AppleInsider Staff
Late on Monday, Apple made a filing in the suit that roughly cut the number of patent infringement claims in half. Intellectual property expert Florian Mueller of FOSS Patents said Apple's move was "a truly impressive narrowing of its infringement claims."
Five hours after Apple reduced the scope of its complaint, Samsung responded in kind, and offered to drop five of its 12 asserted patents. The reductions came after Judge Lucy Koh last week ordered the companies to cut down the number of claims they are making against each other.
"I think that's cruel and unusual punishment to a jury, so I'm not willing to do it," Koh said of the multitude of patents and products included in the case. "If you're going to trial in July, this is not going to be acceptable."
Though a significant number of claims were dropped from the case, two companies remain strongly at odds, as Apple feels Samsung has not been cooperative, and Samsung believes Apple's case is too big to go to trial this summer.
Apple also continues to assert that Samsung has made "copycat products" that infringe on its own designs, while Samsung has contended that its devices are "innovative, independently developed technologies."
"Between these two companies here, there can be no doubt about who's copied from whom, just like there can be no doubt about who singlehandedly revolutionized an industry," Mueller wrote. "The only question left to be answered is about scope: which of the asserted rights are both valid and infringed?"
Apple believes that Samsung's alleged infringement has allowed the company to become the worldwide leader in smartphone sales. Because of that, Apple has argued that Samsung's damages "reach billions of dollars."
Samsung's continued success was cited by Apple as a key reason that its patent infringement trial needs to start on July 30. By holding the trial this summer, the court will be able to "put an end to Samsung's continuing infringement," Apple said.
For its part, Samsung has said that Apple is "seeking to compete through litigation" rather than in the market. The company also said in court that Apple has only cited "utility patents covering extremely minor user interface features, and design patents and trade dresses that offer far narrower protection than Apple urges."
Charles Martin
Sponsored Content
Amber Neely
Malcolm Owen
Andrew Orr
Christine McKee
36 Comments
This is all just starting to get a little ridiculous. The Galaxy SIII looks like an amazing device, the 6th gen iPhone will also be an amazing device. Steve Jobs said before that Microsoft didn't have to lose in order for Apple to win. There was enough room for both of them. Substitute Microsoft for Samsung/Google here, and it's the same situation.
[quote name="hittrj01" url="/t/149933/apple-samsung-drop-impressive-number-of-patent-claims-against-each-other#post_2106734"]This is all just starting to get a little ridiculous. The Galaxy SIII looks like an amazing device, the 6th gen iPhone will also be an amazing device. Steve Jobs said before that Microsoft didn't have to lose in order for Apple to win. There was enough room for both of them. Substitute Microsoft for Samsung/Google here, and it's the same situation. [/quote] Arguably, as long as the two companies innovate it is not a zero-sum game. The lawsuits may have had that effect, as Samsung phones no longer look like iPhone clones.
I hope future patent cases will become more surgical. I am not a fan of throwing every out that you can and hoping something is deemed relevant. [quote name="hittrj01" url="/t/149933/apple-samsung-drop-impressive-number-of-patent-claims-against-each-other#post_2106734"]This is all just starting to get a little ridiculous. The Galaxy SIII looks like an amazing device, the 6th gen iPhone will also be an amazing device. Steve Jobs said before that Microsoft didn't have to lose in order for Apple to win. There was enough room for both of them. Substitute Microsoft for Samsung/Google here, and it's the same situation.[/quote] While true this about infringement not simply about both competing fairly. Plus, MS and Apple focus on very different aspects of the same business which always made it an odd comparison which I think could be a reason for Jobs statement. [quote name="aaarrrgggh" url="/t/149933/apple-samsung-drop-impressive-number-of-patent-claims-against-each-other#post_2106756"] Arguably, as long as the two companies innovate it is not a zero-sum game. The lawsuits may have had that effect, as Samsung phones no longer look like iPhone clones.[/quote] It's hard to be certain but there does seem to be a huge shift in mirroring Apple's HW design cues.
[quote name="aaarrrgggh" url="/t/149933/apple-samsung-drop-impressive-number-of-patent-claims-against-each-other#post_2106756"] Arguably, as long as the two companies innovate it is not a zero-sum game. The lawsuits may have had that effect, as Samsung phones no longer look like iPhone clones.[/quote] And Samsung could have avoided all of this by not slavishly imitating Apple's products for year.
I hope future patent cases will become more surgical. I am not a fan of throwing every out that you can and hoping something is deemed relevant.
Good timing. I don't know if you saw the related article this morning where the judge in another Apple/Samsung ITC case tossed a 3000 page response submitted by Apple. They were supposed to file one single page. Surely their counsel was aware of that as it's not the first time dealing with the ITC.
Perhaps as you wrote, they figured they'd list everything they could and hope something stuck. In this case the only thing that stuck was the legal bill for writing up the thousands of pages.
http://www.fosspatents.com/2012/05/itc-judge-throws-out-3000-pages-of.html