Well, so much for that. Samsung’s Executive Vice President of Product Strategy — Won-Pyo Hong — didn’t say a whole heck of a lot on stage here at AsiaD, but he did clarify one thing near the end of his interview: he has ‘no idea’ where those earlier rumors came from. With “those rumors” regarding the matter of designing the Galaxy Nexus specifically to avoid patent troubles with Apple. According to Dr. Hong, the actual development of the Galaxy Nexus started with Google before the initial lawsuit hammer fell between the two outfits, making it impossible for the suits being flung back and forth today to have any impact on that decision.

We believe it. These phones are designed months — if not years — in advance, and the actual process from concept to shipping takes a relative eternity. Furthermore, the original source (linked in More Coverage) only tied the quotes from Sammy’s Shin Jong-kyun loosely to the Galaxy Nexus, and we’re guessing that Samsung takes a look at all potential legal implications before shipping any product. In other words, the company’s probably doing everything it can — including paying Microsoft for every single Android device sold — to avoid these nasty legal battles, but the Galaxy Nexus wasn’t engineered just to sidestep another fight with the lawyers in Cupertino. And now you know.

Samsung’s Won-Pyo Hong: Galaxy Nexus wasn’t designed just to skirt Apple patents originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Oct 2011 05:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC has since lodged some additional patent infringement complaints with the International Trade Commission, but an ITC judge has now ruled on HTC’s first complaint against Apple from back in May of 2010, finding no violation of the patents in question on the part of Apple. As FOSS Patents notes, however, the ruling hardly puts an end to the dispute between the two companies, and HTC certainly seems to be in it for the long haul. Its general counsel told CNET that “this is only one step of many in these legal proceedings,” and that, “we are confident we have a strong case for the ITC appeals process and are fully prepared to protect our intellectual property.”

ITC judge says Apple did not infringe on HTC’s patents in initial case, more rulings still to come originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 Oct 2011 13:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We told you it was only a matter of time and, honestly, it took a bit longer than expected. Verizon has officially filed an appeal to the FCC’s net neutrality rules, which are set to take effect on Novemeber 20th. It wasn’t until the regulations were published in the Federal Register on September 23rd that they became fair game for legal challenges — a technicality that resulted in Verizon’s previous attempt to block the rules being tossed out by the US Court of Appeals in April. While Verizon senior vice president and deputy general counsel, Michael E. Glover, assures netizens that the company is “fully committed to an open Internet,” it none-the-less takes issue with the FCC’s attempt to institute new “broad” and “sweeping” regulations on the telecommunications industry. We’re sure this is only the first of several cases that will be brought before the courts challenging the commission’s authority. Stayed tuned to see if and when MetroPCS re-enters the fray, and to find out the ultimate fate of net neutrality here in the US. Check out the brief statement from Verizon after the break.

Continue reading Verizon appeals net neutrality rules, let the legal wrangling begin

Verizon appeals net neutrality rules, let the legal wrangling begin originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Sep 2011 17:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wouldn’t it be nice if we lived in a world where we all just got along, people worked for the thrill of it, and knowledge was free? Yeah, fat chance dreamers. ‘Sue’, our new millennium’s most oft-used verb, is getting some heavy play at the hands of the tech industry. The latest court room combatants? Why, that’d be LG Group and Osram. You see, once upon a time LG was late to the LED patent game, and was content to fork over the cash to Osram for use of its tech. Skip to now, and the electronics giant’s claiming it can get its lighting goods elsewhere, picking from a plethora of relevant IP-holding companies and combining that with its own patents. Despite having already countersued Osram in July to prevent the import of that company’s allegedly infringing products into South Korea, LG’s gathered its legal arsenal once again to block the sale of Audis and BMWs throughout the entire country — cars that include Osram’s LED tech. It’s hard to imagine the courts would grant such a wide-sweeping ban on major auto players’ bread-and-butter. And all grandstanding aside, it’s more likely the two fisticuffing parties will come to some sort of revised financial agreement.

LG seeks ban on South Korean BMW and Audi sales, sticks out its LED lit tongue at Osram originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Sep 2011 22:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Verizon was the first carrier to come to Samsung’s defense in the company’s patent dispute with Apple, but it’s not the last. As Reuters reports today, T-Mobile has now also sided with Samsung in the lawsuit, stating in a court filing that a sales ban on certain Samsung products would “unnecessarily harm” the carrier and its customers, and that, “at this late date, T-Mobile could not find comparable replacement products for the 2011 holiday season.” The carrier also noted that its ads also “prominently feature” some of the Samsung products in question, and that those investments “cannot be recouped easily.” As for the case itself, the next big date is an October 13th hearing on the injunction request.

