ITC finds Samsung guilty of violating 4 Apple patents, Dutch court clears Samsung of violating multi-touch patent
Bad news for Samsung coming out of the International Trade Commission today. ITC Judge Thomas Pender found the South Korean manufacturer guilty of violating 4 Apple patents in a complaint filed by back in 2011. Originally 7 disputed patents, one was dropped by Apple, with another 2 being dismissed today. The patents now in question deal with a variety of UI interactions like switching applications, or scrolling up or down, as well as displaying a semi-transparent image on top of another. Yes, this is what it’s come to, folks.
Now it’s up to the ITC’s full panel of judges to come to a decision in February on whether or not to uphold Jude Pender’s ruling. The alleged Samsung devices initially found guilty of violating Apple’s patents are the now ancient Captivate, Transform, Fascinate and Galaxy Tab.
Also making headlines, a Dutch court has cleared Samsung of any wrongdoing dealing with Apple’s multi-touch patent. This isn’t the first time the Netherlands has ruled in favor of Samsung, rejecting Apple’s request to ban the Samsung Galaxy Tab last year.
You may remember a small-ish Samsung victory from yesterday dealing with Apple’s ‘381 bounce-back patent after the USPTO rejected the patent. Still far too early to begin popping bottles, the rejection doesn’t mean the patent was found invalid, and will still have to undergo further scrutiny under the reexamination process.
[Reuters, 1, 2 | Bloomberg | TheVerge]