July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

Korean electronics giant Samsung said today that it has dropped injunction requests against Apple products all across Europe, including in the U.K., France, Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands.

Samsung requested injunctions on various Apple products because it said Apple was infringing on some of its patents. Many saw that move as a counter-attack to Apple’s repeated attempts to get Samsung’s products banned in Europe and other parts of the world.

In a statement given to The Verge, Samsung said:

Samsung remains committed to licensing our technologies on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms, and we strongly believe it is better when companies compete fairly in the marketplace, rather than in court. In this spirit, Samsung has decided to withdraw our injunction requests against Apple on the basis of our standard essential patents pending in European courts, in the interest of protecting consumer choice.

Samsung very well might be dropping these because the European Commission had been investigating the company for abusing its patents. Under European Union law, companies must license certain patents on a fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) basis. Samsung did not appear to be giving Apple a fair shot at licensing its patents.

Although this is big news, the war with Apple appears far from over. Even though Apple and Samsung were given final rulings on their $1 billion patent infringement case in the U.S. last night, there are still many other lawsuits that need to be hashed out between the two companies in other countries.

Samsung and Apple smartphones via Andy Ihnatko/Flickr

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

Apple’s request to ban eight Samsung smartphones from sale in the U.S. will have to wait until a Dec. 6 hearing, U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh said in a court filing tonight.

Koh initially scheduled a hearing for Sept. 20 to hear injunction requests from Apple, following the iPhone maker’s massive win over Samsung on Friday. Now that hearing will be reserved for Samsung’s request to kill the preliminary injunction against the Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet, which was granted to Apple back in June.

Koh said the following in today’s court filing: “Having considered the scope of Apple’s preliminary injunction request, the additional post-trial motions that the parties have already filed and will file, and the substantial overlap between the analysis required for Apple’s preliminary injunction motion and the parties’ various other post-trial motions, the Court believes consolidation of the briefing and hearing on the post-trial motions is appropriate.”

Clearly, Koh doesn’t want to rush through Apple’s injunction request (especially after the jury in the trial has caught flack for arguably rushing through their deliberations). The delay gives Samsung a bit more time to figure out how it can stop Apple’s injunction request, though it also means Apple’s lawyers will have time to sharpen their case as well. For now, you don’t have to worry about the Galaxy S II’s availability before December.

Via The Verge

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

Samsung isn’t letting Apple halt sales of its phones in the U.S. without a fight.

In response to the eight devices Apple asked to have banned in the U.S. yesterday, Samsung issued a short statement in South Korea earlier this morning, the Wall Street Journal reports.

“We will take all necessary measures to ensure the availability of our products in the U.S. market,” Samsung said.

Those measures include filing to stop the injunction, appealing to judge Lucy Koh, or changing its devices, a Samsung rep told the WSJ. Given Samsung’s performance in court so far, I have a feeling the company’s best bet is to drastically change the affected phones (and perhaps rush a few off the market). Samsung has also begun discussing the removal of features from its phones, sources tell the WSJ.

On Friday the jury in the Apple v. Samsung trial ruled that Samsung had willfully infringed on Apple’s patents, and it ordered Samsung to pay more than $1 billion in damages.

Judge Koh has scheduled an injunction hearing for September 20 to determine which Samsung devices will be banned in the U.S. Samsung also has time to issue its own response to Apple’s request before the hearing.

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

Following its decisive victory over Samsung on Friday, Apple today filed a notice (PDF link) with the Federal District Court in San Jose, Calif. detailing the Samsung devices it wants banned from sale in the U.S.

Apple is only focusing on eight Samsung for the injunction, according to the notice, even though the trial jury found that most of Samsung’s 28 devices presented in the case infringed on Apple’s patents. In particular, Samsung’s Galaxy S2 is being targeted.

Here are all the Samsung devices Apple is seeking an injunction for:

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

Many of the Samsung devices shown in court are no longer on sale in the U.S. anyway, so it wouldn’t have made sense for Apple to bring them up for its injunction request.

Judge Lucy Koh has scheduled the injunction hearing for the Apple v. Samsung trial for September 20. Samsung will have a chance to respond to Apple’s injunction request some time before then.

As you can see in the chart below, Apple has broken down exactly how each of these devices infringes on its patents or trade dress design. The Galaxy S 4G is the worst culprit, infringing on Apple’s D’677 and D’305 design patents (which cover the front of the iPhone and its icon grid), utility patents, and trade dress (which refers to the look and feel of Apple’s iPhone).

Even though this injunction request won’t affect Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S III smartphone if it’s approved, it could still be a pain for Samsung, as the Galaxy S II remains a good deal for bargain hunters. Boost Mobile recently announced the Galaxy S II for its prepaid network, and it could end up being the ideal prepaid phone for other carriers as well if Apple doesn’t get its wish.

Via The Verge

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

If Apple and Samsung want to fight their long-winded patent lawsuits in Judge Lucy Koh’s court room, they’re going to have to do it a little more publicly. Koh ruled today that the two companies could not seal documents that are “not truly sealable.”

