Legal Archive

"The new chief executive of MediaNews Group, publisher of the Denver Post and 50 other newspapers, said it was 'a dumb idea' for the nation's second-largest newspaper chain to sign up with copyright troll Righthaven. The Denver-based publisher's year-long copyright infringement litigation deal with Righthaven is terminating at month's end."

Microsoft has announced today that it has reached patent licensing agreements with Acer and ViewSonic that cover Android smart phones and tablets. These companies join HTC in paying Microsoft for each deployed Android device. Microsoft's strategic approach to Android is very different from Apple's. Where Apple is attempting to stop or otherwise delay the deployment of Android devices Microsoft is lining their coffers with royalties paid by OEMs for the privilege of shipping them. It's a strategy that is already generating more profit for Microsoft the its less then successful Windows Phone platform and could contribute dramatically to Microsofts bottom line going forward.

"Secret U.S. government cables show a stunning willingness by senior Canadian officials to appease American demands (more here) for a U.S.-style copyright law here. The documents describe Canadian officials as encouraging American lobbying efforts. They also cite cabinet minister Maxime Bernier raising the possibility of showing U.S. officials a draft bill before tabling it in Parliament. The cables, from the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa, even have a policy director for then industry minister Tony Clement suggesting it might help U.S. demands for a tough copyright law if Canada were placed among the worst offenders on an international piracy watch list. Days later, the U.S. placed Canada alongside China and Russia on the list." Unbelievable. Suddenly I understand why the SFPD had no qualms about acting as henchmen for Apple goons to violate someone's constitutional rights. If a government is messed up, it only makes sense this is reflected in the corporate policies of its prime corporations.

"In a scene straight out of Bizarro World, Apple's lawyers are crying foul about Samsung and recent Google acquisitions Motorola's allegedly 'anticompetitive' use of patents. Yes, this is the same Apple that has initiated a patent war with these smartphone rivals. And it's the same rival that has tried to remove competing products from the market, rather than agree to negotiate a licensing fee. And it's the same company that patented multi-touch gestures 26 years after they were invented at a research university. And it's the same company that allegedly doctored evidence in European courts to support its lawsuits against Android. Yet in Apple's rose-colored glasses it is Samsung and Motorola who are bullies. Apparently Apple is irate about these companies' countersuits, which rely largely on patents covering wireless communications."

The hearing regarding the preliminary injunction in the German Apple v. Samsung case is currently under way. Biggest revelation so far? Samsung is accusing Apple of 27 (!) cases of altering pictures, all done to make Samsung's products appear more similar to Apple's than they really are. Like last time, Andreas Udo de Haes, editor at WebWereld.nl, present in the court room, is covering this. Update: It's on. Update II: Apple claims official picture of Galaxy Tab is rigged. Update III: Lolwut Apple? Update IV: Neelie Kroes is on the edge of her seat. Update V: The judge has upheld the German preliminary injunction. Final ruling on September 9.

Breaking news from my swamp home country The Netherlands: the Dutch court has just banned the sales of all Galaxy S, SII and Ace smartphones in the entire European Union. The judge has ruled that Android 2.x violates Apple's 868 patent which covers scrolling through photos on a touchscreen. Only this one patent is violated - the complaints about two other patents as well as the design patents has been thrown out. In other words, the judge did not agree with Apple that Samsung is copying Apple's design. The injunction only covers the Galaxy smartphones, since they run Android 2.x; Android 3.0 does not violate the patent in question, and hence, sales of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 can continue. In fact, only the Gallery application violates the patent in question, and Samsung has already stated it is going to replace this application on all new Galaxy smartphones from now on - sales won't even be interrupted. In other words - two patents thrown out, design stuff rejected, and only one patent complaint upheld which will cause no harm to Samsung. Apple just scored a meaningless victory. The Dutch court order is here. The pictures speak thousands of words.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit just rejected a patent essentially on the basis that the method used was mathematics. Hooray, they finally almost understood this point, but then they blotted their copybook by seeming to say that it would be OK to patent if the mathematics is hard. Oh dear. Well, baby steps I suppose.

After revealing that Apple tampered with evidence in the German case against the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, WebWereld.nl has now revealed that Apple has also tampered with the evidence in the Dutch court case (coverage in English). Apple has manipulated the image of a Samsung Galaxy S in a side-by-side comparison with the iPhone 3GS. The Galaxy S has been shortened and made narrower so that its dimensions match those of the 3GS. This piece of evidence is the only side-by-side comparison of these two devices, and is part of the summons, which, according to a Dutch lawyer, means that Apple considers it to be of special significance. Just goes to show, once more, how far Apple is willing to go to stifle competition through the legal system - lying, cheating, manipulating. What a classy, premium company, that Apple!

So, the shadiness factor of the German EU-wide injunction against the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 seems to continue. Not only has Apple been caught supplying the court with tampered evidence, it now seems the court in Duesseldorf didn't have the authority to ban the Galaxy Tab EU-wide - at least, according to a German court which has just lifted the EU-wide ban on the Galaxy Tab 10.1.

Dutch news website WebWereld.nl investigated the claim that Apple supplied the German court with tampered evidence, and their research is pretty self-explanatory. I don't have the time to translate the article for you, but the images speak about ten thousands words; Apple has changed the aspect ratio of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in a side-by-side comparison (while also showing Android's application drawer open instead of showing the home screen, but the article doesn't mention that). Come on, Apple. Update: As Gusar notes, Apple also Photoshopped the Samsung logo off the bezel. Real classy, Apple.

Earlier this week, we were introduced to a new concept in intellectual property law: the European 'Community Design'. The Community Design is a sort of trademark on design, and sits halfway between a trademark and a patent. I decided to investigate what, exactly, the laws and regulations around Community Designs are, and what I found was shocking. Think the USPTO is bad? Wait until you learn about the Community Design.

"'Terrified' by Amazon's Kindle e-reader and discounted e-book pricing, five major publishers allegedly acted together to increase e-book prices and compel Amazon to abandon its discount sales strategy. That's the gist of a new class action antitrust lawsuit filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California by the Hagens Berman litigation group. The five book sellers named in the suit are HarperCollins, Hachette Book Group, Macmillan, Penguin Group Inc., and Simon & Schuster Inc, plus one more defendant: Apple. 'Fortunately for the publishers, they had a co-conspirator as terrified as they were over Amazon's popularity and pricing structure, and that was Apple,' charges Hagen Berman attorney Steve Berman. 'We intend to prove that Apple needed a way to neutralize Amazon's Kindle before its popularity could challenge the upcoming introduction of the iPad, a device Apple intended to compete as an e-reader.'" I'm starting to see a pattern here.

Okay, I didn't see this one coming. German press agency dpa is reporting that Apple has been granted a preliminary injunction barring Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 from being distributed in the entire European Union except for The Netherlands, over a design patent. Competition at its finest, people, and this is clearly in the interest of consumers. I'm ashamed to be European. Updates in the article now. This iterative update process isn't really working when you've got a gazillion of them.

Now that these kind of issues are starting to be mentioned by The Economist, NPR, The Guardian, and Forbes, are we at last at the point where the myth that patents universally encourage innovation finally being dispelled?