Last year as Apple and Samsung battled in courtrooms around the world, Apple won some and lost some.

The oddest loss happened in the U.K. when judges in the case required Apple to apologize publicly to Samsung on the Apple website. The FOSS Patents blog discovered the judge who gave the first opinion for the court of appeal, The Rt. Hon. Professor Sir Robin Jacob, now works for Samsung Electronics.

The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) is investigating a complaint by Ericsson against Samsung. According to FOSS, Erickson wants a U.S. import ban on several Samsung products Erickson believes violate several of its patents.

In a letter submitted to the ITC by Samsung, Sir Robert Jacob is listed as an expert “working on behalf of Respondents Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Samsung Electronics America, Inc., and Samsung Telecommunications America LLC in the above-referenced investigation.”

Sir Robin Jacob was not the judge who famously said Samsung’s products “are not as cool” as Apple’s. That was Judge Colin Birss. Sir Robin Jacob over saw the case and argued it was the “massive publicity” of Judge Birss’s “not as cool” judgment that made it necessary to require Apple to publish the apology.

In his opinion Sir Jacob wrote, “Following Judge Birss’s ‘not as cool’ judgment, which did receive massive publicity, Apple obtained the Oberlandesgericht order banning SEC from selling the [Samsung] 7.7 throughout Europe. That order received massive publicity in the press too.”

When Apple first published a version of the apology required by the U.K. court, the notices included Judge Birss’s “not as cool” assessment of Apple’s iPad. Sir Jacob accused Apple of having a “lack of integrity” and required them to republish the following notice without the snark:

“On 9 July 2012 the High Court of Justice of England and Wales ruled that Samsung Electronic (UK) Limited’s Galaxy Tablet Computers, namely the Galaxy Tab 10.1, Tab 8.9 and Tab 7.7 do not infringe Apple’s Community registered design No. 0000181607-0001. A copy of the full judgment of the High Court is available from www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Patents/2012/1882.html.”

“That Judgment has effect throughout the European Union and was upheld by the Court of Appeal of England and Wales on 18 October 2012. A copy of the Court of Appeal’s judgment is available from www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2012/1339.html. There is no injunction in respect of the Community registered design in force anywhere in Europe.”

Having so recently ruled in a case that benefitted Samsung, perhaps a judge concerned so much about the integrity of Apple should decline an offer to work for Samsung.

What do you think of Sir Jacob’s decision to work for Samsung so soon after Samung’s case against Apple?

UK Judge Who Made Apple Apologize To Samsung Now Works For Samsung is a post from: The Inquisitr

Apple suffered a crushing loss to HTC when London’s High Court ruled that HTC smartphones did not infringe on Apple patents.

The patents in question were the slide-to-unlock feature, tools used to change alphabets and scroll through photographs and  multi-touch, the ability to touch two places on the screen simultaneously.

According to the BBC, Judge Christopher Floyd found that HTC’s “arc unlock” feature would have infringed on Apple’s patent if it weren’t for the Neonode N1, a device released in 2004 that showed a padlock with the words “right sweep to unlock.” The text was later replaced with an arrow.

Judge Floyd also said the “slider” concept wasn’t a new one as it had already been used in Microsoft CE, and that visual feedback would have been an “obvious” improvement for developers.

HTC, Asia’s second largest smartphone maker, was pleased with the court’s ruling. However Andrea Sommer, a spokesperson for the company said, “We remain disappointed that Apple continues to favor competition in the courtroom over competition in the marketplace.”

In an emailed statement that didn’t directly reference the High Court’s decision Apple said, “Competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours.”

This has been a rough week for Apple. Earlier this week, the company lost a bid to ban HTC phones from being imported into the United States. Not only that, but the Cupertino, California-based company was slapped with a trademark lawsuit over the use of “Snow Leopard,” the name of Apple’s 10.6 operating system. That lawsuit came just a day after the company settled another Chinese lawsuit for $60 million with ProView Technology over the use of the name “iPad.” Apple had originally bought the rights through a ProView affiliate, and the company was not bound to the sale.

Apple has at least one more lawsuit to look forward to, when they battle HTC again in Germany over the same four patents later this year.

Apple Suffers Patent Defeat To HTC is a post from: The Inquisitr

A United States appeals court has given Apple an opportunity to seek a sales injunction against Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1, which would see the tablet immediately banned from U.S. stores and removed from shelves around the country, based on allegations of a single infringing patent.

