Boon for Apple as German court invalidates Samsung 3G patent
Apple on Wednesday received a boost in its legal struggles against chief rival Samsung, as Germany's Federal Patent Court invalidated part of a Samsung patent on 3G technologies.
Germany's Bundespatentgericht ruled in Apple's favor on Wednesday, invalidating the German part of EP1005726, which Samsung had declared essential to 3G wireless standards, according to FOSS Patents. EP1005726 covered a "turbo encoding/decoding device and method for processing frame data according to QoS."
Samsung had been trying to secure injunctions against Apple products over the patent, but a preliminary ruling by the European Commission found that Apple was a willing licensee of the patent and that injunctive relief against such a licensee amounted to abusive conduct. Samsung withdrew its injunction requests, but the company continued to pursue damages.
In licensing standard-essential patents such as EP1005726, Samsung is bound by rules dictating that it conduct its licensing in a Fair, Reasonable, And Non-Discriminatory (FRAND) fashion. The South Korean manufacturer may still appeal the Bundespatentgericht's decision to the Bundesgerichtshof (Federal Court of Justice).
The most recent ruling affects but one of an array of cases, both in Germany and around the globe, in the Apple-Samsung patent struggle. In February, the Mannheim Regional Court stayed another Samsung suit, this one over Apple's VoiceOver functionality, pending yet another case that could invalidate a Samsung patent.
The two tech giants are locked in litigation in a number of countries, with allegations of infringement on myriad patents coming from both parties. In the United States, a federal judge recently ordered the two companies to narrow their respective patent claims so that their cases could proceed next year.
Germany's Bundespatentgericht ruled in Apple's favor on Wednesday, invalidating the German part of EP1005726, which Samsung had declared essential to 3G wireless standards, according to FOSS Patents. EP1005726 covered a "turbo encoding/decoding device and method for processing frame data according to QoS."
Samsung had been trying to secure injunctions against Apple products over the patent, but a preliminary ruling by the European Commission found that Apple was a willing licensee of the patent and that injunctive relief against such a licensee amounted to abusive conduct. Samsung withdrew its injunction requests, but the company continued to pursue damages.
In licensing standard-essential patents such as EP1005726, Samsung is bound by rules dictating that it conduct its licensing in a Fair, Reasonable, And Non-Discriminatory (FRAND) fashion. The South Korean manufacturer may still appeal the Bundespatentgericht's decision to the Bundesgerichtshof (Federal Court of Justice).
The most recent ruling affects but one of an array of cases, both in Germany and around the globe, in the Apple-Samsung patent struggle. In February, the Mannheim Regional Court stayed another Samsung suit, this one over Apple's VoiceOver functionality, pending yet another case that could invalidate a Samsung patent.
The two tech giants are locked in litigation in a number of countries, with allegations of infringement on myriad patents coming from both parties. In the United States, a federal judge recently ordered the two companies to narrow their respective patent claims so that their cases could proceed next year.
Comments
Phil
Surprisingly, the solicitors don't make the new and exciting products, so don't worry, be happy!
Quote:
Originally Posted by philgar
uh, am I the only one who thinks this headline is completely wrong. Nowhere in the text does it mention that Samsung's patent was invalid, but rather that "the European Commission found that Apple was a willing licensee of the patent and that injunctive relief against such a licensee amounted to abusive conduct."
Really? It's the first 2 sentences of the article.
Quote:
Germany's Bundespatentgericht ruled in Apple's favor on Wednesday, invalidating the German part ofEP1005726, which Samsung had declared essential to 3G wireless standards, according to FOSS Patents. EP1005726 covered a "turbo encoding/decoding device and method for processing frame data according to QoS."
Originally Posted by sessamoid
Really? It's the first 2 sentences of the article.
That doesn't mean it's invalid; it means it's essential. Samsung still has the patent on it, but they're now forced to license it to anyone at a FRAND rate.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tallest Skil
That doesn't mean it's invalid; it means it's essential. Samsung still has the patent on it, but they're now forced to license it to anyone at a FRAND rate.
So "invalidated" doesn't mean what we think it means?
Sure looks like (at least portion of the claim) was invalidated.
http://www.fosspatents.com/2013/04/apple-wins-invalidation-of-3g-standard.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:+fosspatents/zboT+(FOSS+Patents)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tallest Skil
That doesn't mean it's invalid; it means it's essential. Samsung still has the patent on it, but they're now forced to license it to anyone at a FRAND rate.
No, it's the opposite of that. The article is correct.
Samsung had always claimed the 726 patent was standards essential.
Apple asked for a review of the patent, and the German Patent Court ruled that the 726 patent was invalid.
(The UK High Court for patents had also ruled that it was invalid about a month ago.)
Quote:
Originally Posted by philgar
... It's a shame so many resources are wasted on this when the companies could actually be making new and exciting products.
Exactly. All Apple wants to do is CONTINUE making new and exciting products without having a$$hats like Samsung stealing its ideas, and retaliating by using FRAND patents as a bargaining chip.
Quote:
Originally Posted by philgar
uh, It's a shame so many resources are wasted on this when the companies could actually be making new and exciting products.
Phil
why should companies make new and exciting products, when they can just rip-off what other companies create?
Quote:
Originally Posted by dav
why should companies make new and exciting products, when they can just rip-off what other companies create?
Right, because making a rectangle with rounded corners took billions of $$$ in R&D... LOL... You Apple fanboys are a riot. Maybe Apple should actually engineer something for once in their lives instead of relying on Samsung's talent. Maybe then, I'll respect them more.
I don't think Samsung copying Apple's rectangle is going to stop innovation.