Apple vs Samsung: the latest news from the patent battle

Apple and Samsung are waging a legal war around the world, accusing each other of patent violations as they vie for supremacy in the mobile market.

The fight began last year when Apple sued Samsung in a US federal court, accusing the South Korean company of “slavishly” copying the iPhone and iPad. Samsung countersued.

The stakes are high, with Samsung facing sales bans and billion-dollar payouts. We track the latest news in the long-running story.

Judge rules out increasing Apple’s damages claim

30 January 2013 – Samsung did not wilfully infringe on Apple patents, a US federal court has ruled, foiling Apple’s attempt to increase the $1.05bn in damages it was awarded last August.

The ruling removes a dark cloud hanging over Samsung, which could have been forced to pay triple the original penalty, in the worst-case scenario.

The latest ruling overrules the jury’s finding that Samsung acted “wilfully” when it violated several of Apple’s patents, a finding that would have formed the basis for tripling the damages.

“To the extent that Apple does address lost downstream sales, Apple discusses only Samsung’s gains and makes no attempt to identify any specific losses Apple has suffered,” US District Court Judge Lucy Koh said.

Apple “not the first” to use round corners on tablets

16 January 2013 – Following decisions in UK courts, a Dutch judge has ruled that Samsung Galaxy tablets don’t infringe Apple’s iPad design.

“We continue to believe that Apple was not the first to design a tablet with a rectangular shape and rounded corners and that the origins of Apple’s registered design features can be found in numerous examples,” Samsung said, according to a report from Reuters.

The ruling applied to the corners on the Galaxy Tab 10.1, 8.9 and 7.7.

Judge refuses Apple appeal to extend Samsung ban

18 December 2012 – Apple has been denied a wider sales ban of Samsung products, after a US judge refused to extend a previous ruling to cover 26 older phones.

Judge Lucy Koh denied the appeal, saying Apple was still capable of competing against Samsung despite the August ruling that awarded the iPhone maker more than $1bn after finding its rival infringed its patents.

“The phones at issue in this case contain a broad range of features, only a small fraction of which are covered by Apple’s patents,” Koh wrote, according to a report from Reuters.

“Though Apple does have some interest in retaining certain features as exclusive to Apple, it does not follow that entire products must be forever banned from the market because they incorporate, among their myriad features, a few narrow protected functions,” she added.

Judge Koh also rejected Samsung’s request for a new trial, on the grounds that the jury foreman had been biased toward Apple.

Judge asks for “global peace” between Apple and Samsung

7 December 2012 – A US judge presiding over the Apple and Samsung court battle in California has asked the companies to sort out their differences.

“I think it’s time for global peace ,” Judge Lucy Koh said, according to a report in the Financial Times. “If there is any way this court can facilitate some sort of resolution, I’d like to do that. I think it would be good for consumers and good for the industry.”

Judge Koh presided over the trial that in August saw Samsung ordered to pay $1 billion in damages to its rival. Now, she’s overseeing the appeal, with Samsung trying to reduce those damages to tens of millions of dollars, and Apple looking to add $500 million to the total – as well as tying to block more of its rival’s handsets and tablets. Both sides have now delivered their arguments and are awaiting Judge Koh’s ruling.

Apple tries to add more products to Samsung case

26 November 2012 – Apple has asked a federal court to add six more products to its patent infringement lawsuit against Samsung, including the Galaxy Note II – which has now passed the 5m sales mark.

Apple is also seeking to add the Galaxy S III, the Galaxy Tab 8.9 Wi-Fi, the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1, the Rugby Pro, and the Galaxy S III Mini, to its lawsuit, according to a court filing.

“Apple has acted quickly and diligently to determine that these newly-released products do infringe many of the same claims already asserted by Apple,” the company said in the filing. Samsung representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The case was filed in February, and is separate to the lawsuit by Apple that saw the firm awarded more than $1bn. Samsung denied infringement and filed a cross-complaint alleging that Apple’s iPhone and iPad infringed eight of its patents.

Apple must share HTC deal details with Samsung

22 November 2012 – A judge has ordered Apple to share details of its patent deal with HTC with Samsung.

Apple and HTC came to a ten-year agreement which reportedly requires the handset maker to pay Apple royalties, although exactly how much has not been revealed. Samsung has successfully argued that the case covers some of the same patents under dispute in its court battle with Apple, but the deal details will only shown to lawyers, not made public.

Judge orders Apple to fix Samsung apology

1 November 2012 – Apple has been told off by a UK judge for how it complied with a court order, which forced it to post a message on its website stressing that Samsung didn’t copy its products.

