New in OS X: Get MacRumors Push Notifications on your Mac

Resubscribe Now Close

Judge Invalidates Two Samsung Patent Claims Ahead of Second Patent Lawsuit with Apple

Wednesday January 22, 2014 12:45 am PST by Richard Padilla
Last May, Apple filed a motion detailing five patents violated by the Samsung Galaxy S4 and Google's voice activated search assistant Google Now ahead of a second patent infringement lawsuit to take place on March 31, 2014. However, both Apple and Samsung agreed in September 2013 to drop one patent each from the trial, as Judge Lucy Koh ordered both companies to narrow the scope of their ongoing legal battle.

apple_samsung_logos
Now, FOSS Patents reports that Judge Koh yesterday invalidated a Samsung patent and ruled that Samsung infringed on an Apple patent, leaving the Korean company with only four patents to bring to the upcoming trial. In detail, Judge Koh nullified a Samsung multimedia synchronization patent and stated that Samsung's Android devices infringed on an Apple patent for a "method, system, and graphical user interface for providing word recommendations", also known as autocomplete.

As Florian Mueller of FOSS Patents suggests, the infringed autocomplete patent could also be problematic for Google and Android device manufacturers:
If Samsung infringes this autocomplete patent (which is what Judge Koh concluded), then other Android device makers also have a problem. Google, which may be (possibly in close cooperation with Samsung) involved with an anonymous reexamination request against the word recommendations patent, will clearly be unhappy about this finding by its own home court.
The ruling by Judge Koh is also likely to affect the mediation meeting between Apple CEO Tim Cook and Samsung Electronics CEO Oh-Hyun Kwon scheduled to take place on or before February 19. In addition to the second infringement lawsuit in March, both companies will also partake in a trial centered around Apple's new call for a U.S. ban on Samsung products set for January 30.



[ 60 comments ]


Top Rated Comments

(View all)

Avatar
Unggoy Murderer
69 months ago

Lucy Koh is the only judge on the planet who ALWAYS rules in Apple's favor. In all other countries, it's so much more difficult for Apple to defend its (design) patents - and at least half of the time, Apple loses.

Must be great to be an American corporation in an American court.


Oh please, even a South Korean judge recently dismissed a Samsung lawsuit against Apple. Samsung are being found out left, right and centre - pull your head out of the clouds and see what's really going on.

MacRumours.com article (https://www.macrumors.com/2013/12/12/south-korean-court-dismisses-samsungs-patent-lawsuit-against-apple/)
Rating: 22 Votes
Avatar
Oletros
69 months ago
Mueller predicting doom and gloom about Googgle? Shocking.

The claim 18 infringed by Samsung:

18. A graphical user interface on a portable electronic device with a keyboard and a touch screen display, comprising: a first area of the touch screen display that displays a current character string being input by a user with the keyboard; and a second area of the touch screen display separate from the first area that displays the current character string or a portion thereof and a suggested replacement character string for the current character string; wherein; the current character string in the first area is replaced with the suggested replacement character string if the user activates a key on the keyboard associated with a delimiter; the current character string in the first area is replaced with the suggested replacement character string if the user performs a gesture on the suggested replacement character string in the second area; and the current character string in the first area is kept if the user performs a gesture in the second area on the current character string or the portion thereof displayed in the second area.



----------

Lucy Koh is the only judge on the planet who ALWAYS rules in Apple's favor.


Wrong
Rating: 16 Votes
Avatar
Winni
69 months ago
Lucy Koh is the only judge on the planet who ALWAYS rules in Apple's favor. In all other countries, it's so much more difficult for Apple to defend its (design) patents - and at least half of the time, Apple loses.

Must be great to be an American corporation in an American court.
Rating: 13 Votes
Avatar
dragicon
69 months ago
The fact that this is over something as ridiculous as autocomplete just shows how these patent lawsuits have gotten out of hand. It is amazing that a company can patent something so simple. How apple was able to patent such a thing in the first place is where the real crime is. Hardware and design is a different story than this in my book.
Rating: 13 Votes
Avatar
Oletros
69 months ago

So you clearly chosed to ignore the fact that they did actually win in Samsungs home, regardles of similar rulings on the past?


Well, if the OP say that Judge Koh is the only judge that always rules in favour of Apple posting a link from other Judge that has ruled against Samsung doesn't prove anything.

Perhaps is better to post a link to rulings from Judge Koh against Apple, and she has some of them. Funny thing is that when that happens then she is in Samsung pockets or people remembers her ascendancy.
Rating: 9 Votes
Avatar
WilliamLondon
69 months ago

Oh please, even a South Korean judge recently dismissed a Samsung lawsuit against Apple. Samsung are being found out left, right and centre - pull your head out of the clouds and see what's really going on.

MacRumours.com article (https://www.macrumors.com/2013/12/12/south-korean-court-dismisses-samsungs-patent-lawsuit-against-apple/)


Long time troll, he tosses his anti-Apple turds around the forum and then runs away. Same every single time.
Rating: 9 Votes
Avatar
BvizioN
69 months ago

No since it says

"Similar rulings in the past have gone in Samsung's favour. In August last year the same South Korean court ordered Apple to pay $38,000 (£23,100, $AU42,000) in damages for infringing on wireless technology patents."

and thus obviously fails to meet the criteria of ALWAYS.


So you clearly chosed to ignore the fact that they did actually win in Samsungs home, regardles of similar rulings on the past?
Rating: 7 Votes
Avatar
osx11
69 months ago
Do people actually care about this type of news?

I feel like this constant patent lawsuit news as well as the iBooks anti-Trust lawsuit updates are probably not why people come to MacRumors.com
Rating: 7 Votes
Avatar
BvizioN
69 months ago

Lucy Koh is the only judge on the planet who ALWAYS rules in Apple's favor.


Does this (http://www.techradar.com/news/computing/apple/apple-wins-legal-victory-against-samsung-in-south-korea-1207435) answer your question?
Rating: 6 Votes
Avatar
Terrin
69 months ago

Lucy Koh is the only judge on the planet who ALWAYS rules in Apple's favor. In all other countries, it's so much more difficult for Apple to defend its (design) patents - and at least half of the time, Apple loses.

Must be great to be an American corporation in an American court.


Right. That is why Apple has had to appeal decisions regarding injunctions made by her that were overturned. Further Apple has been negatively effected by her decision to only allow Apple to sue on a few patents at a time, which ironically was the reason she denied granting Apple an injunction. On top of that she made Apple retry about half the damage award from the first trial and refused to treble the damages when the jury found willful infringement. With her management if the case I am surprised won anything at all.

As far as the design patents go. When the Judge held up an Apple and Samsung tablet side by side, Samsung's lawyer could not tell them apart and identify her clients product. Enough said.
Rating: 6 Votes

[ Read All Comments ]