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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!
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.
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
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!"
These aren't submarine patents, like what Rambus did.
This is Apple pulling double standards. Lots of companies have licensed Samsung's standards-essential patents, but Apple refused to. Just because it's FRAND, doesn't mean that Apple can ignore the need to license them. There is some question of patent exhaustion (I think that's the right term), but the courts seem to be inconsistent in dealing with it (see CSIRO vs Buffalo Technology).
Apple has a long history of ignoring other people's/companies' IP, but crying foul over their IP, which is largely questionable.
End of line..
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.
Samsung didn't tell everyone to use the standards based on their patents and then sue, they license them to all the players in the mobile market. Some (Apple) however, refuse to pay, even though they knew they had to to implement the standard.
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. :)
Because if we looked at patents, we would shortly thereafter look at copywrite. And that would offend the Mouse.
Hoist Number One and Number Six.
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.
And the Mouse will sic its most powerful dog on them.
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.
First mention of patent exhaustion I've seen in this thread at my threshold.
I believe what happened was Apple bought Qualcomm's chipset to implement wireless and Samsung had an agreement with Qualcomm regarding the licensing of those chips. Samsung basically changed the agreement so that Apple was not properly licensed like every other company which used those chips.
You might want to read the current ITC ruling (you might want to skip opinion parts though, too nutty even for Apple-hating me) - information in summary is outdated/incorrect.
Part VII talks about patent exhaustion issues at length, in short - Apple failed to show the evidence for patent exhaustion defense both for Intel and Qualcomm chips, Samsung seems to argue that the license transfer was revoked due to ongoing lawsuits brought by Apple, or that's as far as I can deduce from that {[redacted]} ruling, {[redacted]} {[redacted]} {[redacted]} fuckers {[redacted]}: "Samsung says that the {[redacted])" (Id. at 252 (citing RX-0175C at 5.6).) Here, argues Samsung, Apple brought infringement claims against Samsung and, { [redacted]}. (Id. (citing CX-1587C).) Samsung says that Apple failed to identify any case or authority that would permit the Commission from preventing Samsung from exercising its express contractual rights under the Qualcomm agreement."
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.
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.
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.
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 $15 is reasonable. But there's a mediation process Apple can use to negotiate this. Instead, they decided to negotiate a lower price by suing Samsung.
Maxim: People cannot follow directions.
Increases in truth directly with the length of time spent explaining them
Pot, meet Kettle.
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Why does this story sound like something out of Atlas Shrugged 2?
you should learn little more about the law before making half ass'ed comments. As other guy said, Samsung made an offer, apple refused it and didn't even try to negotiate. So its Apple that failed in the matter. Samsung has every right to defend its patents and if you say its unfair what they did then everything apple has done is unfair as well. Groklaw article explains it all, http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20121007194355579 you should really read it.
Well Samsung could asked for 80 or 90% and cause apple didn't even sit at the table to negotiate the price they are ones that are seen as at fault. As for 15$ 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.