First, Apple added its own text – some from the judge’s ruling, as well as from other European courts that have found in its favour – linking to the document from its main page with tiny font. When ordered to fix the statement, Apple’s lawyers asked two weeks to make the change; it was given 48 hours.

Apple loses UK appeal, could end European battle

18 October 2012 – Apple has lost its appeal against a ruling that cleared rival Samsung of copying its registered designs for tablet computers, in a decision which could end the two firms’ legal dispute on the subject across Europe.

Britain’s Court of Appeal upheld the country’s High Court judgment that, despite some similarities, Samsung’s Galaxy tablet did not infringe Apple’s designs, in part because its products were “not as cool”.

The decision is valid throughout Europe, and will require Apple to run advertisements and a notice on its own website saying Samsung did not copy its designs.

South Korea’s Samsung welcomed the decision saying in a statement: “We continue to believe that Apple was not the first to design a tablet with a rectangular shape and rounded corners”. Apple declined to comment on the decision, and can appeal to the Supreme Court.

US court lifts Galaxy Tab 10.1 sales ban

1 October 2012 – A US court removed a temporary sales ban against Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 won by Apple in a patent dispute, allowing it to be sold in the United States.

While the Galaxy 10.1 is an older model, the lifting of the ban could still help Samsung in the run-up to the pivotal holiday shopping season.

“We are pleased with the court’s action today, which vindicates our position that there was no infringement of Apple’s design patent and that an injunction was not called for,” Samsung said in a statement.

Separately, Samsung filed a motion against Apple saying the iPhone 5 had infringed on some of the company’s patents.

Apple seeks anti-competition action over Samsung

6 September 2012 – Apple is seeking anti-competition sanctions via the South Korean Fair Trade Commission, saying its rival abused its dominant position in wireless technology.

The FTC is investigating whether Samsung is unfairly competing in the market by abusing its dominance in wireless technology patents. Apple filed its complaints earlier this year, said an FTC official, who is not authorised to talk to the media.

EU regulators are already investigating Samsung over possible breaches of antitrust rules, related to technology patents.

Sales injunction hearing in December

29 August 2012 – Samsung will find out if eight of its products are banned from the US on 6 December, as Judge Lucy Koh set a date for the hearing for a permanent injunction. The delay could take some of the sting out of a sales ban, giving Samsung time to sell remaining stock before the injunction comes into force.

A separate hearing will be held 20 September, but it wasn’t immediately clear if preliminary sales bans would be discussed then, or simply pushed back to December. At the September hearing, Judge Koh will consider dissolving a sales ban on the Galaxy Tab 10.1, after the jury found it didn’t infringe Apple’s patents.

Apple goes for the kill on the Galaxy S II

28 August 2012 – Apple has asked for a US sales ban of eight Samsung devices, including four variations of the Galaxy S II.

The US case targeted 28 devices, but many are no longer on sale and while Apple came out on top in the final ruling, the jury didn’t agree with all of its patent complaints. Samsung’s latest flagship phone, the Galaxy S III, wasn’t named in the case, but it does feature elements that are covered by Apple’s patents and could be targeted by a ban via a post-trial “contempt proceeding”.

Although Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S III phone was not included in the trial, the jury validated Apple’s patents on features and design elements that the iPhone maker could then try to wield against that device. Apple may not have to seek a new trial over the S III, but can include it in a “contempt proceeding” that moves much faster, according to legal experts.

Samsung suffers billion-dollar defeat in Apple patent case

25 August 2012 – Apple has been awarded $1.05bn in a US case, after a jury found Samsung infringed its patents.

The jury took three days to come to a verdict, deciding the infringement was “wilful” – which means Judge Lucy Koh could triple the damages.

Apple said it planned to ask for a sales ban on a set of Samsung devices, while Samsung said the result was a “loss for the American consumer”.

Jury gets to work in US case

23 August 2012 – The trial in the US patent case between Samsung and Apple is now over, and the nine jurors have been tasked with coming to a solution. Deliberations are expected to take several days – and no wonder: jurors were handed more than 100 pages of instructions from Judge Lucy Koh, and must fill out a 20-page verdict form.

The jurors are deciding on seven Apple patents and five from Samsung. If they decide any patents were infringed, Judge Koh could order sales bans.

During closing arguments, Apple accused Samsung of taking shortcuts to keep up, while Samsung’s lawyer Charles Verhoeven said Apple was trying to stifle innovation. “[Apple thinks] it’s entitled to having a monopoly on a rounded rectangle with a large screen,” he said, according to a Reuters report. “It’s amazing really.”

