Country Courts favour their own country...stuff the law

[Admin]

Recently a US court found in favour of Apple that Samsung stole their technology yet in Japan, the court found that they didn't.

 

A US court supported Apple, a US company

 

A Japanese court (independent of both companies) supported Samsung

 

I am hearing the same type of stories in many other instances in different industries that the US courts have in almost all similar situations, have found for the US company and not for a company from a different country.

 

Is the legal system in the US stuffed or what?

 

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APPLE has filed a fresh patent infringement action in the US against Samsung, alleging that the South Korean company is continuing to use its technology despite a recent court ruling.

 

The new claim was filed in San Jose, California, on Friday and it says that Samsung, which last month was fined $US1.05 billion ($A1.02 billion) by an American court for "willfully" infringing Apple's patents, is still using its rival's technology.

 

"Despite that lawsuit, Samsung has continued to flood the market with copycat products," Apple said, adding four of Samsung's most recent releases - including the flagship Galaxy S III smartphone - to an earlier complaint filed in February.

 

"Apple will suffer and is suffering irreparable harm" because of the alleged infringement, said the maker of the iPhone and iPad.

 

The new US claim is the latest chapter in a long-running global patent war between the smartphone giants, which have accused each other of stealing intellectual property for their own products.

 

On August 24, a California jury found the South Korean electronics giant infringed dozens of patents held by Apple.

 

However, a Japanese court on Friday rejected the US tech giant's claim that Samsung stole its technology.

 

Apple had sought damages and sought to block sales of some Samsung products in Japan, where both firms have seen their popularity rise in a market traditionally dominated by domestic powerhouses such as Sharp and Sony.

 

But the claim was rejected and Tokyo District Court's three-judge panel awarded legal costs to Samsung.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Read more:

 

 

 

http://www.news.com.au/business/breaking-news/apple-files-new-us-samsung-patent-action/story-e6frfkur-1226463223745#ixzz25GcW6XkZ

 

 

 

 

 

 

[winsor68]

Is the legal system in the US stuffed or what?

You reckon? Just the legal system? Don't forget 10 years ago you couldn't convince the average man on the street that the Iraq Invasion was a set up... I think people have been made to feel so helpless they can't see what we have done to the world our kids are going to inherit.

 

 

[fly_tornado]

The joke used to be that they voted for George W Bush twice, but now it looks like Mrabbit will get in here, so what does that say about us?

 

 

[damkia]

Google "America's Cup"..............

 

'Nuf said.

 

 

[M61A1]

I recently read this joke on another site:

 

My gold plated buttplug business is being sued by Apple, apparently they have patents on expensive stuff for a**eholes.

 

 

[damkia]

I recently read this joke on another site:My gold plated buttplug business is being sued by Apple, apparently they have patents on expensive stuff for a**eholes.

Until not so long ago, phones were getting smaller, discrete, and less conspicuous.

Apple made them bigger to suit more obnoxious loudmouths.........

 

(Waiting for the fanboi's...)

 

 

[Sloper]

The Law and Justice are two entirely different things.

 

regards Bruce

 

 

[kaz3g]

..."Apple will suffer and is suffering irreparable harm" because of the alleged infringement, said the maker of the iPhone and iPad.

Hasn't stopped it from becoming the wealthiest company in the world this year; bigger than Microsoft!

 

Kaz

 

 

[Allegro2000]

Ian,

 

What has not been mentioned is that Motorola recently sued Apple in Germany for copying some of their patents and won. It seems Apple is quite prepared to copy but does not like being copied. There is a word for this. Also I am very cynical of American justice in this case.

 

Allegro 2000

 

 

[Zibi]

To be honest Samsung did go out its way to make andriod on it's phone look a lot like apple's iOS.

 

But on the other hand there's the issue of some normal people judging on a very technical issue where patents are written in such way that most people would have no idea what they've just read.

 

Then there's an issue where one of the jurors has a patent for a DVR lodged in way after a lot of TiVO devices where on the market.

 

And to finish it off we should consider if things that Apple was accusing Samsung of should even be patentable.

 

 

[eightyknots]

I still think that when it gets to patent disputes about colour and shape things are getting to the ridiculous level. Apple claims a patent infringement to the 'rounded square' icons, as well as the shape and colour of the black and the white eye-phone. When Samsung brought out an Android phone of similar colour (ie, a white and a black phone) and shape (rectangular with rounded corners), Apple jumped on Samsung from a great height. See: http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-versus-samsung-2012-8?op=1

 

 

[fly_tornado]

For me its impossible to see how breaching those patents could have caused $1B of damages.

 

 

[Zibi]

I still think that when it gets to patent disputes about colour and shape things are getting to the ridiculous level. Apple claims a patent infringement to the 'rounded square' icons, as well as the shape and colour of the black and the white eye-phone. When Samsung brought out an Android phone of similar colour (ie, a white and a black phone) and shape (rectangular with rounded corners), Apple jumped on Samsung from a great height. See: http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-versus-samsung-2012-8?op=1

It was a bit more than just rounded rectangles and I blame the press for jumping on that small issue. It would be the same as saying that Audi or the Olympic Committee is banning the use of overlapping circles.

 

But try arranging either 4 of them in the line or 3 in one line and 2 below them and now you get the respective logos, which will be rightfully protected.

