Patents Articles on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog

Apple shows interest in European patent laws

by Mike Schramm (Feb 9th, 2012)

Apple has delivered a letter to the European Telecommunications Standards Institute asking for basic principles for that region of the world on patents and their licensing, according to the Wall Street Journal. The letter asks for consistency across the board in how patents are owned and shared, ...

Apple resumes sales of 3G iPhones and iPads in Germany

by Kelly Hodgkins (Feb 3rd, 2012)

Earlier today, Apple was forced to remove the iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 (not the iPhone 4S), and all 3G iPads from its online store in Germany. This injunction was short-lived as Apple appealed and the German court suspended the ban. The company told Slashgear, "Apple appealed this ruling ...

Apple ban on original Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 stands in Germany

by Steven Sande (Jan 31st, 2012)

Apple achieved a quasi-victory today in the ongoing intellectual property battles with Samsung when an appeals court in Dusseldorf, Germany upheld Apple's requested preliminary ban on the Galaxy Tab 10.1. The court's decision also covers the Galaxy Tab 8.9, but not the Galaxy Tab 10.1N -- the ...

Kodak sues HTC, Apple

by Kelly Hodgkins (Jan 11th, 2012)

In a desperate bid to keep itself afloat, Kodak has filed another lawsuit against HTC and Apple. The struggling company is now claiming that Apple and HTC infringe on four patents related to the transfer of digital images. A previous lawsuit against Apple focuses on technology for previewing ...

HTC completes workaround to get past Apple's patent ban

by Kelly Hodgkins (Dec 21st, 2011)

HTC said it was pleased with a recent patent infringement ruling from the ITC, because it involves a simple UI element that was easy to fix. It appears the company was not exaggerating as the workaround is already completed. HTC infringed patent (#5,946,647) which describes a "system and ...

Apple patents using apps during phone calls

by Steven Sande (Dec 21st, 2011)

Apple is getting a lot of early Christmas presents this year in the form of good news on the patent front. Earlier this week Apple won a patent battle against HTC -- however, it appears that HTC has already made changes to the phones in question to get them out of a ban on sales in the US. Now ...

Samsung battles Apple in Australia/NZ phone market as patent fight expands

by Steven Sande (Dec 20th, 2011)

There's rarely a day anymore that TUAW doesn't report on the status of one or more patent infringement lawsuits. The latest from the battle between Apple and Samsung is that the Cupertino company has now issued a notice of infringement to Samsung in Australia, noting that Samsung's case design ...

Apple could face huge potential loss if Motorola wins in German court

by Mike Schramm (Nov 18th, 2011)

So far, Apple has been faring pretty well on the various patent disputes it's currently fighting against Samsung and other companies, but Apple's own lawyers agree that stakes are higher than usual in a German case that Motorola has filed against the company. If a German court upholds the order ...

Australian iPhone 4S injunction hearing set for March

by Kelly Hodgkins (Nov 15th, 2011)

Last month, Samsung filed for an injunction that would ban the sale of the iPhone 4S in Australia. Samsung filed this injunction based on three patents it holds for WCDMA and HSPA connectivity. Rather than push for an immediate temporary injunction that would affect the holiday quarter, Samsung ...

Apple lawyer says it owns a "thicket of patents"

by Mike Schramm (Oct 17th, 2011)

A 65-page document recently filed in Australia by Apple in the Samsung patent case says that not only does Apple own "a thicket of patents" (which I'll guess just means "a whole lot"), but that Apple is willing to license some of its patents, while still keeping others for itself. According ...

Samsung seeks iPhone 4S sales ban in Japan, Australia

by Kelly Hodgkins (Oct 17th, 2011)

After facing setbacks in Germany and Australia, Samsung is striking back at Apple by filing an injunction request for the iPhone 4S, the iPhone 4 and the iPad in Japan. Samsung filed the injunction based on one patent the company holds for HSPA connectivity and three it holds for UI design. ...

Samsung accuses Apple of 'free riding' its patent technologies

by Mike Schramm (Sep 23rd, 2011)

Samsung's head of global marketing has spoken with the AP recently, and says that he believes Apple is "free-riding" on the company's patents, building phones and touch devices that apparently are unduly influenced by Samsung's inventions. No more Mr. Nice Guy, though -- Lee Younghee, also a ...

Apple gains 40 new patents in China

by Michael Grothaus (Sep 21st, 2011)

Retuers is reporting that Apple has been granted 40 patents in China. The patents were awarded on September 9th and cover 37 of its products including the iPad, iPhone, and MacBook Air. Some of the patents also cover the architecture of its three Shanghai stores. Most of the patents relate to ...

LVL Patent Group sues Apple and others over cell phone technology patents

by Mike Schramm (Sep 19th, 2011)

Apple is the target of yet another patent lawsuit, this time filed by a company named LVL Patent Group, who claims that Apple and other cellphone companies are violating up to four generic patents they have the rights to. The patents revolve around transferring data and using various devices ...

Apple's patent win over HTC will be reviewed by U.S. Trade Agency

by Kelly Hodgkins (Sep 16th, 2011)

According to a report from Bloomberg, the ITC will re-examine an earlier decision that HTC infringed on two Apple patents. The six member commission has the power to either overturn or confirm the original decision. If it's upheld, this could lead to a ban on the sales of HTC's Android devices ...