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Samsung Plans To Block the iPhone 5 In Korea

Posted by Soulskill on from the divvying-up-the-world's-markets dept.

c0lo writes "In apparent retaliation to its U.S. rival's continual patent challenges in global markets, Samsung Electronics is seeking a complete ban on the sales of the upcoming Apple iPhone 5 in Korea. This is one of Samsung's several recently-opened fronts in the patent world wars: Apple was sued in France on 3 technical patents and counter-sued in Australia over 7 technical patents (after an Apple 'offensive' temporarily blocked Galaxy Tab for the Australian market)."

9 of 178 comments (clear)

  1. Landlines coming by neonv · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Soon all cell phones will be banned because of their dangerous IP infringement, and the landline will return as the obviously superior technology

    1. Re:Landlines coming by nman64 · · Score: 3, Funny

      Next:

      "They have phones in booths now? Finally! Now I don't have to lug this cell phone around!"

  2. How to innovate in a Mexican patent standoff? by elrous0 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    You know, I remember as a kid learning about the great inventions and inventors and thinking how cool it would be to come up with the next great idea. Now when I think about coming up with the next great idea, all I can picture is how I would even *begin* to deal with all the patent lawsuits that would inevitably follow.

    Maybe there is someone out there who has the grain of insight in his mind that could lead to a radical advance in propulsion that could make a manned mission to Mars practical. But if the first thing that some venture capitalist tells him is "We'd love to fund this, but there is no way we can afford to defend you in the onslaught of patent lawsuits" how is it ever going to materialize? Patent trolls and patent collectors make it harder and harder for anything that isn't mainstream and almost immediately marketable from ever making it past the concept phase.

    --
    SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
    1. Re:How to innovate in a Mexican patent standoff? by Nethemas+the+Great · · Score: 4, Funny

      Don't worry, the US has recently passed a patent reform bill. All is solved.

      --
      Two of my imaginary friends reproduced once ... with negative results.
    2. Re:How to innovate in a Mexican patent standoff? by bonch · · Score: 3, Insightful

      If I only got my news from Slashdot every day, I'd probably have an alarmist worldview too, yet in spite of your dire hypotheticals, the world's technology is totally amazing right now and better than ever.

      Slashdot posts so many patent stories because it generates pageviews. Always gotta have something for people to raise their fists over.

  3. Capitalism is becoming a judged sport by timeOday · · Score: 5, Insightful
    There are sports like running where the rules are simple and determining the winner is simple, perhaps even automated. Then there are judged sports like gymnastics and ice skating where winning boils down to subjectivity.

    The world economy is increasingly based on intellectual property, which is not governed by the physical laws of production capacity and unit cost. Instead intellectual property is government by subjective judgements about who deserves how much of the credit. These judgements are formalized in patent and copyright law, but they still come down to interpretation and value judgement. There is no firm ground to stand on.

  4. Don't hate the player, hate the game by xRelisH · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Seriously, people are quick to jump on companies that are doing the suing, but the problem at heart is that there needs to be some serious patent reform. Until then, companies will sue for whatever ridiculous reason there might be if it leads to happier shareholders.

  5. Re:Apple should be worried by rtb61 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The implication is when your product and your profit mark up are no longer competitive, companies often seek other legal manipulations, political corruption and, deceitful mass media to keep other products out and of course to continue to artificially inflate their profit margins.

    So the big question is who will be the winner in the consumer eyes, who will be seen as the manipulative, conniving, greedy, anti-customer, corporation holding the end user hostage to the greed of corporate executives out of control.

    Even if they break even, Apple loses badly, as the fashion conscious technology unconscious product any tarnishing of their marketing image will cost them hugely.

    --
    Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
  6. Re:Popcorn by Synerg1y · · Score: 3, Informative

    Currently the patent wars look like this...

    http://freshdigital.info/computer/patent-wars-diagram-who-is-actually-suing-who/
    http://www.onlinemarketing-trends.com/2011/08/state-of-techology-patent-warswinners.html

    Global map coming soon, then Armageddon.