By 
Samsung has taken yet another blow in the global patent war being waged against the Android manufacturer by Apple. A court in Australia has upheld a preliminary injunction banning sales of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. Features such as a touchscreen interface were ruled too similar to those of the iPad by Justice Annabelle Bennet.
Samsung plans to appeal the verdict, which produced a similar result to the ruling reached in German courts. Samsung plans to counter European bans by releasing updated devices that tweak alleged patent-infringing details, but with touchscreen technology a central part of the Galaxy Tab 10.1’s design, it is hard to see how Samsung could deploy a similar tactic in Australia. A statement released by the company read, “We are disappointed with this ruling and Samsung will be seeking legal advice on its options. We will continue to legally assert our intellectual property rights against those who violate Samsung’s patents and free ride on our technology.”
[via WSJ]
So Apple invented the touch screen according to the judge
This just left the door wide open for Asus and the other Android tablet manufacturers.
That leaves the door open for anyone with an earlier touchscreen technology to go after Apple. (Palm OS anyone? I hear HP is trying to sell it.)
The point is that Apple ‘patented’ the technology. It was a mistake for the real inventor not to have patented it first – i.e. before Apple. The judge is only looking at the paperwork and applying what she thinks is legal. It’s definitely ridiculous and something that Jobs was good at. Whenever there was competition forming, he’d sue them. When Bill Gates was making software for Apple and he copied/re-invented their ‘windows’ system for IBM, Jobs was furious and confronted Gates in his office. I think that day hurt Jobs from that day on for his entire life. Apple just patents and sues everything and everyone now.
This is what I dont understand.
I invent something, put my blood sweat n tears into it..and because I dont patent it…someone else can come along and patent my invention? And basically make all the work I put into it not count for anything?
I dont get it.
it’s called patent trolling. Apple is #1 at it. they steal and buy patents and don’t innovate anything themselves. When they feel they’re failing, they go patent trolling and shop for judges.
Yes, you can shop for judges. People do that all the time, which is one of the reasons why so many cases get continuances.
Favorite story. Jobs railing at Gates over Windows.
“You’re ripping us off!”, Steve shouted, raising his voice even higher. “I trusted you, and now you’re stealing from us!”
But Bill Gates just stood there coolly, looking Steve directly in the eye, before starting to speak in his squeaky voice.
“Well, Steve, I think there’s more than one way of looking at it. I think it’s more like we both had this rich neighbor named Xerox and I broke into his house to steal the TV set and found out that you had already stolen it.”
Here ladies and gentlemen is another SHINING example of complete and utter fandroid ignorance. Apple PAID Xerox to license some of the tech it developed for SmallTalk and the GUI that ended up in the Star series of computers to build both the Lisa and the Macintosh:
http://obamapacman.com/2010/03/myth-copyright-theft-apple-stole-gui-from-xerox-parc-alto/
don’t play with samsung apple cuz they know kung fu
and they’re going to slap apple in the face with a new products , that’s for sure
Doesn’t Samsung have the patent on 3G radios? Why do they just ban the use of the technology for Apple. Then, everyone would simply have an iTouch.
Because those patents are covered under FRAND (fair use and licensing), so injunctions based on those particular radio patents are highly unlikely unless there’s an exceptional circumstance.
The only thing is that touchscreen interaction should also be covered under FRAND (but it’s not) since it’s not avoidable in regards to making a touch device.
Agree 100% with the 2nd part. How can 3G radio be covered under FRAND and not touch screen interaction, or while we at it:
Shapes of phones, tablets
Black bezels, the sizes on tablets
Icon shapes
I am so thankful none of this nonsense is being played out like this for HDTV’s, monitors, PC’s, harddrives, disc drives, etc..
unfortunately Samsung decided to be part of the standards setting organisations and its usually a requirement that if you develop something to be part of a “standard” then you must offer FRAND (Fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory) terms to all companies that wish to use that standard.
Apple don’t do that but in the case of touch screens i really don’t think its something that you should be able to patent anyway.
the first time my granny used a computer she tried to touch the icons on the screen, if only she had patented that idea.
