Apple's Chief Patent Litigator Profiled as Samsung Threatens Lawsuits over iPhone 5

finalyerbaBloomberg Businessweek publishes a profile of Noreen Krall, Apple's chief patent litigator handling the growing number of lawsuits and other disputes involving Apple, including the high-profile U.S. case that saw Apple win a $1 billion verdict against Samsung late last month. The article offers an interesting look at how Krall has managed to become one of the "masters of the chessboard" in understanding patent and court rules around the world and herding teams of lawyers both inside and outside of the company.

“There is no historical precedent for what Noreen Krall is doing,” said John Thorne, who ran Verizon Communications Inc.’s intellectual-property team before joining Kellogg Huber in Washington this year. “Good generalship produces results like Noreen has gotten. She’s mastering big decisions, like which law firms to hire, how to manage resources, how much of Tim Cook’s time to take.”

The report notes that the 2009 hiring of Bruce Sewell from Intel to become Apple's general counsel and the subsequent 2010 recruitment of Krall from Sun was part of a strategy to ramp up the company's patent protection efforts as the looming threat from Android grew. Krall, an electrical engineer by training who spent time at both IBM and Sun before joining Apple, appears to be highly-regarded by her peers and former coworkers, and while Apple refused to comment for the report it appears that Krall is certainly making a name for herself at her latest company.

Krall's profile comes as Apple may be facing even more lawsuits in the coming months, as The Korea Times reports that anonymous Samsung officials have acknowledged plans to sue Apple over the iPhone 5, focusing on LTE-related patents held by the Korean company.

"It's true that Samsung Electronics has decided to take immediate legal action against the Cupertino-based Apple. Countries in Europe and even the United States ― Apple's home-turf ― are our primary targets," said a senior Samsung who is directly involved with the matter, in a telephone interview with The Korea Times. [...]

"Apple claimed the existing 3G-related patents are standard essential patents (SEPs) according to our earlier commitment to the FRAND (fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory) terms. But the story is totally different when you talk about LTE patents. These are new and highly-valued," said another Samsung executive.

The report also mentions word from an anonymous executive at Korean carrier SK Telecom claiming that Apple has agreed to launch an LTE-enabled iPhone 5 on the carrier. Word of negotiations between Apple and SK Telecom surfaced last month, and late last week The Wall Street Journal confirmed that the iPhone 5 will have "global LTE support".

Update 9:20 PM: SK Telecom has contacted us to let us know that it has not confirmed anything to The Korea Times with respect to the iPhone. The Korea Times has also updated its report to cite "industry sources" rather than SK Telecom directly.

Popular Stories

Beyond iPhone 13 Better Triad

Apple's 20th Anniversary iPhone May Finally Go All Screen

Tuesday April 15, 2025 6:31 am PDT by
Apple is preparing a "bold" new iPhone Pro model for the iPhone's 20th anniversary in 2027, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. As part of what's being described as a "major shake-up," Apple is said to be developing a design that makes more extensive use of glass – and this could point directly to the display itself. Here's the case for Apple releasing a truly all-screen iPhone with no...
iPhone 17 Pro 3 4ths Perspective Aluminum Camera Module 1

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 12 New Features

Sunday April 13, 2025 7:52 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
iOS 19 Roundup Feature

iOS 19 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Tuesday April 15, 2025 7:37 am PDT by
The first iOS 19 beta is less than two months away, and there are already a handful of new features that are expected with the update. Apple should release the first iOS 19 beta to developers immediately following the WWDC 2025 keynote, which is scheduled for Monday, June 9. Following beta testing, the update should be released to the general public in September. Below, we recap the key...
CarPlay Hero

Apple Releases Wireless CarPlay Fix

Wednesday April 16, 2025 11:28 am PDT by
If you have been experiencing issues with wireless CarPlay in your vehicle lately, it was likely due to a software bug that has now been fixed. Apple released iOS 18.4.1 today, and the update's release notes say it "addresses a rare issue that prevents wireless CarPlay connection in certain vehicles." If wireless CarPlay was acting up for you, updating your iPhone to iOS 18.4.1 should...
iphone 16 pro models 1

17 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 17

Thursday April 17, 2025 4:12 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you skipped the iPhone...
Apple 2025 Thumb 1

10 Products Still Coming From Apple in 2025

Friday April 11, 2025 4:14 pm PDT by
Apple may have updated several iPads and Macs late last year and early this year, but there are still multiple new devices that we're looking forward to seeing in 2025. Most will come in September or October, but there could be a few surprises before then. We've rounded up a list of everything that we're still waiting to see from Apple in 2025. iPhone 17, 17 Air, and 17 Pro - We get...
iOS 18

Apple Releases iOS 18.4.1 With Bug Fixes

Wednesday April 16, 2025 10:11 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 18.4.1 and iPadOS 18.4.1, minor updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating systems that came out last September. iOS 18.4.1 and iPadOS 18.4.1 come two weeks after the launch of iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. There have been complaints about ...
iPhone 6s MacRumors YouTube

Apple Says These Products Are Now Vintage

Tuesday April 15, 2025 9:53 am PDT by
Apple today updated its vintage products list to add the 2018 Mac mini and the iPhone 6s, devices that will get more limited service and repairs now that they are considered vintage. The iPhone 6s initially launched in 2015, but Apple kept it around as a low-cost device until 2018, which is why it is only now being added to the vintage list. The iPhone 6s had Apple's A9 chip, and it was...
macOS Sequoia Feature

Apple Releases macOS Sequoia 15.4.1 With Bug Fixes

Wednesday April 16, 2025 10:16 am PDT by
Apple today released macOS Sequoia 15.4.1, a minor update to the macOS Sequoia operating system that launched in September. macOS Sequoia 15.4.1 comes two weeks after the launch of macOS Sequoia 15.4. Mac users can download the ‌‌macOS Sequoia‌‌ update through the Software Update section of System Settings. It is available for free on all Macs able to run macOS 15. According to...

Top Rated Comments

drewisanapple Avatar
165 months ago
Someone is having a little fit.

How is 3G different than 4G. Samesung needs to realized that when you are caught red-handed than you get in trouble.
Score: 34 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Raftysworld Avatar
165 months ago
Apple already had LTE in the New iPad before Samsung even touched it, so this couldn't be more pathetic. Shame on Samsung.
Score: 33 Votes (Like | Disagree)
samcraig Avatar
165 months ago
I guess we could all discuss what warrants essential technology patents vs what doesn't.

Fact is - if Samsung does have these patents and believes Apple has infringed - then no matter how frivolous - they are entitled to have their day in court if it goes to trial just like Apple was.

If you're going to hate the system - hate the entire system - not just when a company you don't care for takes advantage of it.
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
chrmjenkins Avatar
165 months ago
Apple is going to walk into court claiming two things: 1) Even if LTE is new, it's still a standard that all handset manufacturers have to implement (and therefore should be FRAND) and 2) they're buying chips from a third party that are implementing the standards, so technically that should be bundled in the sale of the chip.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mmccaskill Avatar
165 months ago
The bigger question is do other LTE phone manufacturers have existing licenses with Samsung? If not I think it's clear why Samsung is doing this.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iEvolution Avatar
165 months ago
What'd you guys expect for Samsung to just take it?

What comes around goes around as far as I am concerned.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)