A US federal judge has rejected Apple’s request asking for her to ban the domestic sale of nine Samsung smartphones—most in the Galaxy line—that Apple claims infringed on its patents. Apple sought a permanent injunction after a US jury found in May that Samsung, which is appealing the finding, infringed on three of its patents and had to pay $120 million of the $2.2 billion in damages sought. In a 42-page ruling, US District Judge Lucy Koh contended that Apple did not prove that “it suffered significant harm in the form of either lost sales or reputational injury.” Additionally she said Apple had not “satisfied its burden of demonstrating irreparable harm and linking that harm to Samsung's exploitation of any of Apple’s three infringed patents.” Earlier this month, the companies agreed to end their patent battles outside the US. (Tech Spot)(The San Jose Mercury-News)(The Wall Street Journal)(Ars Technica)
Monday, September 22, 2014
Sunday, June 1, 2014
EU Court Backs “Right to Be Forgotten”
The top EU court has ruled that individuals may legally demand the removal of any links or information returned via search-engine results that could jeopardize their privacy. This is commonly referred to as “a right to be forgotten” and applies to “inadequate, irrelevant or no longer relevant” data returned in search results. The case originated with a Spanish man who sought to have Google Spain delete a 1998 Catalonian newspaper article regarding his home being auctioned for failing to pay taxes. He argued the matter had been resolved and the material should no longer be linked to him. The new European Court of Justice ruling applies to all 28 EU member countries and all search-engine operators. Opponents say the ruling represents censorship. Attorneys practicing in the EU are concerned compliance could prove difficult because of the thousands of individual requests that could potentially be received by search engines and the need to carefully evaluate each of these. Others say the new rule could result in balkanized search results, with search results differing in Europe. Regulators throughout Europe have expressed concern about the way information on search engines, particularly Google, affect privacy. French, Italian, and Spanish officials have fined Google in the past over privacy matters. (Businessweek)(The Guardian)
Monday, May 26, 2014
Appeals Court Refuses to Re-Hear Apple-Samsung Patent Case
A US appeals court upheld the decision of a lower court in a patent infringement suit brought by Samsung against Apple. The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit made its decision 14 May 2014 without offering any explanation. The companies have been locked in litigation worldwide regarding their smartphone and mobile device patents. Neither company issued a comment. Earlier this month, Samsung was ordered to pay $119.6 million for infringing three Apple patents, a matter that could also be appealed. (Reuters)