Apple and Samsung are currently locked in a lawsuit regarding two of Samsung’s smart devices, the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and the Galaxy Nexus. The iPad maker said these devices are “blatant copying,” and has taken Korea’s Samsung to task over them. The San Jose, Calif. judge ruled on the issue of sealed documents regarding this case after receiving a motion from Reuters requesting that blacked-out portions of the court documents be revealed. The publication noticed that a number of details on unsealed documents were redacted and prompted the judge to review what is sealed and unsealed.

According to Reuters, Koh wrote, “It appears that the parties have overdesignated confidential documents and are seeking to seal information that is not truly sealable.”

Documents are often sealed in these kinds of cases to protect trade secrets.

Samsung and Apple have been at each other’s patent-throats for some time now. Recently, Apple won injunctions against Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 and its Galaxy Nexus smartphone, barring Samsung from selling the device while the trial is ongoing. The company even began sending out notices to Samsung’s third-party retailers, informing them they could no longer sell the items. In order to protect Samsung from any damages should the Korean manufacturer win the suit, Apple had to put up a $2.6 million bond for the Galaxy Tab and $95.6 million bond for the Galaxy Nexus.

The jury trial is set for July 30. Samsung and Apple have until July 23 to appeal Judge Koh’s decision on sealed documents.

via Reuters; Apple headquarter image via micurs/Flickr

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

Apple is sending notices to retailers to stop selling Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus and Galaxy Tab 10.1, a filing by Samsung revealed today.

Foss Patents reports that a filing by Samsung included a note about Apple sending out letters to third parties about the injunction. Samsung is saying that Apple had no right to send these out to its third-party retailers, but the injunction specifies that “officers, directors, partners, agents, servants, employees, attorneys, subsidiaries, and those acting in concert with any of them are enjoined from making, using, offering to sell, or selling within the United States.” Third-party retailers undoubtedly fall into the “those acting in concert” category.

Apple sued Samsung earlier this year, winning injunctions against the Galaxy Nexus smartphone and the Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet. The two, Apple says, infringe upon its iPhone and iPad equivalents. Apple at the time said that the devices were “blatant copying” and mentioned packaging, the user interface, and form factor as points of contention.

Apple began sending those notices associated with the Galaxy Nexus on June 3, the same day U.S. Judge Lucy Koh turned down Samsung’s appeal on the injunction. Three days later, however, Judge Koh suspended the injunction.

Less than two weeks after Apple began sending out letters pertaining to the Galaxy Tab 10.1, a U.K. judge said the tablet is “not as cool,” and thereby doesn’t infringe on the iPad.

Check out Apple’s letter below:

VIA FACSIMILE, REGISTERED MAIL, FEDERAL EXPRESS AND REGISTERED AGENT

Re: Apple Inc. v. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., et al., United States District Court, Northern District of California, Case No. C-11-01846 (LHK)

Dear [recipient]:

We represent Apple Inc. in the above-referenced action.

We enclose a copy of the June 26 preliminary injunction ordered entered by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in this case together with a copy of Apple’s U.S. Design Patent No. D504,889 (the ’889 patent’). With the posting of the requisite bond, the order is now in effect.

The order provides as follows:

[T]he Court issues the following order enjoining the Galaxy Tab 10.1 from sale in the United States: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Samsung Electronics America, Inc., and Samsung Telecommunications America, Inc., its officers, directors, partners, agents, servants, employees, attorneys, subsidiaries, and those acting in concert with any of them, are enjoined 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 U.S. Design Patent No. D504,889.

(emphasis added).

As the italicized language provides, the order applies not only to the named Samsung entities, but also to anyone “acting in concert” with them. Apple thus believes that the order extends to you because you may be selling, offering to sell, or importing the Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet computer.

Please comply with the order by ceasing immediately to engage in any of the specified acts (e.g., importing, offering to sell, or selling within the United States) in connection with the Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet computer and any product that is no more than colorably different from it and embodies the ’889 patent’s design. At a minimum, Apple believes compliance with the Court’s order requires immediately removing for sale the Galaxy Tab 10.1 from all physical and online venues under your direction or control.

Please contact the undersigned if you have questions.

Regards,

[signatory]

Enclosures

via Foss Patents; Galaxy Nexus photo via TAKA@P.P.R.S/Flickr

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

The much-anticipated Samsung Galaxy S III phone will soon be available from five carriers in the U.S. But if Apple has its way, that could abruptly change.

Apple has filed a motion in a California court that claims the Samsung Galaxy S III smartphone violates two of its patents and that it wants the device blocked from sale in the United States. The action was first spotted by analyst Florian Mueller at FOSS Patents.

Specifically, Apple has asked for the court to add the S III as another device targeted by Apple’s preliminary injunction against Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus smartphone. Apple claims Samsung is violating U.S. Patent No. 8,086,604 and No. 5,946,647. The former cover “unified search,” while the latter covers “links for structures.”

