AppleInsider Staff
In the judge's decision issued in a German court in the Samsung case this week, one passage revealed that Apple is engaged in two additional lawsuits with iPad competitors. One is a local German company named JAY-tech, while the other targets Motorola and the design of the Xoom, according to Florian Mueller of FOSS Patents.
Apple is said to have filed a lawsuit against Motorola in Dusseldorf, the same court where it just found success in blocking the sale and advertisement of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1.
That Apple is engaged in a legal showdown with Motorola is not new: Motorola fired the first salvo last October when it accused Apple of violating 18 patents related to a range of technologies including 3G, GPRS, 802.11 wireless and antenna design. Motorola has also sought to invalidate 11 iPhone-related patents owned by Apple.
Apple responded to Motorola in kind that same month with a lawsuit that accuses its rival of violating patents related to the multi-touch interface of the iPhone. In December, Apple added 12 more patents to its lawsuit against Motorola.
While those previous lawsuits pertained to mobile phones, the latest complaint in Germany is the first indication that Apple has also taken issue with the Motorola Xoom, which competes with its own iPad. It is not known whether Apple's complaint against Motorola seeks a preliminary injunction similar to the one it was just granted against Samsung.
Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 is now banned from sale in Europe after the preliminary ruling went in favor of Apple. The Cupertino, Calif., company has accused Samsung of copying the look and feel of its iPhone and iPad, and violating patents related to their design.
Similarly, the launch of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 has also been delayed in Australia, where Apple also won a key preliminary legal decision. Samsung has said it will announce a new date for the launch of its 10.1-inch tablet "as soon as is practicable."
Last month, Motorola revealed that it shipped 440,000 of its Xoom tablet last quarter, a number well behind the 9.25 million iPads Apple sold in its last quarter. There have been indications that Motorola is planning the release of a successor to the first Xoom in hopes of boosting sales against the iPad.
This week, Motorola Mobility CEO Sanja Jha indicated that his company plans to sell new tablets with "aggressive form factors" later this year. But he also indicated that smartphones remain a top priority for the company.
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
Chip Loder
Malcolm Owen
67 Comments
Dare I say it...? Xoom is Doomed!
So is this about trade dress, or what? Is this the same kind of thing as with Samsung? Or is this something else?
(Because Samsung was really blatant compared to this. Granted, the Xoom does look like somewhat like an iPad, with the rounded corners and glossy black bezel?which you could say are obvious, except there?s a million other ways to make a tablet look, and yet so many iPad-followers really do choose to look like iPads. Would the Xoom have that same look without the iPad coming first? No. Look at Android phones: most ape the iPhone, but not all do?there are other ways to style a touchscreen device.)
Is it the number of patent lawsuits between tech companies is going up, or just the reporting of them, because it seems that more lawsuits are being reported than rumors of upcoming Apple products.
Is it the number of patent lawsuits between tech companies is going up, or just the reporting of them, because it seems that more lawsuits are being reported than rumors of upcoming Apple products.
I had the same thought. What I think is happening is that the chickens are coming home to roost. The wheels of justice grind slowly and the effects of Apple's stepped up efforts to defend it's IP, promised when the first iPhone came out, are only now beginning to take effect.
"aggressive form factors"? What the heck does that mean? Does it mean aggressively different (tacitly admitting their copying on the first one) or aggressively copying (a continuation of what they already have done)? I agree with others that the Xoom was less guilty than others. But since it was pretty much a failure anyway, any victory by Apple will be more one of principle than effect.
Why no cases against RIM and HP?
Same form factor. in HP's case, far more alike than either the 10.1 or the Xoom. I think Google might be right - in part.