I wish these patent issues would just disappear, I am sick and tired of seeing all of this stuff…
Seriously! Damn those patent trolls. :/
They won’t just disappear as long as ridiculous patents (which means all patents) are allowed.
Also frustrating is when someone posts (on this forum no less) comments like: Google should “clean up” Android.
What they don’t get is that it is impossible to get around a broken patent system. It’s not that Google has done something wrong. It’s that they’re making lots of money. Other people want it. Patents are just the excuse to get it (Intellectual Vultures suing Amazon over Kindle). Or in Apple’s and Microsoft’s case, patents are the monopolist’s tool of choice. (Apple suing everyone over Android, Microsoft suing Barnes & Noble over Android in Nook, Royalty licenses over Linux/Android from Amazon, Garmin, Tom Tom, Samsung, etc)
The patent system should be bulldozed.
It doesn’t make any sense. If the touchscreen interface is infringing the Apple’s patent, all the Honeycomb tablets should be banned. I don’t see any similarity between the interface. In my opinion, either the judges are technologically very ignorant or they are being paid under the table.
Apple seem to be trying to apply their app store policy to the entire world. In the app store if you make an app that is similar to theirs and may hurt their business it’s refused. Now if you try to make a device they think is similar they take you to court. In principle I don’t mind but these patents are not protecting innovation they are stifling innovation as basic evolutionary advances are being patented.
You can’t really be surprised by countries like Australia making poor legal decisions. The country is peopled entirely by criminals. (LOL)
lol… too bad I like Steve Irwin. Either way, this is far from being over yet. so don’t despair ^_^ Sammy FTW!
He’s deader than that other Steve though. Crikey!
Sucks for Australians who want to buy a great high-quality android tablet.
Yet iOS continues to look more and more like Android…
Apple asked the courts to preserve the “status quo” and protect people from being “Seduced” by Samsung’s product and forever become “Android people”…
Setting aside the question of the validity of the patents and whether Samsung “slavishly copied” Apple’s design for a bit: The Apple Attorney making those statements makes Apple sound like they fear competition and wish to prevent customers from having a choice.
Exactly.
What is this “status quo” they’re talking about? The only “status quo” I think Apple would like to see is their products being sold only.
Screw consumer choice. We know what’s best for you and its our products.
Your 1984 commercial’s calling, Apple! How the tides have changed…
I say we handle this patent war with a good old fashion gun duel. Tim cook for apple vs. Andy rubin for all android phone manufacturers. Loser withdraws patent lawsuits.
Screw that. I want to see a fight. Like a Fight Club fight. Feel pretty confident Rubin would come out on top.
How about robot wars. 100 Android powered Androids vs 100 iRobots powered by iOS. This of course means the iOS apps running the iRobots would need to pass the Apple approval process with all their rules an regulations meaning features wouldn’t get released until they wanted them to despite by this point the Androids would be power sawing their way through the shiny iRobots. Mwhaa haa haaa haaaaaaa!!
No it actually means that the Android robots would be too sick to fight bcuz their apps are so infected with viruses and malware….
Apple people always make that claim, but unless you’re PAINFULLY stupid it’s pretty hard to get a virus or malware on your android, downloading an antivirus and reading some comments before making a download is a long way from rocket science…. oh and P.S you might want to ask Scarlett Johansson how bulletproof the security on iPhones is..
Don’t get mad at me bcuz your app store is a cesspool…..
Obviously the first touch input device.EVER made was the iPhone……….
huh?even before lg and their prada..who by the way apple should owe lg for copying their design..hmmm..
Apple: just face it Sam. I’m going to win regardless
Samsung: this is just the battle, not the war
Apple: looks like I’m winning both. Call me Charlie Sheen
Samsung: Charlie Sheen lost at the end. Two and a Half Men ratings sky rocketed when he left. Sheen helped the show more than anything
Apple: …you so missed the point
Samsung: I actually didn’t. Charlie Sheen just put on a show and made everyone think he was doing good. But in reality he lost a multi million dollar job
Apple: you trying to say I’m false advertising again?
