Australian episode of Samsung-Apple hearing to be held in March 2012

A Reuters report confirms the decision by an Australian court to hear Samsung's plea against Apple in March 2012. This news comes as an update to the ongoing feud between Samsung and Apple over alleged patent infringements. Here's a quick recap leading to the present day. Both Apple and Samsung, who're big players in the mobile devices arena have been relentlessly alleging that the other has violated on patents owned by them. In several countries worldwide, both Apple and Samsung have been suing and counter-suing one another to the effect that Samsung's ambitious tablet, the Galaxy Tab 10.1 currently stands temporarily banned in Australia following a court hearing, a final one for which is scheduled for the 25th of this month.

March will decide its fate!

Now, in what follows s Samsung's next move, the March 2012 court hearing regarding the fate of the sales of the iPhone 4S will be a game changer. Interestingly though, at least till March, Apple is free to sell as many units of the iPhone 4S it wants in Australia and the court hearing will decide its course, only later. Although, a definite date for the hearing for March hasn't been set, it has been confirmed that the duration of the hearing will be 3 days. Apple, reportedly was hoping that the Australian court would pick August 2012 as the hearing date, but Justice Annabelle Bennett refused on the grounds that August was too far away and a delayed date would create problems for Samsung, since it was looking at expanding the Android market.

Additionally, a report in Bloomberg confirms that along with iPhone 4S, Samsung has managed to get an early trial in March 2012 for the iPad 2, which it alleges violates its patent about 3G wireless transmissions.

To get a complete picture of the Apple - Samsung lawsuit,

source:     http://tech2.in.com/news/smartphones/australian-episode-of-samsungapple-hearing-to-be-held-in-march-2012/257632

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Posted in appeal , Apple , Apple iPhone , Apple vs Samsung , infringement , iPhone , lawsuit , patent , Samsung , Samsung Apple lawsuit , Samsung vs Apple , Smartphone , tablets

Court scraps Apple's appeal to widen Galaxy Tab 10.1 ban

Yesterday, an Australian court delivered its verdict on the ongoing Apple - Samsung tussle in the country in favour of the Cupertino-based, Apple. The decision meant that a temporary ban on the sales of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia will be levied.

Galaxy Tab 10.1 has faced a sales ban in Australia

According to a report in the Wall Street Journal,  Apple made further attempts to modify the text of the judgment to the effect that Samsung would have to give Apple an advance notice of all its new product releases and have restrictions on the launch of all of Samsung's future tablet devices. However this time, the court promptly declined.

Friday's decision of having the Galaxy Tab 10.1 banned from selling in Australia has proved to be a setback to Samsung's prospects in Australia. Apple's yet awaiting a complete hearing on whether the Galaxy Tab 10.1 actually infringes on patents pertaining to Apple's touchscreen technology.

source:  http://tech2.in.com/news/tablets/court-scraps-apples-appeal-to-widen-galaxy-tab-101-ban/248952

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Posted in appeal , Apple , Apple iPhone , Apple vs Samsung , infringement , iPhone , lawsuit , patent , Samsung , Samsung Apple lawsuit , Samsung vs Apple , Smartphone , tablets

Samsung loses Dutch bid to ban Apple products

A Dutch court on Friday turned down Samsung Electronics' request for an injunction against all of Apple's mobile products that use 3G telecommunications technology, denying it revenge over a similar move by Apple. The two technology giants have been locked in an acrimonious battle in 10 countries involving smartphones and tablets since April.

Four patent infringement cases launched by Samsung against Apple were filed in the Netherlands alone. A court in The Hague on Friday dismissed Samsung's claims of patent infringement by Apple, scuppering its bid to ban the sale of iPhones and iPads in the Netherlands. It also rejected Apple's counterclaims in the case. "A win for Apple but also relief for the industry because the judge upheld widespread understanding of fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms in the use of patents," independent intellectual property expert Florian Mueller said. On Friday, the Dutch court found Samsung's 3G patents were part of essential standards which should be open to license under FRAND and that the two companies should negotiate an agreement.

Samsung seems to be fighting a loosing battle

The ruling is a blow to Samsung, which has filed patent-infringement claims in France and Italy in order to ban the sale of the iPhone, just as Apple has started marketing the latest edition of the popular gadget, iPhone 4S. "Apple will be taking French and Italian translations of the Dutch ruling with it. This makes it a long shot for Samsung that it could win an injunction in the EU based on its 3G patents," Mueller said. Samsung vowed not to give up the legal fight in the Netherlands against its Californian rival. "Today's ruling relates only to Samsung's preliminary injunction request, and Samsung will continue to assert our case against Apple's violation of our wireless technology patents through the main proceeding filed with the court in The Hague," the Korean electronics giant said in a statement. Apple has filed its own lawsuits in several countries, arguing Samsung's Galaxy line of mobile phones and tablets "slavishly" copied its iPhone and iPad. "It is no coincidence that Samsung's latest products look a lot like the iPhone and iPad, from the shape of the hardware to the user interface and even the packaging," an Apple spokesman said.

