Author Topic: Patent Wars: Apple Hits Samsung in EU (Read 17,028 times)

Renegade · « **on:** August 10, 2011, 01:06 AM »

Apple has won a victory in the EU:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/09/us-apple-samsung-injunction-idUSTRE7786RY20110809

Quote

Apple Inc scored a major victory in its multi-country patent infringement battle against Samsung Electronics after a German court barred the Korean company from selling its Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the entire European Union except the Netherlands.

Ouch...

Reportedly, Samsung was never informed about the filing there and only found out after the decision.

zridling · « **Reply #1 on:** August 10, 2011, 12:31 PM »

Fighting to overcharge customers for 30 years now! I'll buy a Galaxy Tab next year just to piss off Stevie boy.

lanux128 · « **Reply #2 on:** August 19, 2011, 07:38 AM »

right after "major victory", there is this teeny-tiny admission.

Quote

Apple spokeswoman Kristin Huguet confirmed that a district court in Dusseldorf, Germany, granted the preliminary injunction.

now we can expect a counter-suit by Samsung in the EU just like elsewhere and the case will drag on..

Carol Haynes · « **Reply #3 on:** August 19, 2011, 10:13 AM »

They will counter-sue but the damage is done in the EU - after all the advertising/promotion they are not allowed to sell any Galaxy 10.1 tablets that aren't already in the shops. If you live in the EU and want one don't wait!

Actually they will win in court (have you seen the stupid patent app!).

In the long run Samsung will come out on top in the EU - all everyone will remember was that the Samsung Galaxy 10.1 was the first device to really get Apple worried - especially as all the reviews say it is better than iPad2

Renegade · « **Reply #4 on:** August 19, 2011, 10:17 AM »

Quote from: lanux128 on August 19, 2011, 07:38 AM

right after "major victory", there is this teeny-tiny admission.

Quote
Apple spokeswoman Kristin Huguet confirmed that a district court in Dusseldorf, Germany, granted the preliminary injunction.

now we can expect a counter-suit by Samsung in the EU just like elsewhere and the case will drag on..

Drag on because inventing a black rectangle with rounded corners is just so brilliantly innovative...

Hey! I claim dibs on white circles with black dots in them!

Renegade · « **Reply #5 on:** August 19, 2011, 10:29 AM »

Quote from: Carol Haynes on August 19, 2011, 10:13 AM

They will counter-sue but the damage is done in the EU - after all the advertising/promotion they are not allowed to sell any Galaxy 10.1 tablets that aren't already in the shops. If you live in the EU and want one don't wait!

Actually they will win in court (have you seen the stupid patent app!).

In the long run Samsung will come out on top in the EU - all everyone will remember was that the Samsung Galaxy 10.1 was the first device to really get Apple worried - especially as all the reviews say it is better than iPad2

Apple iPad 2 vs. Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1v: Tablet showdown
http://www.goodgearguide.com.au/article/381183/apple_ipad_2_vs_samsung_galaxy_tab_10_1v_tablet_showdown/

It goes over specs mostly. (Though I fail to understand how the Apple App Store wins over the Android Market - it's kind of like preferring to live in The Village vs. just about anywhere else.)

It will be interesting to see what unfolds...

Ath · « **Reply #6 on:** August 19, 2011, 11:35 AM »

The restriction has already been resized to Germany-only (from EU without the Netherlands where a separate lawsuit has been filed), as the German judge decided he might not have jurisdiction across all of Europe. IMHO he should be dismissed, as that was rather obvious before enforcing his ruling and it now looks like he's been favoring Apple in some way.

my opinion

And with that probably the entire lawsuit, but that might be too political.

lanux128 · « **Reply #7 on:** August 19, 2011, 12:09 PM »

lawsuits of this nature are only a barrier to free/fair trade and innovation. but then if you're sitting on pile of cash, a pile that is even bigger than what the Federal Reserve could muster, then smothering your competitors out of the market becomes a viable option.. after all paying millions to the suits are merely a small change.

nudone · « **Reply #8 on:** August 19, 2011, 12:16 PM »

I'm starting to see how we'll all end up living in an exaggerated sci-fi vision of the future; with just a few massive corporations running everything.

Welcome to the United States of Apple.

Renegade · « **Reply #9 on:** August 19, 2011, 12:23 PM »

Quote from: nudone on August 19, 2011, 12:16 PM

I'm starting to see how we'll all end up living in an exaggerated sci-fi vision of the future; with just a few massive corporations running everything.

Welcome to the United States of Apple.

Reminds me of Idiocracy...

wraith808 · « **Reply #10 on:** August 19, 2011, 01:30 PM »

What was the lawsuit about?

Quote from: Renegade on August 19, 2011, 10:29 AM

Apple worried - especially as all the reviews say it is better than iPad2

Apple iPad 2 vs. Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1v: Tablet showdown
http://www.goodgearguide.com.au/article/381183/apple_ipad_2_vs_samsung_galaxy_tab_10_1v_tablet_showdown/

As one of the comments said: "This is the worst Comparison I've seen."

zridling · « **Reply #11 on:** August 19, 2011, 09:17 PM »

Good point, wraith808. If apple fans see no comparison, no equal to their iPad, then why do Apple lawyers? It's the same trick Apple has always used: interpret everything so broadly that everyone is seen as copying you.