T-Mobile joins Verizon to support Samsung in Apple patent lawsuit originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Sep 2011 11:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google Voice enters internal testing across Europe, international launch on the horizon? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 21 Sep 2011 04:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Seems like we’ve heard this story before — Google buys a bunch of patents to protect its cute little green baby from all the big, bad patent lawsuits. Only this time, instead of buying a hardware manufacturer to expand its patent warchest, team Mountain View merely purchased 1,023 bits of IP from IBM. Covering everything from a method for filling holes in printed wiring boards to a method for file system management, Google seems to have grabbed quite the eclectic collection — one we’re sure Big G will put to work for itself and its buddies in no time. Those looking to see the full results of this latest patent shopping spree can hit the source link below.

Google loads up on IP again, buys 1,000 more patents from IBM originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Sep 2011 03:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The National Labor Relations Board has weighed in on the role of social networking at the office, determining that employees can’t be fired for what they post on Facebook — as long as they use the platform to talk about improving their workplace. The NLRB’s ruling, announced on Wednesday, stems from an incident last year, when an employee at the Hispanics United of Buffalo non-profit organization went on Facebook to complain about a co-worker who accused her of slacking off at the office. Other colleagues soon chimed in on the woman’s wall post with a slew of profanity-laced comments, before the targeted employee noticed the thread and reported it to a supervisor. Citing the agency’s zero-tolerance policy on cyber harassment, the boss fired the five employees who participated in the online discussion — including one who went on to file a complaint with the NLRB. Last week, administrative law Judge Arthur Amchan finally issued a verdict in the case, determining that the employees retained the right to talk about “their terms and conditions of employment,” as stipulated under the National Labor Relations Act. Because this particular Facebook thread involved discussion of “job performance and staffing levels,” Amchan ordered Hispanics United to reinstate the employees. The decision marks the first time that an administrative judge has ruled on a Facebook-related workplace case, though the NLRB says it’s received “an increasing number of charges related to social media in the past year” — so it likely won’t be the last. You can read the Board’s statement in full, after the break.

Continue reading Judge rules in favor of employees fired over Facebook post, orders them back to work

Judge rules in favor of employees fired over Facebook post, orders them back to work originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 10 Sep 2011 08:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Add one more to the tally of patent lawsuits involving Apple and RIM. This time it’s Openwave Systems using the license-by-litigation technique, and it’s alleging that multiple devices infringe five of its patents on mobile internet — including offline email access, cloud computing, and secure server access. The company claims that Apple’s iPhone 3G, 3GS and 4, the iPod Touch, both iPads, plus RIM’s Blackberry Curve 9930 and the PlayBook all infringe its IP. Apparently, Openwave initially took the pacifist route to persuade Cupertino and Waterloo to pay up, but when its overtures were ignored, it decided upon more aggressive tactics. As others before it, Openwave wants to fight a two front war in the ITC and federal court, but we’ll have to wait and see if the ITC elects to take up the cause. Armchair attorneys can get a gander at all the juicy details at the source below.

Openwave sues Apple and RIM for patent infringement originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 31 Aug 2011 14:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Just a few days after suffering a legal setback in Dutch court, Samsung has now decided to delay the launch of its Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia, amid its heightening patent infringement battle with Apple. In a hearing today, the Korean manufacturer announced that it would refrain from selling or marketing its new tablet within Australia, before September 30th. Samsung made a similar concession earlier this month, agreeing to halt sales of its slates until today’s hearing and to provide Apple with product samples at least seven days prior to its Australian launch. The company says it presented the samples on Thursday, but Cupertino’s lawyers insisted that the Australian version of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 still infringes upon its patents. Samsung, meanwhile, said in a statement that it’s preparing to launch a counter-attack down under, telling reporters that it “intends to file a cross claim against Apple Australia and Apple Inc regarding the invalidity of the patents previously asserted by Apple and also a cross claim against Apple regarding violation of patents held by Samsung by selling its iPhones and iPads.” The next formal court hearings are scheduled for September 26th and 29th. Stay tuned.

[Thanks, Geoff]

Samsung delays Galaxy Tab 10.1 launch in Australia amid patent battle with Apple originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Aug 2011 04:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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