In a patent case filed by Samsung against Apple, it seems Apple has been pushed to a tight corner. Samsung has pointed out a number of patent violations by Apple. If Apple loses this case, it can be a major setback for the company.
The case was filed after Samsung got access to iPhone 4S source code in Australia and was able to spot a few patents violations within the code. Samsung has been hit hard by Apple after Apple got Galaxy Tab banned in Germany and Australia. So when Samsung searched the source code, it was quick to file a patent violation case against Apple.
In the most recent hearing of the case, it seems like Apple is running out of arguments. The judge has put down most of the defence presented by Apple. This included an attempt at changing the definitions of Samsung patents. The judge refused to accept this argument as valid. Apple also resorted to claiming that the patents in questions are simply standards that can be used without the risk of patent violation. Again, the judge didn’t side with Apple on the argument and replied that a license of abuse must be obtained before such a claim is made.
Apple and Samsung have done business for years in the past. No such cases were filed by Samsung against Apple all those years. Apple tried to use this to justify it’s actions in the court. However the judge seemed reluctant to accept this defense.
Samsung is particularly high-strung about this because Apple has inflicted a huge damage to the Galaxy Tab business. So Samsung is really counting on this case to affect iPhone 4S sales or at least make Apple pay a huge sum for the claimed patent violation.
Image courtesy renatomitra and Erik Hornfeldt.
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