If you were wondering why there has been no news recently about Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930) patent fight. Your wait has just ended.
An International Trade Commission judge revealed in a preliminary decision that Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930) has now been found to infringe a major portion of an Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Patent related to a text-selection feature in its smartphones and tablets, reports Reuters.
The judgment was issued March 26 but was kept confidential until now to give a breather to the companies to redact sensitive business information. The judge says the Korean company did not violate the portions of a second Apple patent, which allows the device to detect if a microphone or other device is plugged into its microphone jack.
A final decision on the case is expected to come in August when the full commission will decide whether or not to uphold the judge’s decision. If the decision is upheld, which won’t be pleasant for Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930), the ITC can ban the infringing device from coming into the United States.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) filed the complaint in mid-2011 claiming that the infringing devices include Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930)’s Galaxy, Transform and Nexus devices, among others.
In October, ITC Judge Thomas Pender said in a preliminary decision that out of seven listed patents, Samsung infringed on four of them. Initially there were seven listed patents but one was dropped during the litigation. After this decision, the full commission asked the agency judge to review the other two patents, which were not violated by the Korean company.
Both companies, who are also the top two smartphone maker globally, have been engaged in several battles over patent infringement. The litigations between the two giants have been fought in 10 countries. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is not only targeting Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930), but also Google’s Android software, which powers devices from other manufacturers also including Samsung and is also the world’s No. 1 smartphone operating system. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s late founder Steve Jobs has termed the Google’s Android software as a “stolen product.”
In the wake of growing competition and tension between the two smartphone maker, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has reduced the orders for chips and screens for the iPhone, iPad and iPod, which presently is supplied by Samsung.
The patent in question is U.S. Patent No. RE41,922, covering a “method and apparatus for providing translucent images on a computer display.”
