Apple and Samsung have been fighting it out in the courts for months — the fight started in the US, when Apple claimed Samsung "slavishly" copied the iPhone, but since then it's spread out around the world, with both sides jockeying for position. Considering the stakes involved, this wrangling is bound to go on for some time — we'll keep track of all the latest right here.
Apple vs. Samsung: the complete lawsuit timeline
Samsung exec views Apple patent dispute as a 'no compromise' situation
It's no secret that Apple and Samsung (and another company) have a tumultuous relationship when it comes to patents. But after Apple apparently offered a licensing deal to the mobile giant, Samsung's mobile division president Shin Jong-kyun made his company's stance quite clear: "No compromise." Shin made the declaration to The Korea Times this week following a meeting of Samsung officials, and his comment is backed up by the company bolstering its budget for patent litigation from $200...
Apple opening patent settlement talks with Motorola, Samsung?
We've always assumed that the worldwide patent battles between Apple and Android smartphone manufacturers would end in a tidal wave of settlements, and it appears the first trickles of hope are leaking out: Dow Jones is reporting that Apple's proposed settlements with both Samsung and Motorola in exchange for license royalties on its patents. It's not the first time Cupertino's proposed a settlement in its smartphone patent litigation: Apple famously settled its patent lawsuit with Nokia by...
Slide to unlock: how Apple's patents are changing Android
Although the worldwide patent lawsuits between Apple and nearly every major Android smartphone vendor have been bitterly fought and may eventually involve government intervention, there's really no day-to-day impact on the consumer — Apple, Google, and its OEMs continue to improve and sell their devices as quickly as they can. But a quick tour through the halls of Mobile World Congress reveals that Android OEMs are rapidly learning to design around some of Apple's iPhone-related patents,...
Apple seeks to ban Samsung's Galaxy Nexus, but it's really going after Android 4.0
Apple's intellectual property quest has traditionally gone after manufacturers and their dubiously familiar form factors, but now it looks like the company is aiming straight at Google and Android 4.0: Apple has filed a new motion in the US for a preliminary injunction that would ban the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, Google's flagship Android device.
While Samsung has been the target of Apple's ire with a barrage of other lawsuits, the Galaxy Nexus' hardware isn't really the center of attention here....
Another German court denies Apple's request for a ban of Galaxy Tab 10.1N
It's starting to look like Samsung has created a successful workaround to Apple's European design rights with the new Galaxy Tab 10.1N. The Dusseldorf Regional Court in Germany denied Apple's bid yesterday for a ban on the Samsung tablet, holding that "the Galaxy Tab 10.1N now sufficiently differs from the form Apple has registered as a design right." The court went on to rule that "Apple's iPads and Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1N now are two competing products of equal value." This decision...
Samsung 'confident' of favorable EU antitrust ruling on patents
Samsung has released its first comment regarding the EU antitrust investigation that was announced this week. The investigation, which grew out of Apple and Samsung's escalating legal battle, will decide whether Samsung's attempts to enforce several 3G patents violate an agreement it made to provide the patents to other companies on "fair and reasonable" terms. In a statement issued today, Samsung said it was "confident that its approach regarding the enforcement of its 3G standard-essential...
Apple broadens Samsung lawsuit in Australia to 278 claims across 22 patents and 10 devices
Samsung is being hit with 278 claims of patent infringement across 10 devices in its Australian battle with Apple, including some models not yet sold in the country like the Galaxy Tab 7.0. The complaints now cover 22 patents, making this a massive expansion over the original three patents that Apple claims Samsung infringes with its Galaxy Tab 10.1, which was briefly the subject of a sales injunction last year. Samsung's lead barrister Neil Young SC told The Australian that Apple had "given...
Munich court denies Apple's request for preliminary ban on Galaxy Tab 10.1N and Galaxy Nexus
It's become hard to track all of the wins and losses coming out of the escalating patent battles between Apple and Samsung, especially in Europe, but here we are again. A Munich court today denied Apple's recent request for a preliminary injunction on Samsung's new Galaxy Tab 10.1N and Galaxy Nexus devices in Germany, according to a Bloomberg report. The patent asserted by Apple in this German case is directed to touch screen technology, and not Apple's European design rights on device...
