Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and its arch-rival Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930) have sued each other several times over the past few years for patent infringements. Now a third company has sued them both for violating its patents. ZiiLabs, a subsidiary of Singapore-based Creative Technology Ltd. (ADR) (OTCMKTS:CREAF) (SGX:C76) has filed a suit in the Eastern District of Texas for alleged patent infringement.
Did Apple really violate patents?
ZiiLabs said Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and the Korean electronics giant have infringed on 10 of its patents. The patents in question are related to graphics processing, video stream data mixing and graphic memory management. ZiiLabs makes media-rich application processors, dealing mostly in graphics processing software and hardware. The Singaporean company said that it will claim past and future damages, along with injunctions against Apple and Samsung.
The lawsuit targets system-on-chip (SoC) designs produced by Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930) and used in both companies’ devices. ZiiLabs is going after Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s iPhones, iPads and even MacBooks, Mac Pros and iMacs; and almost every smartphone, tablet and laptop Samsung has launched over the past two years. The validity of the Singaporean company’s accusations are still unclear. Since the A6 SoC in iPhone 5, the iPhone maker has custom-designed its A-series processors. Before that, Apple was using modified versions of existing architectures. But all those chips were produced at Samsung’s Austin, Texas-based foundries.
Apple and Samsung continue to fight
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) recently sought an injunction on Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930)’s smartphones. The iPhone maker argued that the Korean company may clone its past devices that were found to have violated patents, and can be launched under a new name. But District Judge Lucy Koh said the Cupertino-based tech giant couldn’t provide enough evidence on how Samsung’s devices that violated patents affected its sales, and to what degree. Apple was awarded $930 million in damages anyway. A trial in another lawsuit between the two giants will begin next month.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares were unchanged at $536.05 in pre-market trading Wednesday.
