Another dizzying week for the Apple legal team. First they see an adversary's competitive product wiped from the entire continent of Europe (mostly), only to see the it rise again in every European country (mostly). What caused the Teutonic change of heart in the Düsseldorf regional court? Perhaps some altered images that Apple submitted as evidence?
As the European battle rages on, a new front was opened in the United States, with Apple's longtime nemesis launching a massive salvo of lawsuits. The wishlist of compensation being claimed includes barring the sale, manufacturing and importing of nearly every Apple product in the United States. And, the lawyers were good enough to request a jury trial. Wheeeee!
On August 9, 2011, a German court granted a preliminary injunction against Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1, banning the sale of the product throughout Europe, except the Netherlands.
Samsung was publicly stung by the ruling, claiming they were blindsided and that "the injunction was filed with no notice." Which is interesting, because now reports have surfaced that not only did Samsung suspect the ruling was coming, they submitted a "pre-emptive opposition" to the court pleading against a possible injunction a week before the German gavel fell.
Either way, this past Monday a Dutch publication reported that the image of the Galaxy used in the complaint had slightly different dimensions, making it look slightly less than a Galaxy and slightly more like an iPad. Which could have influenced the court slightly in Apple's favor. On Tuesday when the German court lifted the ban -- except in Germany -- the assumption was, clearly, the doctored evidence had something to do with it.
The doctored images in question.
Well, not so fast, internet.
The court claims the reversal was due to jurisdiction concerns; apparently, they realized they might not have had the authority to ban the Galaxy from all of Europe (except the Netherlands). We suspect the Düsseldorf regional court was probably aware of such things prior to the trial, but in any event, here is a new map, just so no one is confused:
So now the people of Europe are free to purchase the Samsung Galaxy 10.1, unless those people live in Germany, or want to buy it in Germany, or from a retailer that sells through Samsung Germany, because all of those options are still off the table. For now.
(DUN DUN)
HTC was Apple's first dance partner in this recent flurry of patent lawsuits. In March 2010, Apple filed a lawsuit against HTC for infringing on 20 Apple patents pertaining to the iPhone. At the time, Steve Jobs quipped, "We can sit by and watch competitors steal our patented inventions, or we can do something about it. We’ve decided to do something about it." And thus, the games began.
After staying relatively quiet for over a year, last month HTC spent $300 million to buy S3 Graphics Co., a company that had just won an International Trade Commission ruling against Apple regarding two patents dealing with compression technology.
Just two days later, Apple filed a second complaint with the International Trade Commission against HTC, before their first complaint was resolved.
Then the ITC ruled on 2 of the original claims, finding for Apple. HTC said they would appeal -- and then suddenly let it be known that they were open to negotiations and wanted a sit-down with Cupertino.
Apparently, those negotiations (if there were any) failed, as HTC unleashed the patent trolls and filed a massive lawsuit against Apple in U.S. District Court in Delaware on Tuesday for infringing on three patents. The devices named in the suit include "personal computers, mobile communications devices, wireless printers, streaming wireless capable television, wireless network equipment [and] portable digital music and video players." Which is pretty much everything in Apple's entire product lineup. Ouch.
The lawsuit aims to halt Apple's importation and sale of all of these products in the United States. On top of that, it also seeks compensatory damages, triple damages for willful infringement, as well as some additional remedies.
This case, with such high stakes on the table, should be interesting to follow, particularly as HTC lawyers requested a jury trial. It's showtime!
Important to note that only one of the three patents in the lawsuit (#7,765,414) was originally filed by HTC; the other two (#7,672,219) and (#7,417,944) were bought by HTC last April when they snatched up ADC Telecommunications' patent portfolio for $75 million. Taking that into account, along with the S3 Graphics Co. acquisitions, it appears HTC is looking to keep its allegedly iPhone-like smartphones on the market by any means necessary.
Adrian covers daily news as well as the weekly Law & Apple column for MacLife.com. You can follow him on Twitter, if you want to.
jrstinkfish
August 17, 2011 at 12:39pm
... when Apple files frivolous patent lawsuits, it's acceptable and they are protecting themselves. When HTC does the same thing, it's trolling. Can't have it both ways.
brandonwalkermedia
August 17, 2011 at 2:37pm
when does Apple file frivolous law suits? verses HTC(owned by google)
Adrian Hoppel
August 17, 2011 at 12:46pm
jrstinkfish, thanks for the comment!
I understand what you are saying, and I definitely considered that. But in this case, HTC bought these patents specifically - at least it seems to me based on the timeline - to have in their pocket to sue Apple. Buying patents for no reason except to sue other companies will always get a troll tag from me, but this is clearly open to interpretation.
-Adrian
nmz502
August 17, 2011 at 1:32pm
I agree. Apple made the stuff while HTC just bought a companies patents.
Rob_flo
August 17, 2011 at 2:44pm
So how do you interpret Apple's (joint) purchase of Nortel's IP? I'd be surprised if they just sit on it.
Fion
August 17, 2011 at 2:54pm
They're probably "sitting on it" just to have the rights to the patents, sure. After all, why do you think Google bought Motorola? For their business? Oh heck no. They're owners of some of the most major patents in the tech world, including set top boxes for televisions and mobile phones.
There was a really fabulous episode of Forum on KQED here in the Bay Area this morning. If you have an hour, check it!
Adrian Hoppel
August 17, 2011 at 2:52pm
I think that depends on how Apple and partners use the portfolio. Will it be to protect their existing or new technology, or to get a slice of some other company's innovation? Remains to be seen.