 

And as I've said Samsung did go to big lengths to make itself look like iPhone. From removing the standard android buttons (back, menu, search) and just leaving one big central button, just like the iPhone, to making it's icons look a bit too similar to apple's ones.

 

I'm the last to defend Apple on its baseless court cases, and I even don't like their company and policies (sort of like the old Ford - you can have any colour as long as it's black, same with Apple devices) as I like to change some things about my computer and related devices. I can also understand their reasoning for it, as it makes it easier for everyone, hell I did go the same way with picking my trike - went with a factory built all standard accessories rather than trying to pick my own radios, headsets, etc.

 

For me its impossible to see how breaching those patents could have caused $1B of damages.

Considering:

 

Between 2007 and the second quarter of 2012, Apple sold 85 million iPhones in the US, producing $50 billion in revenue. It also sold 46 million units of the iPod Touch, making the company $10.3 billion. And since the iPad launched in 2010, it's sold 34 million of the blighters, generation $19 billion in revenue.

Samsung, meanwhile, has also had a good couple of years. Between June 2010 and June 2012 (the period at question in the court case), Samsung sold 21.25 million phones, making it $7.5 billion in revenue. In the same period, it sold 1.4 million Galaxy Tab devices, producing $644 million.

http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/sales-numbers-revealed-in-apple-vs-samsung-trial-1091749

$1B doesn't seem like all that much...

 

But I still think this verdict will be successfully appealed.

 

 

[damkia]

I still think that when it gets to patent disputes about colour and shape things are getting to the ridiculous level. Apple claims a patent infringement to the 'rounded square' icons, as well as the shape and colour of the black and the white eye-phone. When Samsung brought out an Android phone of similar colour (ie, a white and a black phone) and shape (rectangular with rounded corners), Apple jumped on Samsung from a great height. See: http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-versus-samsung-2012-8?op=1

Microsoft gets away with it by having square "tiles" in W8

All Samsung/Android would need to do would be to change the shape of their icons to octagons or such.

 

Nokia have reshaped their phones to all square edges. Could we have neon colours to make our phones more noticeable and less likely to get lost/left on table/misplaced in dark/etc? ("look and feel" claims disappear)

 

Gestures - instead of the "swipe" to change pages, why not a "twist" (thumb up, forefinger down) as if you were gripping the page rather than flicking it?

 

So many directions Samsung/Android COULD go....all of them taking market leadership in the process.

 

 

[fly_tornado]

The irony is that America will end up with crippled phones and Samsung/Motorola/Asus will sell the good stuff to countries which don't support Apple's frivolous legal claims, China comes to mind.

 

 

[cscotthendry]

Is the legal system in the US stuffed or what?

Nope, the legal system in the US is exactly what the corporations lobbied the Bush junior administration for it to be - Pro corporate and where it matters pro US corporate. The Citizens United case says it all about the US Supreme court. The US government is now wholly owned by Big Business.

Poor fella my country...

 

 

[eightyknots]

Nope, the legal system in the US is exactly what the corporations lobbied the Bush junior administration for it to be - Pro corporate and where it matters pro US corporate. The Citizens United case says it all about the US Supreme court. The US government is now wholly owned by Big Business.Poor fella my country...

Just looking at Presidential (re)election budgets says it all. Despite the dream that any American-born person can aspire to the Presidency, it's only possible if you're good friends with the Big Money end of town.

 

 

[fly_tornado]

Not like Australia, with our pro-tax mining companies and unions.

 

 

[cscotthendry]

Not like Australia, with our pro-tax mining companies and unions.

We're heading down the same path. The mining companies here have managed to remove both an elected PM and a leader of the opposition with very well funded propaganda campaigns ably assisted by the Murdochracy. People have been brainwashed to say that Gillard knifed Rudd in the back, but she was just the "next most likely" standing in the queue. If the mining companies hadn't mounted their campaign, Gillard would still just be another female face on the benches behind PM Rudd. In the end, Big Business dictated governmental policy and that was to have the RSPT and the CPRS scrapped.

 

 

[Ultralights]

just remember, not many, if any countries have a Justice system..... as a barrister once told me in Oz, we have a "Legal" system, designed by the Legal system, for the legal system... no one else. we do not have a Justice system, never have. (just think about who is the actual winner in almost every court case? and why they advise appeal appeal appeal.)

 

 

[turboplanner]

Take it easy guys, the sky is blue, the sun's shining, it's Spring, you can own your own land, even go flying, and no one's going to come in with a machine gun tonight and run off with your crop or throw you out in the street.

 

 

[Admin]

even go flying

Ummmmm...sorry what was that TP

 

 

[David Isaac]

just remember, not many, if any countries have a Justice system..... as a barrister once told me in Oz, we have a "Legal" system, designed by the Legal system, for the legal system... no one else. we do not have a Justice system, never have. (just think about who is the actual winner in almost every court case? and why they advise appeal appeal appeal.)

As one who has been on the receiving end of this Australian legal system I have concluded that "Justice is only available to those who can afford it ..."

 

 

[turboplanner]

Ummmmm...sorry what was that TP

Well yes, I screwed up there.......FOR THE MOMENT!

 

 

[Gentreau]

Interesting analysis of the case here:

 

http://www.themusicvoid.com/2012/08/consumers-are-the-real-losers-in-apple-vs-samsung-verdict