ITC staff agrees with judge's finding of Samsung infringement of Apple patents
The U.S. International Trade Commission's Office of Unfair Import Investigation, otherwise known as "ITC staff," issued a filing in support of a preliminary finding from an administrative law judge that held Samsung in violation of four Apple patents.
According to a redacted filing published on Thursday, as reported by FOSS Patents's Florian Mueller, the OUII found that ALJ Thomas Pender "did not commit legal or factual error" in his initial determination regarding Samsung's infringement of certain Apple patents. The support brings the ITC case one step closer to being resolved after both parties petitioned for a review, with Apple wanting broader sanctions while Samsung looks to protect its products from a possible sales ban.
Mueller noted that the ITC staff acts as a third party which defends public interest by offering recommendations to the body, however the guidance does not have to be followed by either the Commission or ALJs. The OUII didn't submit its own petition for review in this specific case, which could have been passive move in support of Judge Pender's initial decision.
From the filing:
Mueller pointed out that if the Commission were to adopt the ITC staff recommendation, a sales ban as specified by the initial determination could be instituted "rather quickly," however such an injunction against legacy products would likely be meaningless if workarounds are already in place. It is unknown what impact a supporting Commission ruling would have, however, as Samsung's workarounds have yet to be revealed.
In its petition for review, Apple may be seeking a reversal of Judge Pender's finding of non-infringement for certain Samsung products regarding a design patent for the iPhone 3GS, as well as a similar judgment on a utility patent involving plug detection mechanisms. If the two assertions were to be validated by the Commission, the Samsung sales ban would be widened to include at least two more handsets.
As for Samsung's petition, the company is raising many of the issues already decided by Judge Pender, including claim construction, infringement and validity, and tacks on "prejudicial procedural errors" having to do with evidence submittal.
The ITC is also scheduled to review a separate complaint regarding a previous decision that cleared Apple of infringing on Samsung's wireless patents, with that final determination slated to come some time next year.
According to a redacted filing published on Thursday, as reported by FOSS Patents's Florian Mueller, the OUII found that ALJ Thomas Pender "did not commit legal or factual error" in his initial determination regarding Samsung's infringement of certain Apple patents. The support brings the ITC case one step closer to being resolved after both parties petitioned for a review, with Apple wanting broader sanctions while Samsung looks to protect its products from a possible sales ban.
Mueller noted that the ITC staff acts as a third party which defends public interest by offering recommendations to the body, however the guidance does not have to be followed by either the Commission or ALJs. The OUII didn't submit its own petition for review in this specific case, which could have been passive move in support of Judge Pender's initial decision.
From the filing:
The '501 patent is an Apple-held property covering a portable device's headset plug and accompanying detection circuitry, Claim 3 of which pertains to the monitoring whether the headset's microphone is activated. In the U.S., the infringing product is known as Sprint's Samsung Transform.For the foregoing reasons, the OUII submits that the Administrative Law Judge did not commit legal or factual error. As such, Respondents? petition should be denied. With the exception of entering a conclusion of law that the SPH-M920 and associated accused products infringe claim 3 of the ?501 patent, Complaint?s petition should also be denied.
Mueller pointed out that if the Commission were to adopt the ITC staff recommendation, a sales ban as specified by the initial determination could be instituted "rather quickly," however such an injunction against legacy products would likely be meaningless if workarounds are already in place. It is unknown what impact a supporting Commission ruling would have, however, as Samsung's workarounds have yet to be revealed.
In its petition for review, Apple may be seeking a reversal of Judge Pender's finding of non-infringement for certain Samsung products regarding a design patent for the iPhone 3GS, as well as a similar judgment on a utility patent involving plug detection mechanisms. If the two assertions were to be validated by the Commission, the Samsung sales ban would be widened to include at least two more handsets.
As for Samsung's petition, the company is raising many of the issues already decided by Judge Pender, including claim construction, infringement and validity, and tacks on "prejudicial procedural errors" having to do with evidence submittal.
The ITC is also scheduled to review a separate complaint regarding a previous decision that cleared Apple of infringing on Samsung's wireless patents, with that final determination slated to come some time next year.
Comments
It's in Samsung's DNA to incur (deliberate) violations. It's a part of their company culture.
http://forums.appleinsider.com/t/151659/samsung-takes-excluded-evidence-to-the-media-gets-reprimanded/40#post_2158987
^^^^^^^
Yeah. A golf bag.
It's good to see the rule of law being upheld...
Apple will get nothing out of this. Samsung and Android are absolutely killing Apple. Apple is walking in a pouring Android rain without an umbrella. The ensuing flash flood will drown Apple. It's already happening. Wall Street has already come to a conclusion Apple is done for and Apple's share price will continue to falter. Android is being favored to win on both the smartphone and tablet platforms. Apple's P/E is being continually compressed as investors lose faith in Apple and Tim Cook. Small patent victories mean absolutely nothing. Samsung will quickly make workarounds and sell their smartphones and tablets for even less money to increase their market share. To Wall Street, market share is everything. Supposedly, any company with minor market share is basically doomed to failure.
I guess it's just a matter of time before investors completely give up on Apple. With all the reserve cash Apple has, one would figure they'd have put up a better fight to stop rivals from taking everything from them. Apple has far more employees than either Amazon or Google but Apple seems to be accomplishing so little while Amazon and Google branch out into new businesses. It's really sad how Steve Jobs had to die so soon and now the company is starting to slowly decline.
