Judge denies Samsung attempt to squash Italian iPhone 4S launch
A judge on Wednesday denied Samsung?s request for an injunction on Apple's new iPhone 4S sales in Italy ahead of this Friday's local launch.
The Milan court, however, will honor requests from both Apple and Samsung to submit further information. A follow-up hearing in the case is scheduled for December 16 to review the new documents, according to Agenzia Giornalistica Italia.
Apple will launch the iPhone 4S in Italy on Friday as part of the its international expansion, which will also include 21 additional countries.
A day after Apple launched the new iPhone, Samsung filed injunctions in Italy and France trying to block sales in those countries, alleging Apple is violating certain patents held by the South Korean electronics giant. Each injunction cites two patents related to 3G communication standards, specifically Wideband Code Division Multiple Access, or WCDMA.
?The infringed technology is essential to the reliable functioning of telecom networks and devices and Samsung believes that Apple?s violation as being too severe and that the iPhone 4S should be barred from sales,? Samsung explained in a post on the company?s blog at the time.
Meanwhile, a French court last week postponed a similar decision on the iPhone 4S ban request in the region and scheduled a new hearing for November 15. Sales of the Apple handset in France launched earlier this month alongside the US, Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan and the UK.
Samsung has also filed injunctions to bar iPhone 4S sales in Australia and Japan.
The South Korean Android device maker is targeting Apple?s latest handset in an attempt to even the odds in a complex legal conflict between the two mobile device makers.
Apple first sued Samsung in April, alleging its iconic iPhone and iPad designs were copied by Galaxy smartphones and tablets, with Samsung firing back quickly with its own patent infringement claims. The conflict escalated and now the two companies are engaged in over 20 lawsuits in 10 countries across four continents.
However, Apple has been scoring victories in some of the existing patent cases. The company convinced courts in Germany and Australia to issue injunctions against Galaxy Tab 10.1 sales, while a Dutch judge barred sales of three flagship Samsung handsets in the region, the Galaxy S II, the Galaxy S and the Galaxy Ace.
Apple also scored a decisive victory in the Netherlands where a Hague court dismissed a Samsung injunction case against Apple based on alleged 3G patent violations.
The judge ruled that those Samsung 3G patents are open to license under the definition of fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory, or FRAND, patent use. This particular ruling may affect similar international cases in which Samsung claims Apple is violating 3G-related intellectual property, including the ones in Italy and France.
The Milan court, however, will honor requests from both Apple and Samsung to submit further information. A follow-up hearing in the case is scheduled for December 16 to review the new documents, according to Agenzia Giornalistica Italia.
Apple will launch the iPhone 4S in Italy on Friday as part of the its international expansion, which will also include 21 additional countries.
A day after Apple launched the new iPhone, Samsung filed injunctions in Italy and France trying to block sales in those countries, alleging Apple is violating certain patents held by the South Korean electronics giant. Each injunction cites two patents related to 3G communication standards, specifically Wideband Code Division Multiple Access, or WCDMA.
?The infringed technology is essential to the reliable functioning of telecom networks and devices and Samsung believes that Apple?s violation as being too severe and that the iPhone 4S should be barred from sales,? Samsung explained in a post on the company?s blog at the time.
Meanwhile, a French court last week postponed a similar decision on the iPhone 4S ban request in the region and scheduled a new hearing for November 15. Sales of the Apple handset in France launched earlier this month alongside the US, Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan and the UK.
Samsung has also filed injunctions to bar iPhone 4S sales in Australia and Japan.
The South Korean Android device maker is targeting Apple?s latest handset in an attempt to even the odds in a complex legal conflict between the two mobile device makers.
Apple first sued Samsung in April, alleging its iconic iPhone and iPad designs were copied by Galaxy smartphones and tablets, with Samsung firing back quickly with its own patent infringement claims. The conflict escalated and now the two companies are engaged in over 20 lawsuits in 10 countries across four continents.
However, Apple has been scoring victories in some of the existing patent cases. The company convinced courts in Germany and Australia to issue injunctions against Galaxy Tab 10.1 sales, while a Dutch judge barred sales of three flagship Samsung handsets in the region, the Galaxy S II, the Galaxy S and the Galaxy Ace.
Apple also scored a decisive victory in the Netherlands where a Hague court dismissed a Samsung injunction case against Apple based on alleged 3G patent violations.
The judge ruled that those Samsung 3G patents are open to license under the definition of fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory, or FRAND, patent use. This particular ruling may affect similar international cases in which Samsung claims Apple is violating 3G-related intellectual property, including the ones in Italy and France.
Comments
poor ole samsung, if you weren't such a scummy company I would shed a tear.
Samesung, just give up. You are looking pathetic.
Samsung doesn't want to settle because all their defenses will lapse.... meanwhile Apple benefits by earning interest on the money you can sure is set aside for a settlement....
Samsung in the meantime is losing millions in sales in places that Apple has won injunctions.... sooner or later Samsung will figure the time cost of money and get on with life....
Can you just imagine how much this is going to cost in hard dollars for Samsung to settle this confrontation? We're taking 100's of millions of dollars folks....
There will also be a disgorgement of profits and damages on top of that... not a pretty picture if Samsung loses to Apple....
Wait till the Siri driven Apple TV debuts, Samsung is going to go ape!