Apple: "Hey, those Samsung bastards have wi-fi? That's a violation!"
Reasonable humanoid: "No it's not."
Apple: "Sue anyway. Sue everybody. Keep suing until they're gone. How are we going to get people to pay $900 for a tablet if others are giving them away at $500!"

wraith808 · « **Reply #12 on:** August 19, 2011, 10:33 PM »

Oh, I wasn't saying that there was no comparison. It's just that the comparison that they put forth was half-baked at best. They don't even really give any reasons for who won. Just a chart, and some few blurbs after.

app103 · « **Reply #13 on:** August 20, 2011, 01:00 AM »

Apple Offers Flawed Evidence in Lawsuit against Samsung

Quote

Groen explains that litigating parties are required by law to provide "complete and truthful" evidence to the judge. This applies regardless of whether flawed evidence is provided intentionally or mistakenly, says Groen, adding that this obligation is even more crucial in an ex parte decision, as the evidence presented to the judge is one-sided.

This requirement is the same in Germany, confirms Florian Müller, a German intellectual property consultant. He reckons the flawed visual evidence could have serious consequences for the case, "provided that any differences between the product shown in Apple's complaint and the actual product are outcome-determinative," says Müller.

wraith808 · « **Reply #14 on:** August 20, 2011, 01:42 AM »

So... this whole thing was because it *looks* like it? WTH?!? That's just ... incomprehensible. They aren't made out of the same type of materials. The size is obviously different- and if it isn't, that means the bezel is. And it doesn't have the same controls. I don't see where this was even a case...

Renegade · « **Reply #15 on:** August 20, 2011, 02:08 AM »

Quote from: wraith808 on August 20, 2011, 01:42 AM

So... this whole thing was because it *looks* like it? WTH?!? That's just ... incomprehensible. They aren't made out of the same type of materials. The size is obviously different- and if it isn't, that means the bezel is. And it doesn't have the same controls. I don't see where this was even a case...

Don't see?!? What?!? How can anyone not see that Apple invented everything and it all belongs to Apple. We are all children of the mighty Jobs, and Samsung is the defiler of all that is good and holy~!

Yeah -- I think your choice of words - incomprehensible - pretty much nails it.

Apple needs to compete on those kinds of issues though -- you know... the ones with no real substance -- because they just don't have much substance compared to others. Their stuff looks cool. But not a lot more.

Like JFC! OSX just got the ability to resize windows on more than the lower right corner!!!

They're grasping at thin air, because that's what they are based on. Apple is not a tech company -- they are a cult. And their entire survival depends on supporting the beliefs that maintain that cult.

So, things like "we invented the black rectangle with beveled edges" are very much REAL in that belief system. They're every bit as valid as the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

Carol Haynes · « **Reply #16 on:** August 20, 2011, 09:41 AM »

Actually if you look at the Apple patent I am pretty sure etch-a-sketch would have a case against Apple.

Now that would be a trial ...

For those who don't remember etch-a-sketch see: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Flair-Classic-Etch-a-Sketch/dp/B000E69YJI

In fact you could say the iPad looks like a dumbed down etch-a-sketch because they forgot the knobs!

nudone · « **Reply #17 on:** August 20, 2011, 09:53 AM »

Oh, but the iPad is an Etch-a-sketch - well, you can pretend if you like: http://getaheadcase.com/ipad.html

40hz · « **Reply #18 on:** August 20, 2011, 11:22 AM »

Quote from: nudone on August 20, 2011, 09:53 AM

Oh, but the iPad is an Etch-a-sketch - well, you can pretend if you like: http://getaheadcase.com/ipad.html

I remeber hearing that expression in the early days of the Macintosh. I think it was John Dvorak that first referred to the Macintosh SE/30 as a $6500 Etch-A-Sketch. ($6500 was the announced "introductory price." Yikes!!!)

[attach]

iphigenie · « **Reply #19 on:** August 21, 2011, 06:12 AM »

Imagine if someone had gone and sued all these beige boxes everyone was doing for copying their beige box....

iphigenie · « **Reply #20 on:** August 21, 2011, 06:13 AM »

seriously though, there had to be black shiny devices with rounded corners before the iphone/ipad, and hopefully sanity will eventually prevail

we want competition and we want it to be possible for small companies to launch products - even products that are only a variant or evolution of similar things - and not be immediately swamped out of existence by corporate protection rackets

Even more in software than hardware...

fenixproductions · « **Reply #21 on:** August 25, 2011, 12:47 AM »

...and Samsung is banned in Europe:
http://news.idg.no/cw/art.cfm?id=DEB0F309-1A64-67EA-E4BC0ED3EA60C39A

tomos · « **Reply #22 on:** August 25, 2011, 08:32 AM »

Quote from: fenixproductions on August 25, 2011, 12:47 AM

...and Samsung is banned in Europe:

actually reads like a win for Samsung

Quote

"We have seven weeks, that we really do not need," he said, referring to the time needed to correct the patent issues before Oct. 15. It will be relatively easy to adjust the Galaxy S, S II and Ace so they can be imported and sold in Europe, he said. Samsung does not have to recall any of phones as a consequence of the ruling, he said.