Skip to main content

After five years, the Apple v. Samsung case goes back to where it all began



Apple v. Samsung
Apple v. Samsung
The Apple v. Samsung Electronics trial is returning to where it all began: the Northern District Court of California.After five years going through the legal system — and reaching the highest powersof the US late last year — a federal appeals court has handed the trial back to the lower San Jose court for it to decide whether additional proceedings are necessary.
The case concerns Samsung’s patent infringement on Apple’s iPhone designs and how much it should pay in damages for the offence. Apple claims Samsung copied physical aspects of its phones – like rounded corners, and software features – such as representing apps as a grid of icons. The trial has been ongoing since 2012, during which time Samsung has agreed to pay more than half a billion dollars to Apple.
The case reached the Supreme Court towards the end of 2016 and Samsung scored a victory when it was decided that the infringement could only be applied to device components, rather than the entire device itself (thus, Samsung’s wouldn’t be penalized based on the value of the whole unit but only specific parts).The Supreme Court didn’t provide any council on how the final damages should be tallied, though, and now the case is back with the lower court to decide if there will be a damages retrial.
While half a billion dollars doesn’t seem like that much for Samsung Electronics to pay, especially since its actions have secured its position one of the world’s largest smartphone manufacturers for many years (its patent infringement might have made a lot of sense, business-wise), I still think it’s a harsh penalty given the scope of handheld communication devices.I mean, there’s only so many ways you can make rectangular touchscreen phone, right?

Popular posts from this blog

Xiaomi Mi A1 review

If you’ve been tempted by Xiaomi’s often well-designed smartphones, but put off by the custom MIUI “theme” layered over the Android software; then the Xiaomi Mi A1 is the answer to your problems. There are no software tweaks from Xiaomi because the Mi A1 runs Android One  — the Google operating system designed for low- and mid-range phones. It promises regular software and security updates, like a Google Pixel smartphone, plus all the usual Goo gle apps including the Google Play Store pre-installed. In our Xiaomi Mi A1  review, we explain how it’s not just the software that’s a winner, but the hardware too. There is one glaring flaw we should mention first: The lack of 4G LTE support in the U.S. The Xiaomi Mi A1, even the so-called Global version, won’t connect to GSM 4G networks in the U.S., meaning you’ll have to make do with 3G speeds. Buyers in the U.K. and much of Europe will be fine. We’ve had ours running on the O2 network in the U.K. without issues. Great specs,...
Read more

Why SpaceX wants to put 4,425 internet satellites into space

Elon Musk is not one to let setbacks slow him down, even when setbacks involve the explosion of a rocket containing cargo precious to fellow tech billionaire Mark Zuckerberg. As of this week, SpaceX, where Musk is CEO, is back in the business of launching rockets. And Musk is pushing ahead on his outsize ambitions for the company. After 17 successful launches between 2012 and 2015, SpaceX initially planned to launch 20 rockets in 2016. Largely because of the aforementioned explosion — the company’s second rocket loss in two years — it managed only eight. On Twitter, Musk called the Sept. 1 incident “the most difficult and complex failure we have ever had.” But if last year ended on a sour note for SpaceX, 2017 is starting off with more promise. After spending months investigating and resolving the issues that caused the September explosion, the company launched a Falcon 9 on Jan. 14, deployed 10 satellites, and successfully re-docked the rocket booster at sea. The satellites are...
Read more

State of Mobile Networks: USA 2017

Networks OpenSignal  is back with another yearly investigation into the state of the major mobile networks in the US. The data looks at the 3G and 4G data speeds offed by the big four – AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon – along with latency data and network availability. If you’re keen to know which is the best and most reliable network to pick for your next contract, here’s the information you need to see. Data speeds According to the research, it’s a tie between Verizon and T-Mobile for the fastest 4G LTE network in the US, with 16.89Mbps and 16.65Mbps average speeds respectively (as seen by users). AT&T is not far behind on 13.68Mbps, but Sprint is considerably slower on average at just 9Mbps. Although it’s a closely-run race for 4G, T-Mobile retains its title as the fastest 3G network in the US, with 4Mbps typical, followed by AT&T on 3Mbps. Verizon and Sprint both clock in below 1Mbps, meaning a much slower experience on average when roaming ...
Read more