how much the writers will be paid. The Wall Street Journal reports the total compensation amount is 1.03 million yuan, or about $165,000, while China Daily writes that Apple must pay a total of 412,000 yuan, or around $66,000.

According to Mac Observer, the books appeared … Read more

Apple received a patent for connectors use to replace or remove SIM cards in mobile devices.

The patent covers connectors that allow for multiple methods of inserting a SIM card, including the "plunger system," in which a user pushes on a plunger rod to eject the SIM card. The patent was first identified by Patently Apple.

Apple argues that the connector patent covers various kinds of SIM cards -- supposedly ranging from the larger standard cards to the micro-SIM cards that Apple uses in its mobile devices -- though the patent's actual claims are silent on that … Read more

China said it would change its laws to crack down on "malicious" trademark registrations, which have allowed local companies to misuse well-known names and brands.

The changes come after international companies and well-known individuals have complained to China, according to Reuters, citing state media today.

Perhaps most famous is the case in which a Chinese company sued Apple for the use of the name "iPad," a dispute Apple ultimately settled for $60 million.

Other instances include Michael Jordan, who sued a Chinese sportswear company for using his name, and French luxury brand Hermes International, which has … Read more

Another iPad already?

Apple is prepping a thinner, lighter fifth-generation iPad that shares some of its design cues with the recently released iPad Mini, according to Japanese blog Macotakara. The report was picked up and translated by 9to5Mac.

The report also calls for the next iPad Mini to be released with a Retina display, following other similar reports. The addition wouldn't be surprising, as it was a key missing feature with the original iPad Mini.

The release of a next-generation iPad would drastically shorten an already shortened product life cycle for Apple's main tablet. The fourth-generation iPad was … Read more

Samsung is drawing closer and closer to the technology that will transform the future of smartphones and tablets. The company will show off its progress in a couple of weeks at CES 2013 when it demos a 5.5-inch flexible display with a 1,280x720-pixel resolution and a 267-pixel density (an upgrade to the one pictured above from CES 2011).

While these displays are still at least a couple of years away from being used in mainstream products, they represent the next big innovation in mobile devices. They will enable much thinner, more power-efficient smartphones and tablets, and a lot … Read more

The technology lab behind a Kickstarter-funded project to build a portable device-charging station announced today that it will refund its crowdfunded $139,170 to donors after Apple refused to license rights to its Lightning connector.

POP, a minimalist portable power station, was billed as "the intersection of charging design" and was expected to feature four retractable cords for charging a variety of devices, including iOS and Android devices. The portable charging station featured a 26,000 mAh battery capable of charging 10 iPhones, according to Junior Edison, the company behind the effort.

In addition to its portable convenience, … Read more

Apple today told a U.S. district court judge in San Jose it would appeal her decision earlier this week not to ban sales of a number of Samsung phones.

Earlier this week Judge Lucy Koh denied Apple's bid for a sales ban on 26 Samsung products, saying that any infringing features were just part of a larger feature set, making a sales ban too broad. That decision meant Samsung can continue to sell those devices, which are mainly older models, in the U.S.

That sales ban effort was one of several following a jury verdict in August … Read more