Remember when Samsung requested that Apple hand over its carrier agreements in the Australian court? Bloomberg is now reporting that the judge has sided with Samsung in the case and is demanding that Apple hand over the juicy details on its iPhone contracts.
Apple is opposing the disclosure, calling Samsung’s request “a fishing expedition.”
Apple needs to produce agreements it has with Vodafone Group Plc (VOD), SingTel Optus Ltd. and Telstra Corp., should the Cupertino, California-based company fail to agree on an assertion in Samsung’s patent lawsuit that the carriers are contractually obliged to subsidize iPhone sales, Australia Federal Court Justice Annabelle Bennett ordered today.
Samsung sued Apple in Australia, claiming the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 and iPad 2 infringe its patents and is seeking a ban on the sale of the devices in the country. Bennett ruled the contracts with the phone operators are relevant to Samsung’s case. Apple said it would oppose the disclosure and suggested it was a speculative effort to find damaging information.
In classic Apple fashion, the Cupertino company has said that ““We will resist any attempts by our friends to push us into a corner.” Samsung originally sued Apple in Australia (although both companies have been battling each other in courts around the world) with the claim that the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 and iPad 2 all infringe on Samsung patents.
Samsung’s most recent filing is a response to the mud that Apple threw at Samsung when it requested a preliminary injunction of the Galaxy Tablet 10.1 in Australia. The granted injunction was also based off infringed patents.
Apple has also been requested to hand over its source code for the iPhone 4S to Samsung in the Australian court, with Samsung claiming that the code could potentially “infringe its patents for wireless transmissions.” Apple has reportedly given over most of its source code for review, but some files are still missing.
Alex Heath is a journalist who works for Tech Insider. He’s the former co-host of The CultCast. He has been quoted by the likes of the BBC, KRON 4 News, and books like “ICONIC: A Photographic Tribute to Apple Innovation.” He lives in Lexington, Kentucky. If you want to pitch a story, share a tip, or just get in touch, additional contact information is available on his personal site. Follow him on Twitter.
7 responses to “Court Orders Apple To Give Australian Carrier Subsidy Details To Samsung [Report]”
This is legal wrangling by Samsung in an attempt to make Apple remove its original suit against Samsung for copying the look, feel, format and functionality of the iPhone and iPad in Samsung’s Galaxy smartphones and tablets. An Australian judge ruled in Apple’s favor and banned Samsung’s phone and tablet, so Samsung is fighting back and attempting to find some type of legal impropriety in Apple’s software code. However, doesn’t it seem a bit strange to be forced to hand over proprietary code to one’s competitor, when no obvious patent infringement can be demonstrated? It’s a bit different than being able to look at Samsung’s obvious barefaced copying of the iPhone and iPad design and function.
As my lawyer-uncle told me… Even youve been caught in the act doing bad things, you can still say IM NOT GUILTY…
APPLE WILL NEVER ADMIT ANY FAULT IN EVERY CASE AGAINST THEM EVEN IT’S BEEN PROVEN MANY TIMES THAT THEY STOLE OR COPY OTHER INVENTION…
I own APPLE products and I like them, but to say APPLE INVENTED SOMETHING IS WRONG…
They innovate from copying, stealing or buying other technology and enhance with great marketing.
Len,
Look and feel patent with fuctionality semblance the shittiest case by APPLE…
I have their products but to sue other because of look and feel and some basic functionality is absurd…
I have LCD tv, cars (BMW & Audi – kinda old), small appliances, and so on that almost all of them has the same look and feel with the same functionality BUT THEY ARE NOT SUING EACH OTHER…
ONLY APPLE IS DOING THESES STUPID THINGS NOW…
I WAS IN ASIA (Singapore and Thailand) AND PEOPLE THERE TOO LIKE APPLE PRODUCTS BUT DON’T LIKE THE IDEA OF SUING OTHER COMPANIS BECAUSE OF MORONIC PATENTS…
Their case is not INVENTION it’s just an enhancement, so there’s no groundbreaking to use against any companies…
APPLE SHOULD STOP SUING USING A CHILDISH PATENTS…
The judge rescinded her demand today. Not surprising: she’s married to a senior partner in the firm representing Apple in her court.
http://forums.macrumors.com/sh…