lawsuit - 8/11 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Sep

[Update: AT&T Responds] Sprint Files Suit To Block AT&T And T-Mobile Merger

Posted by Cameron Summerson in AT&T, News, Sprint, T-Mobile

Last week, the US Department of Justice filed an antitrust complaint against the proposed AT&T/T-Mobile deal. Naturally, Sprint was quite pleased by this, as it has been fighting this deal tooth-and-nail since its initial announcement. Now, The Now Network has filed its own suit to block the deal.

Sprint's lawsuit is focused on how this merger would affect both competition and the consumer market, citing that it would:

Harm retail consumers and corporate customers by causing higher prices and less innovation.

Entrench the duopoly control of AT&T and Verizon, the two "Ma Bell" descendants, of the almost one-quarter of a trillion dollar wireless market.

Sep

Irony Alert: Apple Says Samsung And Motorola Are "Anticompetitive" Because Of Their Patents

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Editorials, News, Off-Topic

Apple has a long history of being ironic, and not in the positive sense of the word. Their latest bout of ironic shenanigans: accusing Samsung and Motorola of being "anticompetitive." Frankly, this is such an outrageous accusation that I just don't know where to start with it.

First off, a little history: as Daily Tech points out, Steve Jobs famously said "We have always been shameless about stealing great ideas." What changed? Well... I don't like to get into the politics of Android vs. Apple, as I think Apple truly makes some great products, and have occasionally recommended them over alternate products.

Aug

HTC Sues Apple For, You Guessed It, Patent Infringement

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, News

After Apple decided to sue HTC last month in Delaware for patent infringement, it seems the handset maker is preparing to put on a little bit of high-profile litigation of its own.

This morning, HTC filed a claim in the U.S. District Court in Delaware alleging three counts of patent infringement against Apple, seeking all the typical damages bells and whistles that makes it sound like the world as we know it is at stake. The lawsuit is a typical response in high-tech IP infringement cases, where both parties "posture" and square off to see who has the more robust patent portfolio.

Aug

Injunction Banning Sale Of Galaxy Tab 10.1 In EU Temporarily Lifted Due To Jurisdiction Concerns

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, Galaxy Tab 10.1, News, Samsung

This morning, as part of the ongoing Samsung v Apple patent litigation, the German court responsible for imposing a ban on Galaxy Tab 10.1 sales in the EU has backpedaled, temporarily lifting the injunction enjoining Samsung from distributing its flagship tablet in the European Union.

Why? It appears the German court decided that it may lack the authority to enjoin Samsung's Korean parent corporation under the EU's regulations regarding international jurisdiction. Long story short, Samsung Korea can sell all the Tab 10.1's in Europe that it wants, for now, except in Germany. Samsung Germany, however, cannot sell anywhere in the EU (this part of the injunction remains enforced).

Aug

Apple Is Now Going After Motorola Over XOOM Design

Posted by Cameron Summerson in News, XOOM

Yesterday a German court sided with Apple against Samsung, disallowing the sale of Galaxy Tab 10.1 units in the European Union. Buried deep within this filing is mention of yet another complaint -- but this one is against Motorola, allegedly over the design of the XOOM.

This has been a back-and-forth battle between the two companies for sometime now, with Moto originally going after Apple for violating 18 patents in iOS and some Macs back in October of 2010. Apple quickly fired back, accusing Moto of violating six of its patents in the Droid, Droid 2, Droid X, and other smartphones.

Aug

Germany Halts Distribution Of Galaxy Tab 10.1 In Europe (Except Netherlands) In Apple Patent Lawsuit Injunction

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, News, Samsung

In a decision with potentially far-reaching consequences, a German court handed down a preliminary injunction halting all distribution of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the European Union today, after a motion was filed by Apple for just such an order.

The suit in question is over nine patents, most of which relate to broad smartphone functions and concepts. The patents are so broad that Apple sued Nokia over them (yes, the exact same nine patents) last year in the same German court, and that suit ended in a settlement widely presumed to be a victory for Apple.

I don't know all that much about German intellectual property law, or the German standard for issuing preliminary injunctions, but I can tell you one thing: this would almost certainly never happen in a U.S.

Aug

Editorial: Google Needs To Stop Playing The Victim, Even If The Patent System Is Broken

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, Editorials, News

When Google's General Counsel, David Drummond, posted the first real public response by the search giant to the intellectual property war being waged on Android, the techblogosphere just about peed their collective pants in excitement. Everyone loves a good flame war, it's true. Google called out Microsoft, Apple, and Oracle - by name - publicly. It doesn't get much better than that.

Unfortunately, this probably isn't going to help Google's ongoing battles with those companies, and it's not going to help the company's public image, either. Google isn't a tech startup anymore, they're a multinational corporation. And we need to start looking at them that way, especially when it comes to lawsuits.

Jul

Lodsys Sues Rovio For Patent Infringement Over Angry Birds For Android - We Break Out The Popcorn

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, Apps/Games, News

Well, it seems Lodsys has gotten a lot more gravitas in the last few months due to the success of its patent-trolling efforts. The company's legal reps have amended a complaint filed in the Eastern District of Texas (also known as the "rocket docket" district for the speediness and plaintiff-friendliness of its trials), and it's a doozy.

From Lodsys's Complaint

Lodsys has sued Rovio over Angry Birds for Android (and iPhone), along with Electronic Arts (EA), Atari, Square Enix, and Take-Two Interactive - and many others (37 total, in fact). The latter publishers were all sued for iPhone games.

This, in our book, says little for Lodsys's credibility.

Jul

Why Apple's Patent Victories Over HTC Aren't All That Important Or Scary

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, Editorials, HTC

Android's latest indirect legal tussle to come to a head, a patent suit between HTC and Apple, was ruled on last week by the US ITC (Court of International Trade) - finding the Taiwanese manufacture liable for two counts of patent infringement. This news has spread like wildfire through every corner of the tech blog world. But is there really anything that's changed right now (or even in the near future) because of the outcome of this suit? Not really, no. Even the long-term, worst-case-scenario implications aren't exactly terrifying - and here's why.

Appeals Process

As many sites have pointed out, HTC has vowed to appeal the ruling of the ITC.

Jul

Apple To GetJar: "Stop Using 'App Store' Or We'll Sue You" GetJar: "No."

Posted by David Ruddock in Apps/Games, News

Apple's at it again, this time back on its "We own the words 'App Store'" reign of terror. While a judge denied Apple's request to bar Amazon from using "Appstore" in a preliminary injunction before the issue is decided at trial, that isn't stopping the world's most infamously litigious tech giant from going after everyone and their brother using the words.

And until the Amazon trial is settled or decided (it's on the docket - for October 2012), Apple is free to go about threatening and pursuing more legal action, even though its trademark on the words "App Store" remains actively contested (by Microsoft) in its bid for certification at the USPTO.