Earlier today I saw this article pop up on my news feed.
http://www.cogonews.com/aapl-apple-inc-nasdaqaapl-wins-another-patent-war-against-apple-in-the-uk/125049/#
Apple has won once again. The loser is once again Samsung. However, this trial did not happen in America - instead it took place in the United Kingdom. The Judge gave a verdict that believed that Apple products do not infringe on any patents Owned by Samsung over the ability to receive and send data from devices. This patent ruling was only having to do with 3G networks. A separate trial having to do with Apple stealing 4G related patents is still on going. While Apple is obviously quite happy with the outcome, Samsung is quite anger. This anger stems from a recently ruling in the U.S. ordering Samsung to pay Apple almost 500 Million dollars.
"A spokeswoman for Samsung stated that the company is not satisfied with the court’s decision and that Samsung will review the verdict meticulously and decide whether to file for an appeal. She also said that the company has heavily invested in championing the growth of technological innovations in the mobile industry for years which has been constantly revealed in its products."
Perhaps the reason why Samsung lost was due to the fact that they wanted a whopping "2.5% royalty on all Apple devices enabled with 3G. Im sure that 2.5% royalty would blow the 500 million dollars owed by Samsung out of the water. The royalties would include all previously sold Apple devices as well as future ones.
"Software patents expert Florian Mueller told ZDNet that Apple has now managed to repulse 24 assertions of Standard Essential Patents by Samsung on an international basis. Samsung has been able to fend off only three patents, two of them being in Korea. He also said that Samsung’s claim for 2.4% royalty on Apple’s sales of 3G-capable products appears to be more ridiculous with Apple winning each lawsuit."
While Samsung is surely upset over the ruling, this is good news for the patent world and creativity. The less companies can use patents as an tool for financial gain the better in my opinion.
2.5% of all devices enabled with 3G sounds like it would be an insane number. In this specific case it seems as if Samsung was trying to retaliate against Apple. The ruling was that Apple did not infringe on Samsung making it seem as if Samsung brought this to the courts.
ReplyDeleteSamsung already holds about 30% of market share in regards to mobile sales, so this is good. Less chance for monopoly in regards to them!
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