This month, Samsung was forced to upgrade three of its smartphones to get around temporary sales bans on earlier versions of products that a Dutch court said violated an Apple patent. Apple's new iPhone went on sale in stores across the globe on Friday, prompting thousands to queue around city blocks to snap up the gadget despite criticism about the lack of a design revolution and reports of software glitches.

source:   http://tech2.in.com/news/general/samsung-loses-dutch-bid-to-ban-apple-products/249142

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Posted in appeal , Apple , Apple iPhone , Apple vs Samsung , infringement , iPhone , lawsuit , patent , Samsung , Samsung Apple lawsuit , Samsung vs Apple , Smartphone , tablets

Will diaper case help Samsung in battle with Apple?

A key battle in the smartphone patent wars may come down to underpants for toddlers. Well, at least, a case involving underpants for toddlers. In a large-scale patent war, winning a ban on the sales of a competitor's products is one of the ways companies try to extract leverage over their adversaries. That's exactly what Apple Inc is pursuing against Samsung Electronics Co in a patent war that includes more than 20 cases in 10 countries.

Apple is seeking to block the sales of Samsung's smartphones and tablets around the world, claiming they infringe Apple's patents. Apple has scored preliminary injunctions against Samsung in Australia and Germany. Now Apple wants a ban of Samsung's products in the huge U.S. market, and that's where toddler underpants come in. In a case decided in June, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit addressed the standard needed to obtain a preliminary injunction. The case involved Kimberly-Clark Corp's allegations that First Quality Baby Products had infringed its patents covering a method for manufacturing and packaging underpants for toddlers. The court found that U.S. District Judge William Griesbach in Wisconsin abused his discretion when he granted Kimberly-Clark's request for a preliminary injunction based on the likelihood that First Quality infringed four of its patents.

Taking it to the toddlers now

To prevail in a preliminary injunction request, a party typically has to show that it will likely prove infringement and that it can withstand validity challenges by the accused infringer. In vacating the preliminary injunction, the appellate court reasoned that First Quality had "raised substantial questions of validity" with respect to three of Kimberly-Clark's patents. (The appeals court left in place the preliminary injunction for a fourth patent.) The decison by the Federal Circuit, which often has the last word on important patent questions, could help Samsung fend off Apple's request for a preliminary injunction in the United States. U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh did not rule on Apple's request for a preliminary injunction at a court hearing Thursday, but she said that Apple had a problem establishing the validity of its patents, according to a report by Reuters reporter Dan Levine.

Under the Federal Circuit's decision in the diaper case, Apple therefore might have difficulty meeting the standard set for obtaining a preliminary injunciton. Samsung's attorney, Kathleen Sullivan of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, argued that Samsung only had to show that it had raised strong enough questions about the validity of Apple's patents to beat back the injunction request. "We think we've clearly raised substantial questions," she said. The hearing did not go all Samsung's way. Judge Koh found that Samsung's Galaxy tablets had infringed Apple's iPad patents. The question now may be whether those patents can withstand the Federal Circuit's preliminary injunction standard. Call it the diaper test. Apple did not return a call seeking comment. This story first appeared here: http://link.reuters.com/caw44s

source:  http://tech2.in.com/news/general/will-diaper-case-help-samsung-in-battle-with-apple/249182

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Posted in appeal , Apple , Apple iPhone , Apple vs Samsung , infringement , iPhone , lawsuit , patent , Samsung , Samsung Apple lawsuit , Samsung vs Apple , Smartphone , tablets

Fate of Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia to be decided tomorrow

Tomorrow will be an important day for both the Cupertino-based Apple and South Korean company Samsung Electronics, for an Australian court will give its verdict, pertaining to an appeal filed by Apple against Samsung, to have the latter's Galaxy Tab 10.1 banned from being sold in Australia. While the outcome of the judgment is best left  to time, what has been revealed is that parts of the judgment will be handed over confidentially to the companies. The actual judgment will be released on Friday, which is a day later.

Tomorrow decides it

Those following our reports regularly in this respect would know that Samsung was accused by Apple for having allegedly copied the design of its iPad on their Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablets. Taking this further, Apple approached an Australian court seeking a ban on the Galaxy Tab 10.1, and now the same awaits a verdict.

To know more on the Samsung vs Apple lawsuit, click here.

Source:http://tech2.in.com/news/tablets/fate-of-galaxy-tab-101-in-australia-to-be-decided-tomorrow/248192

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Posted in appeal , Apple vs Samsung , Australia , confidential , infringement , lawsuit , patent , Samsung Apple lawsuit , Samsung vs Apple