MacIP | Mac

Motorola deals Apple pair of upsets in German legal battle (updated)

Erica Ogg — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:36:00 +0000

On Friday, Motorola was granted a permanent injunction by a German court against a feature of Apple's iCloud. The same day Apple removed some older models of iPhones and iPads from its German online store due to enforcement of another patent held by Motorola.

Why Apple is in no hurry to settle its iPhone patent suits

Philip Elmer-DeWitt — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 13:06:41 +0000

New analysis suggests the payoff could be seven fold greater if it holds out for a win

Click to enlarge.

In a note to clients issued Monday, Deutsche Bank's Chris Whitmore lists four possible outcomes of the patent wars being fought in courts around the world between Apple (AAPL) and the Google (GOOG) Android ecosystem:

1) settlement with per unit license fee paid to Apple; 2) a more favorable outcome where Apple MORE

Friday Night Fights: Is Samsung Really Copying Apple? [Feature]

Cult of Android — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 01:07:29 +0000

Laaaaaaaaaaadies and Gentlemen, welcome to Friday Night Fights, a new series of weekly deathmatches between two no-mercy brawlers who will fight to the death — or at least agree to disagree — about which is better: Apple or Google, iOS or Android? This week’s topic is one personal to both iOS and Android fans alike: is [...]

Samsung Is Now Shamelessly Ripping Off The Design Of The 4+ Year Old iPhone 3G [Photo]

John Brownlee — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 19:05:21 +0000

Over the course of the past year, Samsung has shamelessly stolen Apple’s design on everything from the iPod touch, the iPad 2 Smart Cover, iOS’s homescreen, and more. Heck, they’ve even poached the actresses who star in Apple’s current iPhone 4S commercial! Having apparently run out of new Apple products to rip-off, Samsung has decided [...]

Apple vs. Android: A grueling patent war of attrition

Philip Elmer-DeWitt — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 11:58:35 +0000

HTC was forced to drop one feature. Motorola may have to drop another. More to come.

The 1969 War of Attrition. Photo: Israeli Air Force

Many commentators took at face value HTC's declaration of "an actual victory" after the U.S. International Trade Commission ruled that it had infringed Apple's (AAPL) patent on software that allowed a user to dial a number embedded in an e-mail simply by clicking on it. That MORE

Apple wins limited ruling in important Android patent suit

Philip Elmer-DeWitt — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 22:46:07 +0000

Not the knockout blow Steve Jobs sought; Google has until April to find a workaround

Apple (AAPL) has won a partial victory in an intellectual property case that Steve Jobs had famously vowed to fight to his "last dying breath."

The U.S. International Trade commission ruled Monday that the software in some of HTC's Android smartphones violated one provision of an Apple patent and that those phones would no longer be allowed into the MORE

Samsung Gets Thrown Out of French Court, Must Pay Apple’s Legal Bills

Ed Sutherland — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 20:03:23 +0000

Samsung has a hit on its hands. Unfortunately, it involves being thrown out of court — this time in France. To add insult to injury, not only did a French panel call an attempt to ban iPhone 4S sales “disproportionate,” but ordered the South Korean smartphone company to pay Apple’s legal bills. The Tribunal de [...]

This is why Apple needs China

Stacey Higginbotham — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 15:34:02 +0000

China Telecom, the No. 3 player in the Chinese mobile market, has managed to add 9 million subscribers in the third quarter and 26.4 million so far this year. No wonder mobile players such as Apple (AAPL) are so eager to get into the market.

Copyright czar cozied up to Big Content, e-mails show

WIRED — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 14:44:00 +0000

Top-ranking Obama administration officials, including the US copyright czar, played an active role in secret negotiations between Hollywood, the recording industry and ISPs to disrupt internet access for users suspected ...

Apple goes to court in Netherlands to ban Samsung’s Galaxy devices from all of the EU

Jake Smith — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 20:31:59 +0000

Apple is intent on stopping Samsung from marketing and selling “copycat” Galaxy devices in all of the European Union. Apple has already tried to ban the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in most of Europe (injunction lifted), but today they are going even farther with their legal proceedings, asking a Dutch court to ban all Galaxy series devices. [...]

‘Apple will push its legal claims hard and unrelentingly’

Philip Elmer-DeWitt — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 16:50:37 +0000

The payoff should Apple prevail in the patent wars: an estimated $30 billion

"Apple ships a much higher value of smartphones than any other player"

In a note to clients issued Thursday, Bernstein's Toni Sacconaghi takes a hard look at the flurry of patent lawsuits Apple (AAPL) has launched against the manufacturers of Google (GOOG) Android phones.

All in all, he likes Apple's chances. The two key bullet points (we quote):

We anticipate MORE

Apple’s share of Nortel patent purchase: $2.6B

Erica Ogg — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 15:54:36 +0000

It turns out Apple wasn't just a participant in the consortium that won the auction for Nortel's patent portfolio: It contributed more than half of the $4.5 billion purchase price.

No Comment: Washington State borrows Bodega’s icon, with a tweak

Mike Schramm — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 18:00:00 +0000

Eagle-eyed reader Jeff spotted this icon in use over on the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries website, and it looked a little familiar to him, as a user of a certain unofficial Mac App Store app that has been around even before A...

Apple vs. Google: Inside an Android patent violation

Philip Elmer-DeWitt — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 11:45:46 +0000

Steve Jobs claimed that Google "stole" this Apple innovation. Last week, the ITC agreed.

When an iPhone receives a message that contains a phone number or an address -- e-mail, Web or street -- those bits of data are automatically highlighted, underlined and turned into clickable links.

Click on the phone number, and the iPhone asks if you want to dial it. Click on the Web address, and it opens in Safari. MORE

Priceline founder files 15 patent suits against Google, Apple, and others

Casey Johnston — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 20:40:13 +0000

Jay Walker, the founder of Priceline, is recasting himself as a patent troll in earnest: he has filed 15 lawsuits that name 100 companies, including Google, Zynga, and Sony, over their use of concepts like online scoreboards, G...