Samsung exec was in Tim Cook's office the day before Steve died. These guys seem to function in a highly compartmentalized manner. They can be going at it hammer & tongs over the iOS in the courtroom, while at the same time collaborating on a future Apple TV. Yes, there are feelings involved, but they don't seem to let that get in the way of the big picture. Wonder if Steve's departure will make Apple any less prickly when it comes to inter-corporational dynamics. He tended to take things more personally than other execs.
Samsung exec was in Tim Cook's office the day before Steve died. These guys seem to function in a highly compartmentalized manner. They can be going at it hammer & tongs over the iOS in the courtroom, while at the same time collaborating on a future Apple TV. Yes, there are feelings involved, but they don't seem to let that get in the way of the big picture. Wonder if Steve's departure will make Apple any less prickly when it comes to inter-corporational dynamics. He tended to take things more personally than other execs.
I'd say that it was Steve Job's taking thing personally and not putting up with the standard bs of modern business practice that set Apple apart. He had a very moral repulsion for betrayal. And that was a good thing.
Apple should pay standard FRAND royalalities just like Microsoft, or Nokia would pay....
Samsung doesn't want to settle because all their defenses will lapse.... meanwhile Apple benefits by earning interest on the money you can sure is set aside for a settlement....
Samsung in the meantime is losing millions in sales in places that Apple has won injunctions.... sooner or later Samsung will figure the time cost of money and get on with life....
Can you just imagine how much this is going to cost in hard dollars for Samsung to settle this confrontation? We're taking 100's of millions of dollars folks....
There will also be a disgorgement of profits and damages on top of that... not a pretty picture if Samsung loses to Apple....
...and if Qualcomm has already paid the licensing fee in the chips Apple are using?
Why don't you go look up "patent exhaustion", pay particular attention to double dipping.
Samsung exec was in Tim Cook's office the day before Steve died. These guys seem to function in a highly compartmentalized manner. They can be going at it hammer & tongs over the iOS in the courtroom, while at the same time collaborating on a future Apple TV. Yes, there are feelings involved, but they don't seem to let that get in the way of the big picture. Wonder if Steve's departure will make Apple any less prickly when it comes to inter-corporational dynamics. He tended to take things more personally than other execs.
Samsung is getting aced.
... meanwhile Apple benefits by earning interest on the money you can sure is set aside for a settlement....[/QUOTE]
I believe Apple reported earning .73% interest on its cashstash in fiscal 2011. Hardly a motivation to not pay. And a powerful motivation to put that money to work.
Apple should pay standard FRAND royalalities just like Microsoft, or Nokia would pay....
Samsung doesn't want to settle because all their defenses will lapse.... meanwhile Apple benefits by earning interest on the money you can sure is set aside for a settlement....
Samsung in the meantime is losing millions in sales in places that Apple has won injunctions.... sooner or later Samsung will figure the time cost of money and get on with life....
Can you just imagine how much this is going to cost in hard dollars for Samsung to settle this confrontation? We're taking 100's of millions of dollars folks....
There will also be a disgorgement of profits and damages on top of that... not a pretty picture if Samsung loses to Apple....
Yep, FRAN licensing payment would still amount to a substantial sum though.
Samsung Galaxy 10.1 is a good tablet, but it's only a miniscule fraction of their annual sales, so I'm not sure why they are dwelling on this lawsuit so much. I think they should focus on Bada, Samsung's mobile OS, instead of Android.
Samsung is one of the largest consumer electronics companies in the world (bigger than Sony, Hitachi, Toshiba) and a major component supplier that Apple can't live without.
...and if Qualcomm has already paid the licensing fee in the chips Apple are using?
Why don't you go look up "patent exhaustion", pay particular attention to double dipping.
Well, according to FOSS
".. The exhaustion defense may be very solid. It depends on what's in the agreement between Samsung and Qualcomm. But Qualcomm doesn't have a track record of favoring patent exhaustion. It certainly values Apple as a customer, but Qualcomm is very much in favor of "double dipping" by patent holders.."
The Italian judge noted that the main reason for his ruling was that he looked forward to asking Siri questions about pizza and spaghetti
You are from New Jersey but you clearly are not Italian. An Italian, male or female, would only address questions about pizza and macaroni to their mother or grandmother, not an artificial computerized assistant designed in California.
Apple should pay standard FRAND royalalities just like Microsoft, or Nokia would pay....
Samsung doesn't want to settle because all their defenses will lapse.... meanwhile Apple benefits by earning interest on the money you can sure is set aside for a settlement....
Samsung in the meantime is losing millions in sales in places that Apple has won injunctions.... sooner or later Samsung will figure the time cost of money and get on with life....
Can you just imagine how much this is going to cost in hard dollars for Samsung to settle this confrontation? We're taking 100's of millions of dollars folks....
There will also be a disgorgement of profits and damages on top of that... not a pretty picture if Samsung loses to Apple....
They already pay those royalties, through their contractual agreements with Qualcomm who has a Carte Blanche license for it's chipsets.
You are from New Jersey but you clearly are not Italian. An Italian, male or female, would only address questions about pizza and macaroni to their mother or grandmother, not an artificial computerized assistant designed in California.
Exactly! And their idea of pizza is a very thin product, not a pie nor a heavy crust that puts a spare tire around the middle as a side-effect.