Tag Archives: lawsuit

Kodak accuses Apple of interfering with patent sale

  By Kelly Hodgkins | May 17, 2012 - 4:00 pm | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

Things are getting heated in Kodak's patent battle with Apple. In a recent court filing noticed by Total Telecom, Kodak accused the Cupertino company of trying to interfere in its upcoming patent auction in order to avoid paying US$1 billion in penalties and royalty fees.

According to the court document, Kodak says Apple shouldn't be allowed to claim ownership of a key Kodak imaging patent that describes a method of previewing a photo on an LCD. Kodak argues that the International Trade Commission and a US District Court have denied Apple's ownership claims. Apple, however, continues to assert that Kodak misappropriated its technology to get the patent.

If Apple's ownership is upheld, then the company would not have to pay royalties or any infringement penalties to Kodak. It would also prevent Kodak from paying off its creditors by selling this valuable patent in an auction.

Kodak asked the bankruptcy judge to consider this matter during a hearing scheduled for June 14. This would give the court a few weeks to make a decision before Kodak must file its patent auction rules and timeline with the bankruptcy court. Needless to say, Kodak's patent auction would go smoother if there wasn't an Apple ownership claim on one of the company's most important patents.

Kodak accuses Apple of interfering with patent sale originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 17 May 2012 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Kodak accuses Apple of interfering with patent sale

  By Kelly Hodgkins | May 17, 2012 - 4:00 pm | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

Things are getting heated in Kodak's patent battle with Apple. In a recent court filing noticed by Total Telecom, Kodak accused the Cupertino company of trying to interfere in its upcoming patent auction in order to avoid paying US$1 billion in penalties and royalty fees.

According to the court document, Kodak says Apple shouldn't be allowed to claim ownership of a key Kodak imaging patent that describes a method of previewing a photo on an LCD. Kodak argues that the International Trade Commission and a US District Court have denied Apple's ownership claims. Apple, however, continues to assert that Kodak misappropriated its technology to get the patent.

If Apple's ownership is upheld, then the company would not have to pay royalties or any infringement penalties to Kodak. It would also prevent Kodak from paying off its creditors by selling this valuable patent in an auction.

Kodak asked the bankruptcy judge to consider this matter during a hearing scheduled for June 14. This would give the court a few weeks to make a decision before Kodak must file its patent auction rules and timeline with the bankruptcy court. Needless to say, Kodak's patent auction would go smoother if there wasn't an Apple ownership claim on one of the company's most important patents.

Kodak accuses Apple of interfering with patent sale originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 17 May 2012 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

HTC handsets delayed at US customs due to ITC injunction over Apple patent

  By Kelly Hodgkins | May 16, 2012 - 3:00 pm | HTC, iPhone
Leave a comment

HTC confirmed to The Verge that its One X phone for AT&T and EVO 4G LTE handset for Sprint are being held at the border by customs officials. The shipments are being delayed while the government agency reviews the packages in accordance with an ITC ruling that banned the import of HTC's Android smartphones.

In December 2011, the ITC ruled that HTC violated Apple patents, one of which describe a UI feature that lets you tap on an address or phone number as a link and pull down a menu of appropriate actions. HTC said in a statement to the Wall Street Journal that its products are no longer infringing, "We believe we have worked around our design and are now in compliance with the ITC ruling. We are cooperating with the U.S. Customs to speed up the review process."

Depending on how long it takes for the review, HTC could face shortages of its One X, which went on sale last month with AT&T. It may also have to delay its May 18 launch of the EVO 4G LTE with Sprint.

HTC handsets delayed at US customs due to ITC injunction over Apple patent originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 16 May 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Judge refuses request to dismiss ebook class action suit

  By Megan Lavey-Heaton | May 16, 2012 - 4:50 am | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

Apple received a legal slap on Wednesday when U.S. District Judge Denise Cote rejected a request to dismiss a class action lawsuit against Apple and five publishers.

Cote scoffed at the idea that Apple and the publishers acted independently in coming up with what's known as agency pricing, their defense to the charges that they were price-fixing ebooks. Not only that, she accused Steve Jobs at being at the center of it all. Parts of the opinion, as excerpted by paidContent, reads:

In short, Apple did not try to earn money off of eBooks by competing with other retailers in an open market; rather, Apple 'accomplished this goal by [helping] the suppliers to collude, rather than to compete independently.'"

"Finally, the fact that Apple might have had different motivations for joining the conspiracy, and was involved in only a portion of it, does not undermine the existence of the conspiracy itself or Apple's role as a participant.

Cote also cites ongoing investigations against Apple, including the antitrust suit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice, as other reasons to maintain the class action suit, filed in August 2011.

Judge refuses request to dismiss ebook class action suit originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 15 May 2012 23:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Apple vs. Motorola, HTC cases consolidated

  By Kelly Hodgkins | May 15, 2012 - 3:00 pm | HTC, iPad, iPhone
Leave a comment

According to Florian Mueller of FOSS Patents, Apple is now battling one less lawsuit in the Southern District of Florida. Apple was fighting two separate lawsuits in the courts, one filed by Motorola Mobility and another by HTC. Judge Robert Scola decided to merge the two lawsuits because "the parties have shown a complete inability to agree upon anything and it is frustrating the progress of these cases." Apple reportedly pushed for this consolidation, while HTC and Motorola opposed it.