Samsung loses second patent suit against Apple in Germany
Germany's Mannheim Regional Court issued a ruling on Samsung's second patent infringement claim against Apple today, rejecting it in a similar manner to the first ruling last week. Judge Andreas Voss offered no reasons for his decision, involving a patent related to the 3G/UMTS wireless telecommunications standard. Samsung still has three other lawsuits in Germany against Apple involving five more patents.
FOSS Patents points out that today's ruling will be a disappointing setback for the...
Dutch appeals court rules against Apple, Samsung can continue to sell Galaxy Tab
An appeals court in The Hague has upheld a lower court's decision to not grant Apple's request to halt sales of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and 10.1v with a preliminary injunction. The Dutch court found Samsung's tablet significantly differentiated itself from Apple's design right (the company's specific rights on tablet design, not the iPad or iPad 2 itself). Specifically, the court said that differences in the ratio of thickness-to-width-to-length, bezel size, and rear aesthetics gives the Galaxy...
German court rules against one of Samsung's patent suits with Apple
Germany's Mannheim Regional Court issued its ruling on the first of Samsung's patent infringement claims against Apple today. Samsung's complaint, rejected by judge Andreas Voss, involved a patent related to the 3G/UMTS wireless telecommunications standard. The reasoning behind the rejection is unclear, but Samsung has four other lawsuits in Germany against Apple involving six more patents.
The Korean handset maker has not decided whether it plans to appeal against the ruling, and FOSS...
Apple files new patent case against Samsung in Germany, asserting design rights
It looks like 2012 is shaping up to be more of the same in the global patent brawl between Apple and Samsung. Bloomberg's reporting that Apple filed a brand new patent infringement suit against Samsung in Germany, alleging that numerous smartphone devices, including the Galaxy S Plus and the Galaxy S II, infringe Apple's European design rights. Apple's strategy of using its patents on the design aesthetics of the iPhone and iPad to go after Samsung in various countries is nothing new.
H...
Apple extends Samsung patent complaint to cases
Just when you thought the intellectual property disputes flooding the world's courts had reached their peak, we learn that Apple has sued Samsung in a Sydney-based courthouse today over case designs. According to a very brief Bloomberg report, Apple claims that Samsung's cases for its phones and Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet infringe upon Cupertino patents.
While the details have yet to be revealed, we can't help but be reminded of the Samsung "Smart Case" pictured above — bearing more than a...
Samsung adds four more complaints to its German patent offensive against Apple
While it might have been forced to release the Galaxy Tab 10.1N to remove some of the infringements that led German courts to put an injunction on the sale of the original, Samsung doesn't seem to be on the back foot in its patent spat with Apple. According to Reuters, the South Korean electronics giant has now added four extra complaints to its case over the use of patented WCDMA standards. A Samsung spokesman said that the company has "made four more claims; two are standard-related...
Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1N hands-on pictures
The Galaxy Tab 10.1N is the offspring of the unholy patent war that has been raging between Apple and Samsung through most of this year. Apple's belief that Samsung's products are copying its designs found support in Germany, where a court injunction forbid the sale of the Galaxy Tab 10.1. Samsung's response has been to carefully redesign its Android tablet just enough to appease the German judiciary. Has it succeeded?
Apple's still not happy and has lodged another complaint about the 10.1N,...
Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is 'the tablet Apple tried to stop' in Australia
After getting the Galaxy Tab 10.1 sales ban in Australia lifted last week, Samsung has been celebrating its victory in the local newspapers. First, it told the Sydney Morning Herald that the lawsuit actually helped the Galaxy Tab become a "household name," and now it's advertising it as "the tablet Apple tried to stop" in the Sun Herald. We suppose it's difficult to argue that point, and after all, they do say that no publicity is bad publicity. You'd think that getting sued by a...
Samsung: Apple's lawsuit made the Galaxy Tab a household name
Apple and Samsung may be embroiled in a long, wide-ranging lawsuit regarding whether or not Samsung ripped off the entire design of Apple's tablets, but evidently there's a silver lining — it's brought the words "Galaxy Tab" to a lot of people's attention. Samsung VP Tyler McGee went so far as to say that "the media awareness certainly made the Galaxy Tab 10.1 a household name," and that Samsung couldn't have equalled the coverage with a more traditional marketing strategy. The Galaxy Tab...
Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 back on sale Monday in Australia after Apple loses appeal
The nearly two-month old ban on sales of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia was originally supposed to have ended a week ago, but an extension for one last appeal from Apple delayed that until today. Reuters reports that Apple has lost that appeal. The good news for Android fans is that Samsung will have the device back on store shelves as early as Monday, according to The Sydney Morning Herald. That's just in time for last-minute holiday shoppers, who can expect to drop $579 AUD for...
Apple licensed iOS scrolling patent to Nokia and IBM, offered license to Samsung
Until now, it's been assumed that Apple's playing absolute hardball in its various patent lawsuits around the world — that the company has no interest in licensing its patents, especially patents that cover fundamental parts of iOS. Turns out that that's not entirely true: Apple's licensed at least one iOS software patent related to scrolling functionality to Nokia and IBM, and offered a license to Samsung during failed settlement negotiations in November 2010.
The patent in question is #...
US court denies Apple's preliminary request to ban Samsung Galaxy devices, but says patent infringement likely
There has been another turn tonight in the ongoing legal battle between Apple and Samsung. A US district judge in California has denied Apple's request for a preliminary injunction to stop sales of some Galaxy smartphones and tablets. The move obviously means that Samsung will be able to continue to sell Android phones and tablets here in the US for the time being, but Judge Lucy Koh noted that Apple had proven it's likely to succeed in proving that Samsung's product infringe its patents —...
Apple gives Samsung some work-around options for its iPhone and iPad design patents
Redacted public versions of the legal briefs tied to Apple's July request for a ban on Samsung's products began to trickle in over the last few days. While we eagerly await the judge's decision on an injunction, let's take a look at some of the more interesting tidbits in those briefs. It should be no surprise that Apple and Samsung have spilled a lot of ink defining what Apple's US design patents on the iPhone and iPad cover. What might surprise you, however, is that a fair amount of the...
Australian Galaxy Tab 10.1 sales ban extended an additional week
The Australian sales ban on the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 will be extended by one more week so the Australian High Court can hear Apple's request to appeal the court decision it lost just a few days ago. The ban had originally been scheduled to end at 4pm local time on Friday, but will now remain in effect until December 9th. While customers will have to continue to wait, this isn't an indicator of future legal success on Apple's part, but rather a simple logistical decision, providing the...
Apple's Australian Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 ban overturned for now
In a unanimous decision, the Australian Federal Court has just overturned Apple's patent-related injunction on the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, which would mean Samsung's tablet can go back on sale in that country. It won't happen right away, though: according to ZDNet Australia's Luke Hopewell, the presiding judge also ordered that the ruling be stayed until Friday so Apple can appeal the decision to the High Court, leaving things status quo for consumers.
It's been a busy day for Apple and...
Apple thinks Samsung's revised Galaxy Tab 10.1N still infringes European iPad design registration, asks for German ban
Apple's apparently not happy with the revised Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1N that was just released in Germany in order to work around the European design registration on the iPad — Cupertino's asked the German court to ban the 10.1N as well. It's not surprising that Apple challenged the workaround, but we'll see how far this request goes; unlike the original Galaxy Tab 10.1, the 10.1N features a revised frame that wraps around to the front of the display, which is fairly different than the...
Samsung vs Apple trial dates set through March 2012 in Australia
The judge overseeing the Australian case between Apple and Samsung agreed earlier this week to postpone the trial on Samsung's infringement allegations until March 2012. She's now released her scheduling order in the case, and there's a lot going on. Here are some of the deadline highlights.
- November 23: Samsung must identify products, in addition to the iPhone 4S, that it alleges infringe the three mobile transmission patents it has asserted against Apple.
- December 6: Apple must identify...
Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1N redesigned around Apple's German design ban
As expected, Samsung appears to be designing around the German sales ban on the Galaxy Tab 10.1 by altering the device's appearance, a parallel to the revised smartphone software it shipped in the Netherlands to avoid a sales ban due to Apple's patents. MobiFlip spotted the redesigned Galaxy Tab 10.N (pictured above), and the device's only difference — aside from a Bluetooth bump to 3.0 — is a frame that wraps around the left and right sides, slightly intruding onto the glass....