Samsung: Exactly Captain Obvious. Think of it as Donald Trump telling everyone he’s running for president, but really just getting evryone hype for his show the Apprentice
Apple: Look here loser…
Samsung: I’m not the loser, the consumer is. We keep this up and all of us will lose
Apple: well stop copying me and we can both go our separate ways
Samsung: stop the lawsuits, man up, and compete in the game son
Apple: son? I got more money than you…daughter
Samsung: daughter? I got more pride than you
Apple: the man with the most money wins
Samsung: I thought it was the man with the most tools win
Apple: times change
Samsung: I don’t think so. Because last time I checked… I created you….SON
4 lines would’ve worked…. I quit reading after that. Please trim down your Apple/Samsung banters next time.
So funny that apple is so worried about the crap they make they have to play dirty they know Samsung would come out on top apple just sucks and will never get another penny from me I would do without before buying their garbage that is so locked down its not worth it
Maybe Justice Annabelle Bennet should google touchscreen. Apple didn’t invent touch screens. I guess she thinks a technology that predates Apple Computers Inc by more then 10yrs is somehow their technology. Touchscreen should be covered under FRAND if samsungs 3G radio technology is. I say we force apple to have all their devices function on 2G radios or pay Samsung licensing fees. They can still have smartphones, just slow connection speed :-) This is total crap that you have to buy an ipad if you live in Australia.
Fuck apple. May steve jobs the great litigator and salesman diaf…
dude. jobs already died.
lol, i am well aware. :P but a guy can dream, right?
If Samsung remove the offending software for Australia, I’m pretty sure that users would be able to re-enable/download it from somewhere!
The patent situation is in serious need of reform and judges need to have technical expertise in the field they are passing judgement on. It seems to me that they are totally reliant on submissions made by overpaid lawyers and common sense has gone out of the window.
“Features such as a touchscreen interface were ruled too similar to those of the iPad by Justice Annabelle Bennet”
This bitch judge is totally retarded. The android touchscreen interface and touchwize DO NOT look alike rotten Apple iPad.
What’s wrong with these judges? Did Apple pay them money to make the ruling?
Is this a @#$%&* joke. A touch screen interface? Is this dumbass aware that everything has a touch screen interface. Good god
Apple did not invent the touch screen, that was done 40 years ago.
What they did come up with is the use of Multi-Touch screens on smartphones. There two main patents are 7,966,578 and 7,479,949.
Thees patents are so strong that the Galaxy line may never be sold in Australia. Judges don’t just shut you out especially since if they get it wrong it can really damage the market.
This is a great read on it:
http://fosspatents.blogspot.com/2011/10/steve-jobs-patent-enables-apple-to-shut.html
The entire Android system is under attack and the main weapon will be the two patents. Apple is chipping away at the device manufactures first. Scoring many wins will make it easier to eventually go at Google directly.
The phone manufactures are working overtime to buy any patent that they can find to attack Apple with. Unfortunately most of what they find are standards related claims meaning worst case they have to license the patents to Apple. Apple on the other hand has no obligation to license it’s patents. They also have many other patents that are in the application phase yet to be issued. Over time their position will just get stronger. When the iPhone was announced Steve Jobs made a comment. “boy have we patented it”, he was not kidding.
Because of the amount of Android devices shipped if Apple wins, and I think they will, the payout to Apple from Samsung, Motorola and HTC could be some of the largest settlements ever not to mention the entire Android system being shut down.
Fascinating stuff.