Judge’s peace talks fail to settle case

21 August 2012 – Executives from Samsung and Apple discussed their patent battle over the phone, but failed to agree to a settlement. Judge Lucy Koh ordered the pair to try to come to an agreement before the case finished, but Samsung lawyer Kevin Johnson said nothing had come from the conversation, so the case must continue. Closing arguments are expected to start today.

Samsung halves damages estimate

17 August 2012 – Samsung has said Apple’s financial estimates for its sales margins are incorrect, which could affect any damages that are awarded in the US side of the patent case.

Apple previously said Samsung made US margins of 35% on “accused” smartphones and tablets, calling for damages of $2.5bn. Samsung says the real number is 12% – meaning it earned $519m from sales of affected devices.

Earlier this week, Apple expert Terry Musika said Samsung earned 35.5 percent margins from mid-2010 through March 2012, on $8.16 billion in US revenue. Apple is seeking over $2.5 billion in damages.

Judge askes: “are you on crack?”

17 August 2012 – Judge Lucy Koh lost her patience with Apple’s legal team, after they requested 22 witnesses be added to a rebuttal list, when there was no chance there would be time to call them.

Koh asked why the legal team would ask for so much extra time, “when unless you’re smoking crack you know these witnesses aren’t going to be called!”

Apple attorney William Lee responded: “First, your honour, I’m not smoking crack. I can promise you that.”

Judge tells execs to talk before verdict

16 August 2012 – Judge Lucy Koh has asked the CEOs of Apple and Samsung to talk on the phone before the US patent case heads to jury deliberations next week. She’s asked the companies to hold talks before; Apple is a major Samsung customer. “It’s time for peace,” Judge Koh said.

The call comes as Samsung continues to give its evidence, with one designer claiming the firm started working on a tablet before the iPad was announced. Apple, however, showed emails that revealed Google warned Samsung in 2010 that its tablet was too similar to the iPad.

Apple: quarter of Samsung’s sales from disputed patents

14 August 2012 – Apple has claimed that a quarter of Samsung’s US sales over the past two years were from devices infringing its patents.

Apple’s experts said the $8.16bn figure itself cost $1.75m to calculate, requiring 20 programmers and accountants.

The claim comes as Apple wraps up its evidence in its Californian patent trial, with Samsung set to start presenting its case today.

Apple offered Samsung $30 per phone licensing deal

13 August 2012 – Two years ago, Apple offered to license the disputed patents to Samsung for $30 per smartphone and $40 per tablet rather than go to court, as a favour to the company that is one of its major suppliers, according to evidence given in the US court battle between the two tech giants.

For 2010, that would have cost Samsung $250m, according to a report from All Things Digital, but that’s much less than Apple paid Samsung to buy components that year.

Trial reveals secret sales figures

10 August 2012 – Apple and Samsung were forced to reveal sales figures for their “accused” devices as part of an ongoing US court case.

The US-only figures show that Apple’s sales didn’t slow down when Samsung entered the market with its Galaxy line of devices, selling 21m smartphones and 1.4m tablets. Apple sold 86m iPhones and 34m iPads – not including the iPhone 4S or the new iPad.

Bill adds up for Apple experts

8 August 2012 – Apple continues to call expert design witnesses, looking to convince US Judge Lucy Koh that Samsung copied its design. Design expert Susan Kare – who has worked for Apple – said the handsets in question were “confusingly similar”, claiming she once picked up a Samsung thinking it was an iPhone.

Samsung’s legal team has hit back by pointing out how much those three experts have been paid by Apple to take part in the case: so far, it’s topped $200,000, according to a TechRadar report.

Australia court battle tries “hot tubbing”

6 August 2012 – The Australian skirmish between Apple and Samsung has a unique feature: hot tubbing.

It’s not a relaxing way to wind down after a tough day in court, but a term to describe witnesses giving evidence together, at the same time. More officially called “concurrent evidence”, it’s hoped the system will succeed in finding a resolution to the complicated, long-running case.

“The basic theory is that if an expert is in a position like that … they will be more upfront about what they really think and they’ll be more willing to discuss the nuances of points,” Mark Summerfield, a patent lawyer and senior associate at Melbourne-based law firm Watermark, told Reuters. “It also tempers the tendency of barristers to be aggressive in questioning.”

Judge angry over Samsung document release

2 August 2012 – Samsung has defended its decision to release documents to the press that Judge Lucy Koh had ruled inadmissible in its patent case with Apple.

The documents suggest Apple borrowed design elements for the iPhone from Sony. Samsung’s lawyer said the papers were already in the public domain, but Apple said the information had “polluted” the jury.

US trial kicks off with competition claims

1 August 2012 – The US court trial between Samsung and Apple has started, with both teams offering their opening statements.

Apple’s legal team pointed to internal Samsung documents that said the iPhone design was “easy to copy”, and compared Samsung phones before the iPhone launch to those after, asking how the handset maker moved from the old designs to the new ones.

Samsung said all manufacturers make such documents, and countered that Apple didn’t invent minimalist design – with lawyer Charles Verhoeven adding that “there’s a distinction between commercial success and inventing something”.

After opening statements, Apple called as its first witness designer Christopher Stringer, who has worked for the company for 17 years. “Our role is to imagine products that don’t exist and guide them to life,” he said, claiming people thought the original iPhone design was “crazy”.

US jury selection begins

30 July 2012 – Jury selection is due to begin in the United States in the battle between Apple and Samsung, the culmination of over a year of pretrial jousting with billions of dollars in the balance.

Apple will try to use Samsung documents to show its rival knowingly violated its intellectual property rights, while Samsung argues Apple is trying to stifle competition to maintain “exorbitant” profit margins, according to court filings.

A ten-member jury will hear evidence over at least four weeks, and it must reach a unanimous decision for Apple or Samsung to prevail on any of their claims.

Apple must run ads saying Samsung didn’t copy iPad

19 July 2012 – A British judge has ordered Apple to publish on its own website a statement asserting that Samsung didn’t copy the design of the iPad.

Judge Colin Birss said Apple must publish a note on its own website and British newspapers to set the record straight that Samsung didn’t copy the iPad.

The notice must stay on the Apple website for six months and run in four publications, according to a draft copy of the order handed by Samsung’s legal team to Bloomberg.

Apple wouldn’t comment on the decision, but in court the company’s lawyer noted that “no company likes to refer to a rival on its website”.

Judge: Samsung not “cool” enough to copy Apple

9 July 2012 – Samsung won a UK court victory in its ongoing legal dispute with Apple, but the unflattering ruling found Samsung’s Galaxy Tab was “not cool enough” to be confused with the iPad.

“The informed user’s overall impression of each of the Samsung Galaxy tablets is the following – from the front they belong to the family which includes the Apple design; but the Samsung products are very thin, almost insubstantial members of that family with unusual details on the back,” Judge Colin Birss said.

“They do not have the same understated and extreme simplicity, which is possessed by the Apple design,” he concluded. “They are not as cool. The overall impression produced is different. The Samsung tablets do not infringe Apple’s registered design.”

Apple and Samsung hold patent talks

22 May 2012 – Samsung and Apple have held patent negotiations after US judge Lucy Koh ordered the pair to sort out their differences.

According to a court filing, both companies agreed to the settlement conference and Judge Koh referred the companies to a San Francisco-based magistrate judge who will lead the talks.

Apple targets latest Android in fresh Samsung case

13 February 2012 – Apple has asked a federal court in California to block Samsung from selling its Galaxy Nexus smartphones – which use Android 4.0, also known as Ice Cream Sandwich – alleging four patent violations, including new features such as a voice-command search function.

The Galaxy Nexus is the first phone running on the newest Android version, although the platform is expected to be widely adopted by manufacturers such as HTC and Motorola.

Samsung tablet banned in Australia

13 October 2011 – Apple won a victory in the Ferderal Court in Australia, with a judge issuing an injunction banning Samsung from selling its Galaxy Tab 10.1 slate PC Down Under.

Apple scores European ban on Samsung smartphones

24 August 2011 – Samsung has been provisionally ordered to stop selling the Galaxy S, Galaxy S II and Ace smartphones in Europe.

The ruling in a Dutch court entails a preliminary injunction that blocks sales of the handsets that are sold and distributed in Europe through Holland, where it runs its European logistics base.

Samsung drops Apple countersuit

4 July 2011 – Samsung has dropped a lawsuit against Apple that claimed the iPhone maker copied many of Samsung’s innovations.

Bloomberg quoted Nam Ki Yung, a spokesman for the Suwon, South Korea-based company as saying the company wanted to “streamline” the legal proceedings. “Samsung will continue to actively defend and protect our intellectual property,” he told Bloomberg.

Apple sues Samsung for “copying” its tablets and phones

21 April 2011 – Apple has sued Samsung for “slavishly” copying its handset and tablet designs.

Apple said that Samsung’s Galaxy S handset and Galaxy Tab tablet violated ten of its patents around the look and design of its iPhone and iPad.

“Instead of pursuing independent product development, Samsung has chosen to slavishly copy Apple’s innovative technology, distinctive user interfaces, and elegant and distinctive product and packaging design,” the suit argues, according to the Financial Times.