Samsung's attempt to ban the iPhone 4S in Australia postponed until March 2012
Samsung's preliminary injunction hearing on temporarily banning sales of the iPhone 4S in Australia was to begin as early as today. However, the matter has now been pushed back until March 2012, and the preliminary injunction has been rolled up into a three-week full injunction hearing for a permanent ban on the iPhone 4S. As a result, Apple will be free to sell the iPhone 4S in Australia through at least next spring. This development follows on the heels of Samsung's announcement yesterday..
Apple ordered to reveal iPhone 4S source code to Samsung in Australia
Samsung's lawyers are spending the weekend curled up with the iPhone's source code — an Australian judge recently ordered Apple to turn it over as part of the ongoing patent lawsuit in that country. The move isn't unexpected: we assumed it would happen after Samsung asked for the code in Australia last week. And while we don't have all the details on what transpired in the courtroom, we've been able to piece together a pretty good idea of what happened.
It makes sense that Samsung's...
Samsung deposing Apple designers this month
Apple and Samsung have been legally sparring since April, but the real action is just beginning: Samsung will have four key iPhone engineers sit for depositions by the end of the month, including Apple senior vice president of design Jony Ive. The deposition will help the attorneys plan what questions to ask the witnesses in front of the jury at trial next year, and each one here was chosen for his involvement in designing the look and feel of the iPhone — one of the major issues in...
Samsung's request for iPhone 4S details in Australia isn't so crazy
As you may have heard, Samsung asked an Australian judge yesterday for an order requiring Apple to hand over source code and mobile telco agreements relating to the iPhone 4s. The early reactions assumed that this request is similar to Samsung's failed attempt to get pre-launch (or non-existent) "iPhone 5" and "iPad 3" product specifications in its US case against Apple. But this is actually quite different — it's exactly what Samsung should be asking for at this point.
Two main...
Apple harmonizes its patent defenses against Samsung
It seems Apple puts as much value in keeping its legal defenses clean and integrated as it does its products. In a globally-escalating patent battle between Apple and Samsung where complexity is the norm, Apple is making a concerted effort to simplify things by harmonizing its defensive game plan around the world.
Apple has given us some quick peeks into its defensive strategy against Samsung's in the past, but Apple's new motion to amend its defenses in the US is really our first look...
Samsung tweaking TouchWiz and hardware in response to Apple litigation, Galaxy Nexus was never an issue
This afternoon Samsung Won-Pyo Hong took the stage at AsiaD, and while he dodged a number of Walt Mossberg's questions he did answer one of ours regarding Samsung's reaction to the current litigation it faces from Apple. When we asked if Samsung has specifically began to tweak hardware and software in response to Apple legal action, he said "the short answer is yes." Of course, we have already known some of that — it has changed the photo app in the Netherlands — but it's one of the first...
Apple wins injunction halting Galaxy Tab 10.1 sales in Australia
A Federal Court Justice in Australia granted Apple's request for an injunction barring the local sale of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 until the two companies can settle their dispute via trial. Apple claims that Samsung's 10.1-inch tablet infringes upon three of its patents. Justice Annabelle Bennett ruled that Apple had a "prima facie case" saying that Samsung had likely infringed two of its patents related to touchscreens and gesture controls. Litigation has already delayed the launch of the...
Samsung says update will avoid smartphone ban in the Netherlands
It's nearly October 14th, the date by which a Dutch court ruled that Samsung must cease selling its Galaxy S, Galaxy Ace, and Galaxy S II smartphones in the Netherlands if it continues to infringe upon a single Apple patent. Now it seems that the company will avoid any sales injunction by patching the scrolling and browsing behavior of the infringing Samsung photo app used in its Android 2.3 build. Samsung spokesman James Chung had this to say:
We made smartphones using alternative...
Galaxy Tab 10.1 can not be sold in Germany after injunction upheld
The ruling is in: Samsung is prohibited from selling its Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Germany. Minutes ago a Dusseldorf judge upheld the temporary ban, rejecting Samsung's attempts to overturn it. In making the ruling, judge Johanna Brueckner-Hofmann said that to an informed consumer, the Galaxy Tab looks like Apple's protected design. She added that, "The court is of the opinion that Apple’s minimalistic design isn’t the only technical solution to make a tablet computer, other designs are...
Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 pulled from IFA show floor (before and after pictures)
At IFA this year, Samsung launched the Galaxy Note, the Wave 3, and the Galaxy Tab 7.7. As of today, only two of those three devices are still standing inside the company's cavernous booth at the show. We've confirmed that all Galaxy Tab 7.7 sample units have been removed from the view and reach of both public and press, with related posters and insignia also being stripped out. It's as if the tablet never happened.
You'll recall from our hands-on pictures and video with the Galaxy Tab 7.7...
Dutch court grants Apple preliminary injunction against sales of Samsung Galaxy smartphones
Things are getting more complicated for Samsung on the legal front in Europe: a Dutch court has ruled that the company’s Galaxy S, Galaxy Ace, and Galaxy S II smartphones infringe one of Apple’s patents, and should be removed from importation or sale by October 13th. That follows a German ruling from two weeks ago granting Apple a similar preliminary injunction against Samsung’s products, but Dutch ruling is critical for two reasons: one, it’s being reported that Samsung’s European...
Apple wins preliminary design-related injunction against Samsung in Germany, Galaxy Tab 10.1 sales halted in EU (update: Samsung responds)
The massive intellectual property battle between Apple and Samsung has been slowed to a crawl by procedural battles and grandstanding in the US, but things are moving right along in the rest of the world: a German district court has just issued a preliminary injunction preventing Samsung from selling the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in every EU nation except the Netherlands. It's not actually a patent issue, but rather one of trademarked design: Apple has an EU design registration on the iPad, and it says...
Shocker: Samsung not allowed to see iPhone 5 and iPad 3
No surprises here, but the court in Apple vs Samsung just denied Samsung's request to see early samples of the iPhone 5 and iPad 3. Samsung had argued it needed to see what Cupertino was working on in order to judge whether its own future products might be infringing, but the court didn't really buy it -- and it pointed out that Samsung didn't produce any precedent that would support such an order. Of course, the flipside of all this is that the court did previously order Samsung to turn over...
Samsung's lawyers demand to see the iPhone 5 and iPad 3
We always knew the Apple / Samsung lawsuit would produce some major fireworks, and Samsung just lit off a corker: the company filed a motion Friday night asking Apple to turn over the iPhone 5 and iPad 3 as part of the discovery process. Seriously! Samsung claims that it needs to see Apple's future products because devices like the Droid Charge and Galaxy Tab 10.1 will presumably be in the market at the same time as the iPhone 5 and iPad 3, and Samsung's lawyers want to evaluate any possible...
Samsung sues Apple for infringing 10 patents: a closerlook
It was more or less inevitable that Samsung would respond to Apple's patent and trademark lawsuit with a lawsuit of its own, and here we are: Sammy filed a complaint in the Northern District of California yesterday, alleging 10 counts of patent infringement against Apple. Seven of the patents are to do with UMTS / W-CDMA 3G cellular communications, and the remaining three cover various UI elements -- we'll step through them in detail below.
One interesting note about Samsung's response: this...
Samsung countersues Apple in Korea, Japan, and Germany, but not the US... yet
Well that was fast. Samsung announced late last night that it's countersuing Apple, and it's taking the fight international -- there are lawsuits in Korea, Japan, and Germany, alleging that Apple's infringing a total of 10 patents between them. Samsung didn't announce details of the cases, and I don't have easy access to filings in those countries, but Reuters says the patents involve "power reduction during data transmission, 3G technology for reducing errors during data transmission, and...
Apple sues Samsung: a complete lawsuit analysis
Apple sued Samsung yesterday, the latest in a long line of IP lawsuits against Android device manufacturers. (See: Apple v. HTC, Apple v. Motorola, Microsoft v. Motorola, Microsoft v. Barnes & Noble.) The case is remarkable for several reasons, not least because Samsung is one of Apple's critical component suppliers: the Korean giant manufactures everything from DRAM and SSDs for MacBook Pros to the A4 and A5 processors in the iPhone, iPod touch, Apple TV, and iPad. That relationship doesn't...
