Good morning, and welcome to today’s edition of: “Apple and Samsung love to hate each other.”
Though it’s only been a short weekend since the latest update, the dueling electronics makers have again waged war in the Netherlands. Samsung countersued Apple in the Hague court last week, claiming that the iPad and iPhone violate certain 3G technology patents held by the South Korea-based company. The issue is that those Samsung-held patents fall under FRAND licensing terms, as they cover technology necessary for the industry as a whole, and must be licensed out to competitors under reasonable and nondiscriminatory terms.
Because of this, Samsung has asked that Apple pay 2.4 percent for every chipset per patent within its 3G-capable iPhones and iPads, reports Webwereld journalist Andreas Udo de Haes on Twitter. Obviously, negotiations like this negate the need for an injunction. However, Apple claimed in court that it was already paying its licensing fees to Intel, which Apple is arguing as the sole supplier of its GSM iPhone chipset. Samsung, on the other hand, is saying that Apple has other component suppliers that it is purposefully obscuring to circumvent such claims.
Samsung has also argued that Apple knew about Samsung’s patents back in 2007, around the time of the first iPhone, and that Apple declined to license the technology. Apple said those terms weren’t in conjunction with FRAND’s guarantee of “fair, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory” terms. Whether Samsung then asked for 2.4 percent per patent on chipsets is unclear, but Apple has certainly called that figure “excessive” this time around.
Meanwhile, the Australian court is fielding further requests to delay the Galaxy Tab 10.1. Both companies met today in front of Judge Annabelle Bennett to talk about the revised version of the GalTab that Samsung has said no longer violates the original 10 allegedly infringed Apple patents. In court, Apple said that three of its patents are still being infringed by the Samsung tab, all in reference to touchscreen technology, reports Australia’s IT News.
Apple has taken an “eyes wide open” strategy in its argument. “It must have been plain as the Opera House to Samsung that Apple’s patents were right in front of its eyes and that they were wide open,” said Apple’s lead counsel Stephen Burley. “If they intend to launch a product that infringes a patent, they ought to clear the way in advance, not to crash through.”
Though it’s unclear how the Dutch case will pan out, Apple’s made big strides in Australia even without securing a permanent injunction. Samsung had been advertising an “imminent launch” for the Galaxy Tab 10.1 since July 20, but the tab has yet to grace Australian shelves.
Again, there are no signs of this fiasco slowing down anytime soon. Buckle up.