Apple vs. Motorola, HTC cases consolidated originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 15 May 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Apple claims Samsung destroyed "vast quantities" of evidence

  By Kelly Hodgkins | May 11, 2012 - 7:30 pm | Samsung
Leave a comment

The dispute between Samsung and Apple is heating up in the United States, with Apple now claiming Samsung destroyed vast quantities of evidence crucial to the case. According to Network World, Apple filed a motion in the Northern District of California that alleges Samsung intentionally destroyed documents it was required to hand over to the court.

The motion points out this is not the first time Samsung has been accused of destroying evidence. A 2004 trial between Samsung and Mosaid revealed that Samsung routinely deleted emails from computers every two weeks, even when it's required to keep them as part of a court case. Apple claims this email deletion practice and others adversely affected Apple's case against the Korean handset maker.

Samsung has until May 15 to file a response to Apple's accusation. A hearing on the motion is scheduled for June 7, 2012. Samsung denies that it destroyed evidence and is asking for an extension until May 29 to respond to the allegations and a delay in the hearing until July 10.

Apple claims Samsung destroyed "vast quantities" of evidence originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 11 May 2012 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Samsung sales injunction won’t kick in prior to patent validity check

  By Mike Schramm | May 4, 2012 - 8:30 pm | Samsung
Leave a comment

Stick with us here. A German court has ruled that Samsung will be able to fight to protect the sale of its products before an argument over the actual patent involved in those products is resolved in favor of either company.

If that sounds confusing, it's because it is. Usually, in Germany, companies can sue for injunctions before the patents in question are ruled valid or invalid, to stop sales of a certain product immediately. If the patent is then ruled invalid (meaning that the competitive device is actually not infringing it and will not need to be changed), there's a compensation system in place to make good the lost sales income. If it is a valid patent, then sales were rightfully blocked.

But in the case of Apple accusing Samsung of using photo gallery technology it has previously patented, the German court has ruled that Samsung will be able to try and stop the injunction, even before the patent argument has been decided. If Samsung is able to block the injunction, then, it will be able to keep selling its phones, even if the eventual patent dispute is resolved in Apple's favor.

Samsung sales injunction won't kick in prior to patent validity check originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 04 May 2012 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Apple hit with class action lawsuit over iTunes double-billing

  By Mel Martin | May 3, 2012 - 9:00 pm | Uncategorized
Leave a comment

Apple has been hit with another class-action lawsuit for double billing customers in the iTunes store.

New York resident Robert Herskowitz claims Apple charged him twice for the single "Whataya Want from Me" by Adam Lambert. Herskowitz says he contacted Apple and got an automated response telling him his request was being reviewed. The message he received from Apple wasn't so friendly.

"Your request for a refund for 'Whataya Want from Me' was carefully considered; however, according to the iTunes Store Terms of Sale, all purchases made on the iTunes Store are ineligible for refund. This policy matches Apple's refund policies and provides protection for copyrighted materials."

So, the lawsuit is underway, and Herskowitz is looking for others who claim they have been similarly unfairly charged.

You can read the lawsuit online at Justia.

Apple hit with class action lawsuit over iTunes double-billing originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 03 May 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

US judge tells Apple, Samsung to trim down patent lawsuits

  By Steven Sande | May 3, 2012 - 5:30 pm | Samsung
Leave a comment

In much the way that a parent might tell two fighting siblings to quit being overly dramatic, a U.S. judge has ordered Apple and Samsung to simplify their patent lawsuits by Monday in order to start a trial on July 30, 2012.

Judge Lucy Koh of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California told the companies to slice the patent infringement and other claims to the point that a jury can not only understand what's going on, but judge the issues in a single trial. This was the second time that the judge had asked the companies to reduce the claims to a manageable level.

The companies made a joint statement on Tuesday saying that each had dropped some elements from the case, but 16 patents, six trademarks, an antitrust case, and five "trade dress" claims -- spread over 37 products -- were still left on the table. Judge Koh said "I think that's cruel and unusual punishment to a jury, so I'm not willing to do it."

If the companies don't agree to cut down the claims further, the judge suggested that she might push the trial date back to 2013. A completely separate case over a 2012 lawsuit made by Apple against Samsung is tentatively set to go to trial on March 31, 2014.

US judge tells Apple, Samsung to trim down patent lawsuits originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 03 May 2012 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Judge Richard A. Posner scolds Apple’s lawyers

  By Kelly Hodgkins | May 1, 2012 - 10:15 pm | Motorola
Leave a comment

Well-known Circuit Court Judge Richard A. Posner told Apple's lawyers that he is tired of the company's courtroom antics in its patent dispute with Motorola. According to a report in FOSS Patents, Posner writes in a recent order, "I've had my fill of frivolous filings by Apple. The next such motion, and I shall forbid it to file any motions without first moving for leave to file."

FOSS Patents provides some insight into the back and forth that led to this harsh rebuke of Apple. In a nutshell, Apple is trying to block Motorola from deposing a particular expert by bringing up the same motion again, after it was denied the first time. Supposedly, the company is also pushing the issue so quickly that Motorola isn't able to adequately respond.

Posner is overseeing the lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Judge Richard A. Posner scolds Apple's lawyers originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 01 May 2012 17:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments