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DoJ Investigating Samsung For Patent Abuse
sl4shd0rk writes "Good news for Apple, bad news for Samsung. Yesterday, Apple filed legal papers with the International Trade Commission citing a Department of Justice investigation into whether Samsung is misusing its 'Standards essential' patents in ways which violate antitrust law. Apple claims Samsung has violated commitments to license its essential patents to competitors on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms. Or, more specifically, Samsung is 'using certain patents as a basis for improper legal actions that seek to block the sale of competitors' products.' The article says Google (because of its recent acquisition, Motorola Mobility) is under the same scrutiny."
Nothing like the pot calling the kettle black!
Film at 11
Samsung is 'using certain patents as a basis for improper legal actions that seek to block the sale of competitors' products.'
Can Apple sue Samsung for using Apples business plan?
Seriously? you mean thin tablets with rounded corners, is any less worse of an abuse than what samsung has done?
Yes their patents may not be under FRAND but it looks like they *should* be.
Apple's Licensing Offer To Samsung Raises Questions About FRAND Rates and What's Behind the Attacks on Google
This is almost comedy - apple is going to try to claim what samsung proved *apple* did in the lawsuit against samsung which it has now basically lost? Talk about trying for a third attempt to stop your competition through abusing the legal system. Outlined here: http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20121022054044954
summary is that Apple:
sued samsung, claiming samsung abused patents ("charging too much!") while simultaneously abusing patents and encouraging people to use windows phones (hello antitrust!) and anyone other than google. This should set the DOJ off onto investigating *apple/ms/oracle*.
Not only is that hilariously pot -> kettle, but also it doesn't mean the DOJ is investigating anything.
Apple is the one company I absolutely despise most. I think I'm going to put some krylon tape on the breather hole of my 1tb seagate hard drive and make them replace it for free under applecare.
That'll teach em!
Put the CEO of Apple and the CEO of Samsung in a room (rounded corners optional). The last one alive is the winner of EVERYTHING.
I had thought that the purpose of the patent system was to promote actual technological advances that become standards, such as A/C current or the Transistor.
Little did I know it was actually there for vague UI designs.
According to the ITC judge reviewing Apple's complaints about Samsung's standards essential patents, Apple didn't avail themselves to any of the existing remedies when they felt Samsung wasn't offering them a fair licensing deal. They essentially said "You're asking for too much, so we're not paying anything."
If Apple really felt the prices were too high, there are processes in place to force Samsung to the negotiating table. They didn't use any of them. There's no evidence they even made a counter-offer.
Seems more like Apple just doesn't care about other people's patents than Samsung is offering an unfair deal.
Maxim: People cannot follow directions.
Increases in truth directly with the length of time spent explaining them
Yea its Apple its alright for them to file for product bans but its not alright for anyone to file for bans of its products. Apple has some sad ass double standards.
Oh but it's completely different.
Apple wants the product banned because it has rounded corners and lets you search for stuff.
Samsung wants the product banned because it uses an international communication standard that cannot be implemented without a technology that Samsung invented.
I mean, c'mon, can't you see how much better Apple's case is? ;)
Maxim: People cannot follow directions.
Increases in truth directly with the length of time spent explaining them
Don't be so quick to rush to Samsung's defense here. We've already seen this standards patent bait-and-switch before.
I believe it's called "Pulling a Rambus"
Then surely they've missed their chance? They had the opportunity, didn't take it, tough luck.
"Wait. Something's happening. It's opening up! My God, it's full of apricots!"
Why doesn't the government just investigate patent abuse in general? The patent system is long overdue for an overhaul.
How about the Apple patents.
Anyway...
Fuck Crapple!
Kill Crapple!
Die Crapple Die!
Samsung wants the product banned because it uses an international communication standard that cannot be implemented without a technology that Samsung invented that everyone else is paying royalties for but Apple refuses to do so, claiming the price is too high and not even attempting to negotiate.
FTFY.
It's like that kid in PE who got his kicks beaming people in the face with balls so he could make everyone flinch by just saying "think fast!" is now hiding behind the coach after suddenly realizing that everyone else has started carrying balls, not to hit each other with, but for the sole purpose of beaming that annoying little dickshit in the face if he gets anywhere near them.
However in this case, the coach is his crazy Vietnam vet uncle, the school is in Chinatown, and Uncle doesn't like those non-American talkin' foreigners who aren't man enough to tangle with the big boys mano a mano ganging up and depriving his kin of being able to play however he wants, so one by one starts issuing detentions and taking away the other kids' ball privileges until nephew feels safe again.
It's so farcical, even this analogy is farcical.
Corners that don't sever limbs on a glancing contact are Apple's holy property and anyone who does anything remotely similar is a thief, a pirate and a pediophiddydiddlerist. But technical standards requiring actual work to research and develop have to be given away because "Waaagh, it's not fair, and they're not as cool as us".
Your sort ought to be rounded up and loaded onto cattle trucks.
War. War never changes.
The Romans waged war to gather slaves and wealth. Spain built an empire from its lust for gold and territory. Hitler shaped a battered Germany into an economic superpower.
But war never changes.
In the 21st century, war was still waged over the resources that could be acquired. Only this time, the spoils of war were also its weapons: patents and licensing agreements. For these resources, Apple would invade Alaska, Microsoft would annex Canada, and Samsung would dissolve into quarreling, bickering nation-states, bent on controlling the last remaining resources on Earth. :)
Yeah, I've got a word for that narrative.
It's called bullshit.
This is 100% Apple's fault. Apple started all of this. Samsung, Google, everybody else, is trying to protect themselves against Apple.
Samsung is 'using certain patents as a basis for improper legal actions that seek to block the sale of competitors' products.'
Uh, dude. That's what patents are for. They grant the holder exclusive rights to the invention. I don't see any exceptions for monopolization, anti trust or whatever in the relevant Constitutional clause or subsequent enacting legislation.
Have gnu, will travel.
Apple is of the opinion that they do not owe any licensing fees because those fees have already been paid by their parts supplier. This decision has been affirmed by every court that's reviewed it. Samsung continues to file injunctions to ban sales of Apple products even though it is quite clear they don't have a winnable case in court. At this point, it makes perfect sense for Apple to sue them over these lawsuits, Samsung can't possibly really believe they will ever win one of these cases, and they're really just using them to harass Apple in retaliation for Apple's own (winnable) lawsuits.
With regard to the article you linked: if you actually read the judges ruling, rather than Groklaw's questionable interpretation of it, you will notice that the ITC judge is simply claiming that the ITC does have jurisdiction.
With regard to the notion that Apple should have made a counter offer: since Apple feels they owe nothing, what counter offer would you propose they make? They can't go that rout, because in doing so they would have to give up the patent exhaustion argument (that their chip supplier has already paid the appropriate licensing fees and Samsung has no legal right to ask for fees from Apple) which is not a realistic possibility.
Finally, this judge has said that there's no evidence to back Apple's assertion that the fees Samsung was asking are excessive. It may be true that Apple didn't present evidence to that effect, but Samsung was asking for nearly $15 per iPhone, which is probably more than Apple paid for the RF chips that use Samsung's FRAND patents. It's hard to see how you could consider that a reasonable price.
There must something to it given that the EU and South Korea are also investigating Samsung.
That must be why the DOJ's too busy to go after all the habitual patent troll companies.
http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20121007194355579
Do the submitters read the articles, or is is a quick scan?
... is quite amusing.
Most here have already decide Apple is "guilty" and in the wrong before any investigation has even started. LOL.
Continue your circlejerking I suppose. But be careful who you "support". An enemy of your enemy isn't necessarily your friend.
http://www.kernelmag.com/features/report/3028/samsung-power-corruption-and-lies/
http://www.reuters.com/article/2007/12/10/us-korea-samsung-idUSSEO889720071210
HEY ALL YOU WISHFUL THINKER APPLE ZEALOTS. Do the world a favor, take off your Apple hats remove your Steve Jobs for messiah buttons, fold them up, stuff them up your asses, fly to Guyana, drink your Apple flavored Kool Aid and join your cultist brethren that your last bay area messiah produced. Just because your bloody CULT LEADERS filed yet another set of CRAP legal documents doesn't mean the DOJ is going to DROP EVERYTHING and investigate Samsung. REGARDLESS of how much money you gave to the Obama reelection campaign.
They litigate so much I would be afraid to even own one of their products for fear that they would justify suing their own customers eventually.
Apple as as arrogant and an Apple fan is baselessly smug.
Actually what you know as a computer was invented by Xerox Parc and copied by Apple, from mouse to Gui to Windows, all copied. When Apple sued Microsoft for 'look and feel' they lost.
As to the Creative Patent problem, that's a patent office problem. Just because one troll company was granted a vague broad patent, doesn't mean the fix is to grant all companies vague broad patents. The problem here is the patent system is a complete joke, not that the 'wrong' companies are abusing it.
Following a flat response to the launch from Apple Computer for their iPad mini, Apple's stock fell 6%. To compensate for the loss, Apple decided that instead of competing, they would litigate competitors. Its the modern take on an old Chinese proverb: "The man who strikes first admits that his ideas have given out". In the modern version: "The company that litigates first, admits that their ability to innovate and compete has given out."
90% of what you know as a "computer" was invented by apple in the 80s and 90s. If anyone deserves to hold these patents, it's apple.
Someone's smoking too much crack.
I love this quote from a former Apple executive:
He explained features like “slide to unlock” took years to perfect, and “other companies shouldn’t be able to steal that.”
I think they need some better software engineers.
Slashdot community, is this the best you can do for moderation? If you mod down everything you disagree with, all you're really doing is shielding yourself from opposing viewpoints. You're basically working to make yourself stupider and your website less useful. I will never understand the circle-jerk mentality that seems so common on the internet (and everywhere else).
Soooo..... DOJ is investigating a foreign company rising from BS complaints of the american company. Sounds like business as usual.
So Slashdot has come to this, support anything against Apple, no matter how odious, such as Samsung. If Samsung didn't want a FRAND requirement on these patents, they could have kept them from the cellular standards. And guess what would have happened if they had done that? The patents would be nearly worthless. If Samsung prevails on this, it is more than just Apple that will suffer. In essence, anyone wanting to create a functioning cell phone will need to bow down to Samsung.
Except, of course, the ITC judge...
Because it's less than half what Apple was asking per Samsung phone for their bogus patents?
That being said, I don't think $15 is reasonable. But there's a mediation process Apple can use to negotiate this. Instead, they decided to negotiate a lower price by suing Samsung.
Maxim: People cannot follow directions.
Increases in truth directly with the length of time spent explaining them
Pot, meet Kettle.
This signature intentionally left blank.
Why does this story sound like something out of Atlas Shrugged 2?
STFU. I really do not care about Apple and as a matter of fact I worked for Apple many years ago; how about Apple's price rigging and other dirty tricks of the 90's?
you should learn little more about the law before making half ass'ed comments. As other guy said, Samsung made an offer, apple refused it and didn't even try to negotiate. So its Apple that failed in the matter. Samsung has every right to defend its patents and if you say its unfair what they did then everything apple has done is unfair as well. Groklaw article explains it all, http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20121007194355579 you should really read it.
Well Samsung could asked for 80 or 90% and cause apple didn't even sit at the table to negotiate the price they are ones that are seen as at fault. As for 15$ being to much that is a matter of opinion. When you look at profit margin of apple's products it don't seem that much to me. Even if apple sat at the table and said they would pay 0% and never came off that no matter what Samsung did. Apple is at fault as the FRAND requires fair and reasonable which wouldn't be fair.
Not sure who had it first, but we know for a fact Microsoft had a slide to unlock on a little version of windows called Windows CE. so they musta been fed up with getting it wrong and hacked it outta there.