legal - page 2

Samsung Denied New Trial Regarding Apple’s “Bounce Back” ‘381 Patent

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One of the key patents in Samsung and Apple’s neverending patent dispute was ‘381, the so-called “bounce back” patent. As you might recall, the patent describes the way in which an iPhone, when inertially scrolling a document, will bounce back when it reaches the top. It’s a little detail, but it’s one of the few patent infringement verdicts Samsung hasn’t been able to weasel its way out of.

Not that that has stopped Samsung from trying, but it looks like the dispute over the famous bounce back patent is finally over. On late Thursday, U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh denied Samsung a motion for a new trial regarding the ‘381 patent. Finally.

U.S. District Judge Throws Out App Store Antitrust Case

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If I told you that Apple had a monopoly over all of the apps sold through the iTunes App Store, what would you say? Would you stammer for a little bit, eyes boggling, trying to understand how an injustice like this could happen in our tightly regulated markets? Or would you say, “No kidding, Sherlock. The App Store is their exclusive proprietary platform. It’s a walled garden,” and then, perhaps to emphasize what an idiot you think I am, slowly twirling one finger around your ear while using another to rapidly flick your lower lip up and down while googling your eyes?

I can’t blame you; I’d probably do the latter myself. Yet would you believe that an antitrust complaint was filed against Apple because there aren’t third-party app stores allowed on the iOS platform? Of course someone did. The case has been dismissed by a U.S. District judge, but not because it was a stupid complaint, but because the plaintiffs made a procedural mistake.

Publishers Claim Recent DOJ E-Book Decision Punishes Them More Than Apple

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Not too surprisingly, the five major publishers originally named in the U.S. Department of Justice’s e-book case regarding their collusion with Apple on pricing have now themselves filed a complaint regarding the Justice Department’s proposal to eliminate the use of the agency model in any Apple agreements with publishers for a period of five years.

Publishers like the agency model as it allows them to set prices for e-books, instead of the distributor, as Amazon did before Apple’s own iBooks system launched on the iPad.

DoJ Wants Apple To Terminate Deals With Publishers, Link To Rival Bookstores Instead

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Apple can't ditch its ebook compliance monitor.
Apple can't ditch its ebook compliance monitor.
Photo: Apple

The ongoing iBooks antitrust case between Apple and the United States Department of Justice took a very interesting twist this morning when the DoJ and 33 state Attorneys General laid out plans to remedy Apple’s wrongdoings and restore competition to the market.

The DoJ wants Apple to terminate all of its deals with book publishers, and refrain from entering into any new ones for at least five years. It also wants the company to start selling e-books from rivals like Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Apple And Motorola Agree To Drop 14 Patents From Trial

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Apple and Motorola are set to do battle in a Miami courtroom in August 2014, but before the fight can begin, the two companies have decided to drop 14 patents from litigation.

At the behest of Federal Judge Robert N. Scola, the two companies are starting narrow down the list of patents they want to sue each other over. The trial originally started with 24 patents under review, but Apple dropped six patents yesterday and Motorola dropped eight. 

Flowboard, Flipboard Embroiled In Trademark Infringement Clash

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iOS icon for Flipboard on the left, Flowboard to the right.

Flowboard. Flipboard. Look too similar? The people behind the Flipboard app certainly think so.

Brent Brookler, CEO of Treemo and creator of e-publishing iPad app Flowboard, says Flipboard has been threatening him with legal action since shortly after his app launched back in April, asking him to change the name of his app. Flipboard also wants the logo changed, which they say is also too similar to its own logo.

Here Is The Department Of Justice’s Opening Statement Against Apple For E-Book Price Fixing

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The U.S. Department of Justice’s case against Apple has gotten underway in New York. The DOJ has accused Apple of colluding with publishers to raise the price on eBooks.

To start the trial off, the DOJ has released an 81-page slide deck containing its opening statements against Apple. The trial is expected to run for about three weeks, and both sides gave their opening arguments today.

The DOJ’s 81-page document includes a number of email between Apple execs, as well as sections of Walter Isaacon”s biography of Steve Jobs.

You can search through the DOJ’s opening arguments after the break:

Apple Fighting For Siri In Chinese Court Against Xiao I Robot

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Ku0H10_G1X4

One of the curses of being an innovator is every time you innovate, someone comes along and says they had a patent on it first. Apple knows this dilemma well, and the latest patent infringement claim Cupertino has to defend itself against is in China over Siri, Apple’s virtual assistant.

Judge Orders Apple To Give Up Documents In Privacy Lawsuit

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Under no circumstance does Apple want to part with its company secrets. Even when it’s been ordered to do so by a U.S. Judge.