Multi-touch screen were NOT invented by Apple. They have been in existence since 1984. Look it up…
http://www.billbuxton.com/multitouchOverview.html
Multi-touch technologies have a long history. To put it in perspective, my group at the University of Toronto was working on multi-touchin 1984 (Lee, Buxton & Smith, 1985), the same year that the first Macintosh computer was released, and we were not the first. Furthermore, during the development of the iPhone, Apple was very much aware of the history of multi-touch, dating at least back to 1982, and the use of the pinch gesture, dating back to 1983. This is clearly demonstrated by the bibliography of the PhD thesis of Wayne Westerman, co-founder of FingerWorks, a company that Apple acquired early in 2005, and now an Apple employee
Westerman, Wayne (1999). Hand Tracking,Finger Identification, and Chordic Manipulation on a Multi-Touch Surface. U of Delaware PhD Dissertation: http://www.ee.udel.edu/~westerma/main.pdf
In making this statement about their awareness of past work, I am not criticizing Westerman, the iPhone, or Apple. It is simply good practice and good scholarship to know the literature and do one’s homework when embarking on a new product. What I am pointing out, however, is that “new” technologies – like multi-touch – do not grow out of a vacuum. While marketing tends to like the “great invention” story, real innovation rarely works that way. In short, the evolution of multi-touch is a text-book example of what I call “the long-nose of innovation.”
So, to shed some light on the back story of this particular technology, I offer this brief and incomplete summary of some of the landmark examples that I have been involved with, known about and/or encountered over the years. As I said, it is incomplete and a work in progress (so if you come back a second time, chances are there will be more and better information). I apologize to those that I have missed. I have erred on the side of timeliness vs thoroughness. Other work can be found in the references to the papers that I do include.
I am sure that there are many other examples like this. The important thing to note is that it’s the application of the technology in a smart phone using gestures that Apple has a patent on. Not touch screens or even multi touch in general.
standard gestures used in multiple devices (phone, tablet, large screen) are just that.. standardized. The issue lies more with the fact that Apple still has a halo effect, including judges who use iCrap on a daily basis. hell, the judge in this case probably looked at court docs on his ipad before walking out to meet both parties. Im sorry, but after looking at Apple’s argument, it clearly shown how these courts are enamored with Apple.
Before the iPhone what device had gesture based input with a finger?
prada
Sorry but I guess Australia’s patent system is broken much like in the US. Touchscreen and multitouch were not invented by Apple and the technology was released to the public when the inventors released papers explaining the technology. Apple should not be allowed to patent a technology that has been relased to the public long before their ipad,iphone or itouch. Patents like these just hurt innovation and competition.
While Apple is sueing Samsung Amazon is going to steal their lunch.
The judge and patent office should read this :
http://www.billbuxton.com/multitouchOverview.html
My fandroid friends, I submit this quote to you from the late, great Steven P. Jobs when he introduced the iPhone at Macworld in 2007:
“We’ve been pushing the state-of-the-art in every facet of design… We’ve been innovating like crazy for the last few years on this and we’ve filed for over 200 patents for all of the inventions in iPhone. And we intend to protect them.”
They were warned, they chose to ignore the warning, and now the chickens have come home to roost……it’s as simple as that
ibraindead..is your new name..you are the dumbest sob we read…wait..youre an iphone love and got under the table for jobs and apple…oops i forgot.
Again another typical fandroid response…….unable to intellectually respond to the point that was raised, they instead resort to making juvenile statements about Steve Jobs. Notice that his response does NOTHING to address the point of my post…….sooooooo predictable
I suspect this is the best thing to happen to Samsung. This will probably push them as far away from Apple as they can get and result in some good innovation.
I recall in my city many years ago, a couple starving theatre professors started doing outside work in sets for commercials to make ends meet. The university they worked for figured, since they payed the guys crap, it would be OK if they used the theatre shop on the weekend for their builds. The local commercial shop that controlled all the work in the town complained to the school, forcing them to rescind the shop use. This in-turn convinced the two guys to quit teaching and start their own company. They grew to be one of the biggest production houses in the South and shrank the other guys down to a tiny 3 man operation.
Moral of the story, “unintended consequences of your actions”
Just use stock Android OS problem solved
Dont blame Apple , blame the absolutely retarded judge. Judges in both germany and australia must be living in the stoneage. Its pathetic that persons with so little knowlegde can be judging anything.
I would really hate to live in Australia. This kind of ruling makes their legal system look even worse than before. Tell me, do they still also have a countrywide ban on M-Rated games?