U.S. District Judge Robert Scola believes Apple and Google-owned Motorola are more interested in using litigation as a business strategy than they are in resolving patent disputes. Both companies accused each other of infringing patents related to wireless technologies back in 2010, and today the case is still on going.
“The parties have no interest in efficiently and expeditiously resolving this dispute; they instead are using this and similar litigation worldwide as a business strategy that appears to have no end,” said Judge Scola in an order dated yesterday. “That is not a proper use of this court.”
Samsung EVP David Eun, who is currently part of the company’s Open Innovation Center, believes the ongoing litigation between Apple and Samsung is “a loss” to innovation. Eun was probed for his opinion on the subject during an interview today at the D:Dive Into Media conference in Dana Point, California, and although he wouldn’t say much about the ongoing battles between the two consumer tech giants, he made it clear that he didn’t approve of it.
In a surprise turn of events, Apple and HTC have decided to end all ongoing patent disputes in favor of a 10-year licensing agreement. This is the exact kind of resolution courts around the globe have been hoping for from Apple and in fact, have begged for from Apple and Samsung. While there appears to be no such truce in store for Samsung and Apple, this latest bit of news at least shows hope of Apple scaling back on its patent crusade.
We’ve just gotten word that the jury in the Apple vs. Samsung case has reached a verdict. We’re all on the edge of our seats, waiting to hear what they have to say. As soon we hear the verdict, we’ll let you know.
[Update] The jury has basically ruled in favor of Apple. They’re running through all the patents, but it’s safe to say Samsung lost. There you go folks, who’s ready for the sequel?
I’m sure a lot of jurors are happy to finally be rid of what Judge William Alsup deemed “the longest trial, civil trial, I’ve ever been in.” Today, the jury reached a decision, exonerating Google by finding Android did not infringe on any of Oracle’s patents. This is great news for Google, Android, and the Java community in general. So you can all take a brief breather as Oracle will no doubt start the appeals and waste more money on high priced lawyers.
Tim Cook and Choi Gee-sung sat down for nine hours on Monday and seven hours yesterday in an attempt to come to some sort of solution to the litigation mess between Apple and Samsung. Many were hopeful after Tim Cook admitted he’s not a fan of litigation and prefers to “settle versus battle.” Things showed even more promise after Samsung mentioned the possibility of cross-licensing, but after two days and 16 hours, they still couldn’t come to any “clear agreement.”
Patent Armageddon is set to take place in less than a month thanks to dates set by Magistrate Judge Joseph C. Spero. The settlement talks were originally ordered by Judge Lucy Koh of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, in hopes that Samsung and Apple’s CEOs and their chief lawyers could reach an agreement to end the 50+ lawsuits filed by the two.
Apple, Google, Intel and four other tech giants failed to convince a judge to dismiss an antitrust suit brought against them. The suit alleges that the companies conspired against hiring each other’s employees and District Judge Lucy Koh in her decision said:
“The fact that all six identical bilateral agreements were reached in secrecy among seven defendants in a span of two years suggests that these agreements resulted from collusion, and not from coincidence,”
While Apple, Google, and Intel are the three largest firms in the suit, other major companies, including Adobe, Lucasfilm, Pixar and Intuit are included.
I can’t say I’m surprised to see someone in the mobile industry getting sued; I can say I’m surprised it has nothing to do with Apple. Hasbro has decided to sue ASUS for allegedly violating its trademarks with the Transformer Prime moniker. Even though the ASUS Transformer Prime has absolutely nothing to do with the cartoon character bearing the name Optimus (where was Hasbro regarding the LG Optimus), Hasbro has decided it would like to join the sue happy club of the month and test their luck. While I don’t see Hasbro succeeding in their lawsuit, here’s what they had to say about ASUS and the Transformer Prime tablet:
![Jury Ready To Deliver Its Verdict In Apple vs. Samsung Case [Update]](http://cdn.cultofandroid.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/jury.jpg "jury")
