VS
Apple Inc. of the U.S. and Samsung Electronics
Co. of South Korea are embroiled in legal battles in 10 nations over
intellectual property, spanning dozens of cases. Here are details of some of
the bigger legal fights:
- In the U.S., Apple scored a major victory on Aug. 24 when a jury found Samsung had “willfully” copied Apple’s iPhone and iPad, and awarded Apple $1 billion in damages. Apple is now requesting eight Samsung products be banned from the U.S. market. A hearing was rescheduled for Dec. 6 2012.
- In South Korea, the court on Aug. 24 dismissed Apple’s claim that Samsung copied the look and feel of the iPhone and the iPad in a ruling widely seen as a victory for Samsung. Still, the judges issued bans on some Samsung and Apple products. It found that Apple illegally used Samsung’s wireless technology while Samsung violated Apple’s patent related to the way mobile devices notify users when an image reaches to the end.
- In Japan, the Tokyo District Court denied Apple’s claim on Aug. 31 2012 that Samsung infringed upon Apple’s patent to have mobile devices and personal computers “synchronize” or share data with each other. Other cases in Japan are still pending.
- In Germany, a Dusseldorf court said in July 2012 Samsung’s Galaxy Tap 7.7 imitated Apple’s design in an “unacceptable manner” and ordered European sales stopped. But the court said another Samsung tablet computer no longer infringed Apple’s iPad patents or designs after making enough changes. Other cases are still pending.
- In Australia, Samsung became free to sell its Galaxy tablet computers after the country’s highest court dismissed Apple’s appeal in December 2011. But separate legal battles are ongoing over various patents.
Origin
Apple sued its component supplier Samsung,
alleging in a 38-page federal complaint on April 15, 2011 in the United States
District Court for the Northern District of California that several of Samsung’s
Android phones and tablets, including the Nexus S, Epic 4G, Galaxy S 4G, and
the Samsung Galaxy Tab, infringed on Apple’s intellectual property: its
patents, trademarks, user interface and style. Apple’s complaint included
specific federal claims for patent infringement, false designation of origin,
unfair competition, and trademark infringement, as well as state-level claims
for unfair competition, common law trademark infringement, and unjust
enrichment.
Apple’s evidence submitted to the court
included side-by-side image comparisons of iPhone 3GS and i9000 Galaxy S to
illustrate the alleged similarities in packaging and icons for apps. However,
the images were later found to have been tampered with in order to make the
dimensions and features of the two different products seem more similar, and
counsel for Samsung accused Apple of submitting misleading evidence to the
court.
Samsung counter-sued Apple on April 22, 2011,
filing federal complaints in courts in Seoul, Tokyo and Mannheim, Germany,
alleging Apple infringed Samsung’s patents for mobile-communications
technologies.[16] By summer, Samsung also filed suits against Apple in the
British High Court of Justice, in the United States District Court for the
District of Delaware, and with the United States International Trade Commission
(ITC) in Washington D.C., all in June 2011.
Appeal
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