South Korean Samsung and Apple are scheduled to attend settlement talks next week and if Apple proceeds with the injunction, it could decide whether the settlement talks will be successful or an utter failure, Reuters reported.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has indicated that the lower district California judge’s decision regarding Apple’s design patent would likely be held upon being proven valid.  Additionally, the court indicated that tablet sales in the United States should be banned until a trial could be held.

While Cupertino, C.A.-based Apple currently has the ability to demand an immediate ban on sales of Samsung’s Galaxy tablet, the company could hold off and negotiate an end to the year-long legal conflict.  This is a possibility which the district court ordered the two electronics giants to discuss prior to their talks which are scheduled May 21st through the 22nd, ZDNet reported.

The patent in question in Monday’s ruling pertains to the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet’s design.  The U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California previously found the design patent could be very well be challenged as “obvious.”  In which case, the patent should have never been granted, however, the appeals court has disagreed.

Apple initiated the ongoing patent war between the two companies in April of 2011, as the company claimed that Samsung had “slavishly” copied the design of their infamous iPad.

Samsung Tablet Ban: Apple Approved To Seek Sales Injunction Against Galaxy Tab 10.1 Tablets is a post from: The Inquisitr

Motorola Mobility is going after Apple in a new lawsuit claiming patent infringement in their iPhone 4S and iCloud product. Patent disputes are a dime a dozen in the tech industry and Apple has been one of the leaders in going after companies and manufacturers.

Now it seems the tables are turned. The company has been going after Samsung quite a bit lately, more recently wanting 10 of their smartphones banned in Germany. Anyways, it’s interesting to note that Google acquired the mobile division of Motorola (deal still pending) and could very likely be the force behind the lawsuits.

All in all, it’s a good payday for lawyers involved, that’s for sure.

Via Wall Street Journal:

“Motorola filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, alleging Apple has infringed on six patents related to mobile technology.”

“Each count in the complaint names Apple’s iPhone 4S, introduced last October, as an allegedly infringing device. Apple this week reported quarterly results that included record sales for the company, thanks in part to strong demand for the iPhone. The complaint filed on Tuesday also names Apple’s iCloud content storage service as an infringing product. The iCloud service was unveiled last year.”

Google and Apple representatives declined to comment on the whole ordeal. This could be the big G’s move to put the pressure on Apple who’s doing incredibly well in the smartphone and tablet market.

There doesn’t seem to be any sign of these patent infringement lawsuits slowing down any time here soon.

Do you believe Motorola Mobility and its claims?

Motorola Mobility Goes After Apple, Claims Patent Infringement is a post from: The Inquisitr

Apple has been going after Samsung and other smartphone manufacturers with one lawsuit after another. This time, they claim the electronics manufacturer is infringing on their ‘slide-to-unlock’ patent.

Now, patent infringement lawsuits are nothing new to the World of smartphones and tablets. Debates and patent cases have been heating up the last several years and the tech giant is one of the companies that’s spearheading the movement.

Steve Jobs once was quoted saying “I will spend my last dying breath if I need to, and I will spend every penny of Apple’s $40 billion in the bank, to right this wrong” in regards to Android and “I’m going to destroy Android, because it’s a stolen product. I’m willing to go thermonuclear war on this.”

It seems that the company may be trying to live up to his words.

Via Apple Insider:

“In Apple’s first suit that directly names Samsung’s Android-based smartphone, the company claims the Galaxy Nexus infringes on the “slide-to-unlock” feature first introduced with the original iPhone in 2007 and subsequently patentedwith the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in October 2011. In 2006 the company also obtained a “utility model” registration for the feature in Germany.”

“FOSS Patent’s Florian Mueller describes a “utility model” as a limited fast-track patent that companies are allowed to file for alongside traditional patents, and Apple has done both for the “slide-to-unlock” in Germany.”

At the end of the day, it’s a good thing that Samsung is selling a lot of product so they can afford all these lawsuits.

Do you think Apple is warranted with all these patent infringement lawsuits?

Apple Suing Samsung Again, This Time Over ‘Slide-To-Unlock’ Feature is a post from: The Inquisitr

Patent disputes are bigger than ever and no company is more outspoken about it than Apple, the World’s largest tech company. Known for their great products as well as great design, the company has been targeting other manufacturers of similar devices for a while now.

Samsung seems to be their biggest target. They even tried blocking Samsung Galaxy sales in the US. Anyways, it seems they’re back at it again, this time filing for patent infringement and wanting a sales ban on 10 different smartphones in Germany.