Samsung has responded to Apple’s request by saying it would fight tooth-and-nail to make sure Apple does not succeed. The South Korean electronics giant will go forward with the Galaxy S III’s June 21 launch date.

“Samsung believes Apple’s request is without merit. We will vigorously oppose the request and demonstrate to the court that the Galaxy S III is innovative and distinctive,” a Samsung spokesperson said in a circulated statement to press. “We would also like to assure consumers that the U.S. launch and sales of the Galaxy S III will proceed as planned.”

Galaxy S III photo: Sean Ludwig/VentureBeat

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Germany’s third most popular political party, The Pirate Party, was ordered to shut down its proxy to The Pirate Bay website today, or face fines of 10,000 euros for every day the proxy is still running.

The Pirate Bay allows people to upload and share torrents of content ranging from videos to entire music albums. Dutch anti-piracy group BREIN, supported by Hollywood, is behind the injunction, which was filed in the Court of The Hague yesterday. After being granted the injunction, BREIN told the Pirate Party it had six hours to shut down the proxy or face the hefty fine. Despite calling the request censorship of people’s freedom of speech, the Pirate Party acquiesced.

The party isn’t giving up quite so easily, however. According to TorrentFreak, party leaders have contacted lawyers and plan to file a request to overturn the injunction and restore traffic to its proxy to The Pirate Bay. A party chairman also explained that the Pirate Party was not given the opportunity to argue their side of the story before the injunction was issued.

Last week, the Pirate Party was named Germany’s third most popular party, overcoming the Green Party. The Pirate Party is gaining attention with German youths, discussing popular issues such as ACTA, and freedom of speech on the Internet.

via TorrentFreak; Image via Gravityx9/Flickr

The Attorney General of Brazil, according to Brazilian publication O Globo (The Globe), has filed a preliminary injunction to suspend and block the Twitter profiles of users who tweet the whereabouts of speed traps, DUI checkpoints, and radar locations.

The lawsuit seeks to fine those in violation of the injunction R$500,000 (roughly $290,000) a day, and asserts that proactive Twitter users like @RadarBlitzGo, a Twitter bot that announced its end via tweet an hour ago, are defying the country’s penal, criminal, and traffic codes.

The argument is that these Twitter alerts are harming the public by preventing police officers from being able to perform their duties. While the logic may have merit, the action, restricts the speech of Brazilian Twitter users and is akin to content censorship. A number of applications such as Trapster and Waze are built around of the idea of citizen activism and encourage users to report speed traps and radar locations.

Brazil, interestingly enough, is experiencing explosive growth in Twitter usage, and has the second most Twitter accounts of any country — second only to the U.S.

Earlier in the year, regional federal legislators in the Brazilian state of Espírito Santo also ordered internet providers to remove the Twitter and Facebook profiles of its members who exposed the operations of the Brazilian police force. That directive also included a R$500,000 daily fine should companies fail to comply.

Twitter recently added the capability to tap dance around these types of takedown requests. An internet provider can choose to withhold content from Twitter users in certain countries while keeping it accessible elsewhere in the world, should it receive a legally binding request to remove tweets. There’s been no indication as to whether Twitter plans to put its new technology to use in response to the injunction.

Twitter declined to comment on the matter.

[via The Next Web]

Photo credit: zealfredor/Flickr

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

Samsung suffered yet another major blow in its patent battle against Apple today, as the Düsseldorf Regional Court in Germany upheld the preliminary injunction banning sales of the Galaxy Tab 10.1, reports FOSS Patents.

The preliminary injunction was first granted last month by the German court, which found Samsung’s tablets closely resembled Apple’s designs. It initially banned sales of the tablet across other countries in Europe, but that ban was eventually lifted in most countries.

As FOSS Patents’ Florian Mueller points out, today’s news means that Samsung won’t be able to keep fighting the injunction in the Düsseldorf Regional Court, but it can appeal the case in a fast-track proceeding at the Higher Regional Court. With that plan, the injunction could be lifted within a few months.

Additionally, the main proceeding of Apple’s case against Samsung will continue automatically in the Regional Court. While slower than a fast-track proceeding (it could take a full year), Samsung could still appeal the outcome of the Regional Court’s final ruling. But if the main proceeding rules in favor of Apple, the injunction will become permanent. On the other hand, if the court rules in favor of Samsung, Apple will be held liable for damages.

For now, Samsung won’t be able to sell the Galaxy Tab 10.1 within Germany, and its German branch won’t be able to sell the tablet to other EU countries (Mueller says that, in practical terms, that means nothing, since they get their tablet stock from elsewhere). Samsung was also forced to remove its Galaxy Tab 7.7 from the IFA consumer electronics show floor last week due to a new injunction.

“The way the judge reportedly pronounced today’s decision, Samsung won’t be able to promote or sell any new products in Germany that infringe the successfully-enforced Community design for as long as the injunction is in force,” Mueller wrote. “In other words, if Samsung came out (hypothetically speaking) with a Galaxy Tab 9.0, it seems the injunction would apply.”