Originally Posted by Constable Odo
Apple will get nothing out of this. Samsung and Android are absolutely killing Apple. Apple is walking in a pouring Android rain without an umbrella. The ensuing flash flood will drown Apple. It's already happening. Wall Street has already come to a conclusion Apple is done for and Apple's share price will continue to falter. Android is being favored to win on both the smartphone and tablet platforms. Apple's P/E is being continually compressed as investors lose faith in Apple and Tim Cook. Small patent victories mean absolutely nothing. Samsung will quickly make workarounds and sell their smartphones and tablets for even less money to increase their market share. To Wall Street, market share is everything. Supposedly, any company with minor market share is basically doomed to failure.
I guess it's just a matter of time before investors completely give up on Apple. With all the reserve cash Apple has, one would figure they'd have put up a better fight to stop rivals from taking everything from them. Apple has far more employees than either Amazon or Google but Apple seems to be accomplishing so little while Amazon and Google branch out into new businesses. It's really sad how Steve Jobs had to die so soon and now the company is starting to slowly decline.
Where's the "/s"? We need one of those or quotes around the whole thing.
Samsung slowly getting its due, except in some of the backward legal systems ....
First the judgement in the Netherlands, and now this.
Apple seems to be having an uncommonly good week in the courts.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Constable Odo
Apple will get nothing out of this.
Not so sure. Samsung is looking at the deal that Apple made with HTC, so I think they're ready to pay the license fee - which is what Apple wanted all along.
This will probably speed up the negotiations.
If only our courts here in the UK would take notice of these findings & act accordingly too. You only have to think would most smartphones & pads / tablets look & act exactly like they do now if not for Apple?
As the saying goes, 'sometimes the law can be an ...'
At least if others licensed instead of poached, well done HTC, things would be better all round.
I wonder why the iHaters are so quiet.
Possibly trying to defend the Surface in that other thread.
Originally Posted by PhilBoogie
Possibly trying to defend the Surface in that other thread.
Wait, people still defend Microsoft? Haven't really seen any pro-PC trolls anywhere for about five years now.
Well, DigiTimes is not one of them, hehe:
Microsoft originally expected to ship four million Surface RT devices by the end of 2012, but has recently reduced the orders by half to only two million units.
http://microsoft-news.com/digitimes-microsoft-reduced-the-orders-for-surface-rt-by-half/
You may have a point regarding Wall Street's sentiment. However, I don't think they are always correct. They are coming from a speculative perspective. The old Apple didn't need their support to come back. The new Apple certainly don't need their blessing to execute. Even if Apple enters a price war against the rest, the analysts will still criticize it for the declined margin. So it is best if Apple focuses on what it does best, and find newer and better partners.
The fruit company does not exist to please Wall Street.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Constable Odo
Apple will get nothing out of this. Samsung and Android are absolutely killing Apple. Apple is walking in a pouring Android rain without an umbrella. The ensuing flash flood will drown Apple. It's already happening. Wall Street has already come to a conclusion Apple is done for and Apple's share price will continue to falter. Android is being favored to win on both the smartphone and tablet platforms. Apple's P/E is being continually compressed as investors lose faith in Apple and Tim Cook. Small patent victories mean absolutely nothing. Samsung will quickly make workarounds and sell their smartphones and tablets for even less money to increase their market share. To Wall Street, market share is everything. Supposedly, any company with minor market share is basically doomed to failure.
I guess it's just a matter of time before investors completely give up on Apple. With all the reserve cash Apple has, one would figure they'd have put up a better fight to stop rivals from taking everything from them. Apple has far more employees than either Amazon or Google but Apple seems to be accomplishing so little while Amazon and Google branch out into new businesses. It's really sad how Steve Jobs had to die so soon and now the company is starting to slowly decline.
Obviously an elaborate joke you are making here. Since you are in NYC, I am sure you can count what people have. In August I spent the day in Union Square and it was easily 8 iPhones for every 1 of a different type I counted walking past me at the market stall...
Because they think they have won the netizens over, and are targeting the couch potatoes via TV ads. Those buzz marketers are off duty now. They want to focus on price and sexy software to topple Apple even if the software and hardware may not be fully functional. As long as they grab the attention and perception that they are innovating faster, many will not be able to see the differences between Apple and the rest.
It's a challenge a leader needs to face anyway to continue to dominate. We will just have to sit back and watch how it intends to fight back.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TogetherWeStand
If only our courts here in the UK would take notice of these findings & act accordingly too. You only have to think would most smartphones & pads / tablets look & act exactly like they do now if not for Apple?
As the saying goes, 'sometimes the law can be an ...'
At least if others licensed instead of poached, well done HTC, things would be better all round.
Sorry UK resident, you aren't allowed to think such things, now go read the statement on Apple's UK website one hundred times.
-The UK thought police.
Read this http://www.kernelmag.com/features/report/3028/samsung-power-corruption-and-lies/
It'll be more like how long before the world realizes how evil to the core samscum are. My bet is that the execs of samescum will end up behind bars before Apple even looks like faultering. Besides, if Apple disappear, who would samescum copy from for their ideas? Microsoft? Lol!!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rayz
Not so sure. Samsung is looking at the deal that Apple made with HTC, so I think they're ready to pay the license fee - which is what Apple wanted all along.
This will probably speed up the negotiations.
Samsung are not allowed to see the license fees, they are for their attorney's eyes only, of course one would expect there to be a leak somewhere, that's the kind of scum Samsung are, no respect for anything except their bottom line.