Via Los Angeles Times:

“Filed in Dusseldorf Regional Court, Apple’s suit — which calls for a ban on the Galaxy S II, Galaxy S Plus and eight other models — isn’t the only front in the ongoing international patent battle between the two firms, reports said Tuesday. Apple also filed a suit against five Samsung tablets “related to a September ruling” that imposes a sales ban on the Galaxy Tab 10.1, according to a Bloomberg report.”

Not a whole lot of details have been released yet as to why, but it’s likely to have something to do with Apple claiming that Samsung is stealing their designs, designs that they have patented.

They recently went after the Galaxy Tab 10.1 because it supposedly “copied the design of the iPad in a way intended to confuse customers”. The tablet is not able to be sold in Germany thanks to that lawsuit.

Going forward, patent infringement lawsuits aren’t going to slow down anytime soon. Apple is intent on going after each and every manufacturer who may be infringing on any of their patents. And with record breaking profits, they’ve got plenty of money to throw at lawyers.

Is Apple justified or is their massive success getting to their head?

Apple Goes After Samsung Yet Again, Wants 10 Smartphones Banned In Germany is a post from: The Inquisitr

Intellectual Ventures filed a patent infringement  lawsuit against Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. (MMI) on Thursday, just ahead of the Google Inc. acquisition of the mobile firm.

The suit filed in Delaware alleges that Motorola Mobility infringed on six patents relating to how files are transferred from computers to “entertainment devices.”

Intellectual Ventures is a “patent farm” that has raised $5 billion with a portfolio of more than 35,000 patents. The company focuses on building ideas but not typically creating products from those ideas.

According to Thursdays court filing Intellectual Ventures has already raised more than $2 billion in licensing fees.

The complaint stipulates that the company approached Motorola Mobility about licensing its inventions in January. In December 2010 Intellectual Ventures filed their first lawsuit against Symantec Copr, Trend Micro Inc and seven other firms.

According to  Intellectual Ventures Chief Litigation Counsel Melissa Finocchio:

“Intellectual Ventures has successfully signed licensing agreements with many of the top handset manufacturers in the world, and has been in discussions with Motorola Mobility for some time.”

“Unfortunately, we have been unable to reach agreement on a license,” Finocchio wrote. “We have a responsibility to our current customers and our investors to defend our intellectual property rights.”

Motorola Mobility and Google spokespeople are not commenting on the lawsuit at this time.

Do you think patent farms are nothing more than the intellectual predators of the technology sector or do they serve an important purpose in terms of innovation through research and development.

Intellectual Ventures Sues Motorola Mobility Over Patent Infringement is a post from: The Inquisitr

At the forefront of the complaints is Apple’s MobileMe and App Store technologies.

More than likely if the complaints are valid we’ll hear a lot of back and forth and then like the Nokia/Qualcomm battles there will be an agreement to swap patent technologies alongside some type of settlement. Given the length of time Motorola has been in the cellular market I’m just surprised it took them so long to file a case against Apple over the technologies they had been working with for far more years.

img credit: SlashGear

Motorola Mobility Suing Apple [Patent Infringement] is a post from: The Inquisitr

If you’re one of those people that picks up on stuff early, you might have used Google Voice way back when it was GrandCentral, before Google bought it up and closed it for two years.

But today is the day that everyone and their brother gets to play with the service, as Google has opened Google Voice to the general public after re-opening as an invite only beta in March of last year. The new for-everyone service is open to US residents only, and it offers one phone number to manage all your other phone numbers. Google Voice also does voicemail transcription, which is hopefully another step on the road to eliminate voicemail altogether.

Google sums up the changes since the beta opened up last year in a post today on their blog:

Over the past year, we’ve introduced a mobile web app, an integrated voicemail player in Gmail, the ability to use Google Voice with your existing number and more. Over a million of you are now actively using Google Voice, and many of the features released over the past year (like SMS to email and our Chrome extension) came as a result of your suggestions, so thanks!

Not everyone is pleased about the advances Google has made in reducing telecommunications-related bills- Frontier Communications is suing the company for patent infringement:

“Google’s deliberate infringement of the patent has greatly and irreparably damaged Frontier,” the plaintiff’s lawyers said in court papers seeking unspecified damages and an injunction to stop the use of the technology.

Although I got an invite sometime last year, I have to admit to not using the service at all yet. Have you integrated Google Voice into your phone call management? Has it changed your life? What are noobs without invites missing?

Google Voice throws open its doors… to the US is a post from: The Inquisitr