Apple must show in detail how it’s complying with a court order to turn over evidence related to its privacy lawsuit, because U.S. Judge Grewal says he can no longer rely on what Apple tells him in the case.

Samsung Might Get Slapped With $15 Billion Fine For Trying To Ban Apple Sales In Europe

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Apple and Samsung have been raging a legal war against each other across the globe. While Apple won a $1 billion lawsuit against Samsung in the U.S. earlier this year, the two giants have exchanged blows in Europe as well, but neither side has come out on top yet.

However, a new report claims that Samsung might be facing a serious blow from the European commission that is seeking to impose some huge fines on Samsung for trying to get Apple products banned in Europe.

Judge Wants Global Peace Treaty To End Apple Vs. Samsung Nuclear Patent War

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The ongoing legal battles between Apple and Samsung were rather entertaining early on, now it’s like watching two school children fight over who was first to own the latest pair of trendy sneakers. Even the judges presiding over the cases are beginning to lose their patience. As the pair continue to fight it out in the U.S. district court of Northern California this week, Judge Lucy Koh has made a plea for “global peace.”

Jong-Kyun Shin: Samsung Has No Intentions Of Negotiating With Apple

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To say Samsung and Apple have a strained relationship would be quite the understatement. A once symbiotic partnership has turned into an all out war over claims of patent infringement and design copying. Their global legal battles have disgusted enough judges and consumers to spawn serious debate over the current status of our patent system and a call for reform.

Apple Officially Granted Registered Trademark For Beatles’s Apple Corps Logo

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For decades, Apple had a long-running dispute going with the Beatles over their eponymous fruitarian trademark. Namely, Apple Corps. congolomerate — a mult-armed multimedia corporation founded by the Beatles in 1968 — had a problem with Apple Computers stepping all over their TM. In 1981, Apple settled the dispute for the first time by paying Apple Corps. $80,000 and promising to never enter the music business, but then in 2001, Apple launched both the iPod and iTunes, starting the hostilities anew.

Everything came to a resolution in 2007, when Apple took ownership of all trademarks related to “Apple”, including Apple Corps’s granny smith apple logo, and agreed to license them back to Apple Corps. for their continued use.

Today, we’re seeing the last apple fall from that treet, as the Canadian IP Office has just disclosed that the Beatles’ iconic recording label is now Apple, Inc. registered trademark. Isn’t that nice?

Source: PatentlyApple

Dutch Court Says Samsung Didn’t Infringe On Apple Patent

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Even though their main trial in the U.S. is over, the legal battle between Apple and Samsung is still raging on in at least 10 other countries across the globe, and who knows if it will ever end.

The latest verdict in the legal war comes from the Netherlands, where the court ruled that Samsung’s technology does not infringe on an Apple patent by using certain multi-touch technologies on some Samsung Galaxy smartphones.

Prior Art Evidence Leads USPTO To Declare Apple’s Rubber-Banding Patent Invalid

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Apple has just lost one of its magic patent bullets thanks to a non-final Office action by the USPTO. Patent No, 7,469,381 (used against Samsung in California) has been declared invalid after evidence supporting prior art (as well as being obvious) was brought about during a reexamination request.

This news is not only great for Samsung, but many other manufacturers who are currently caught up in Apple’s legal charades.

Apple Sued Over Distinctive “Eye Closeup” Photograph Used To Promote Retina MacBook Pro

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When Apple first unveiled the 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro back in July of this year, they used two images to specifically highlight the incredible resolution of the new display. The first was a shot of a herd of zebras running through the grass captured by photographer Steve Bloom. And the second? A photograph of an eye in full Ziggy Stardust make-up, taken by Swiss photographe Sabine Liewald.

The only problem with that latter photograph? According to the photographer, Apple never properly licensed it to be used in Retina MacBook Pro marketing materials. And she’s now suing over it.

Motorola Going After The Whole Kit And Caboodle, Looking To Ban Just About Every Apple Product Under The Sun

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Motorola is looking to bring down the ban hammer on almost every Apple product out there, including every Mac OSX computer. I have no idea if Motorola is just looking to throw spaghetti at the wall or what, but they have a long list of infringements that apparently the International Trade Commission has agreed to investigate.

Not Even Polish Sausage Is Safe From Apple’s Ego

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Ladies and gentlemen, I wish I was making this up, but unfortunately I’m not. Apple’s patent crusade has taken a new low. They’ve actually filed a lawsuit against an online Polish grocery site, claiming they are trying to confuse customers with their trademarked A.pl. The companies full name is A.PL CompanyInternet SA and the .pl is actually Poland’s country-wide domain. However, Apple believes this site-to-door grocery delivery site is simply trying to profit off of their almighty reputation.