euflag.pngApple, Samsung and 19 other technology companies sent a letter to the European Union asking for limits on injunctions in patent infringement cases, reports Bloomberg. These limits would be incorporated into the future European Unitary Patent system and Unified Patent Court.

The letter requests that judges in the new EU patent court be given guidance on when to issue an injunction in cases where the validity of a patent is questionable. The guidelines would make it harder for patent holding companies to block the import and sales of devices by filing infringement lawsuits.

"Without this guidance, the potential exists for a court to order an injunction prohibiting the importation and sale of goods even though the patent may ultimately be found invalid."

These rules would be incorporated into the proposed Unitary Patent system and Unified Patent Court, which establishes one patent system and a single jurisdiction court for all participating European Union member states.

A similar group of technology companies are petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court for permission to collect legal fees when patent holding companies lose an infringement case. This change in the allocation of fees would cut down on the number of frivolous suits, argues the group.

Top Rated Comments

Z400Racer37 Avatar
132 months ago
I'm sure they'll deny this request, the EU isn't the US in that it actually looks after the best interest of its citizens rather than corporations, especially foreign ones.
Yep. Denying the release of products that the free market would otherwise allow to be sold to consumers who want to buy them because of some stupid frivolous patent lawsuit. I'm so glad big brother knows whats best for me. God forbid I had to do my own research and make my own purchasing decision. Imagine.... those greedy capitalist corporations actually charging me money to buy their product... at a PROFIT no less! Outrageous... I'd much rather not have an iPhone at all... That way I could have way more money in my pocket.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Oletros Avatar
132 months ago
... And their economies are garbage, their countries are ridden with debt, and their unemployment is awful. ...Soo why do we care what they think?

I tend to agree with the Americans from 19th - early 20th century... You know, the period where the U.S. became the wealthiest nation in the world in the shortest amount of time, with an almost non existent federal government? Oh, and a negative unemployment rate, as is evidenced by the massive level of immigration. Question. How many social programs were available for immigrants who came here with nothing? Social security? Welfare? Medicare? Medicaid? Food stamps (sorry, nutritional supplement something or others)? Answer. 0. Yet they flourished harder than any other generation IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD. So I really couldn't care less what the Europeans think about what should be done with the economy, because their economies suck, and their economies have never been as healthy as ours were when the government existed almost solely in a defensive capacity.
Not sure if not serious or just not knowing what is talking about
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
writingdevil Avatar
132 months ago
A little like two football teams on the field, who cry out to the referee to award a foul.

Except, they now wish to be consulted (or "give guidance") before the referee issues a penalty, or award that they agree on.

Ridiculous. Talk about writing the rules as you go, to suit yourself.

All these big players make huge amounts of money from the patent scam.

If it is too hot in the kitchen, they should get out and lobby for a review, or overhaul of the current patent laws.

But they will never do that....

Your example doesn't relate to the proposal. Currently one team (using your analogy) can tell the ref a player violated a penalty drawing rule
and the ref penalizes without seeing instant replay (validate claim of infringement), ejects "supposed" violator and at some later point in game reviews replay tape and discovers, perhaps, there was no violation but the team has already lost that player (profits from sales) because someone called foul (patent infringement) with no cause. If there is cause found, appropriate penalties follow, but with no cause found, the team penalized can't get back minutes on clock or what ejected player could have done.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Tigger11 Avatar
132 months ago


If it is too hot in the kitchen, they should get out and lobby for a review, or overhaul of the current patent laws.

But they will never do that....

Actually it is exactly what they are doing the 21 companies are asking for the NEW EU Patent system which is replacing the individual countries patent systems to not allow a device to be banned over a patent especially if its likely the patent will be thrown out. We have a large number of patent troll companies and them stopping Samsung from selling a Galaxy Model for 6 months could cost Samsung 100s of millions of Euros and then the case gets thrown out, and Samsung has no way to recoup the lost money because even sueing the patent troll company into bankruptcy doesnt recoup the loss. On the other hand, if Samsung sells the phone for 6 months, the judge decides they are in violation, Samsung can be fined a hefty portion of the profits from the sales and the patent owner gets paid. Its win, win either way and its how they cases should be handled instead of companies with the no assets costing companies billions only to be told 6 months later that the patent isnt valid.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
goobot Avatar
132 months ago
I'm sure they'll deny this request, the EU isn't the US in that it actually looks after the best interest of its citizens rather than corporations, especially foreign ones.
You mean like how they allowed the word "candy" to be trademarked? Yes they sure do know what they are doing.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Reason077 Avatar
132 months ago
Imagine.... those greedy capitalist corporations actually charging me money to buy their product... at a PROFIT no less! Outrageous... I'd much rather not have an iPhone at all... That way I could have way more money in my pocket.

Don't joke! If you lived in Argentina, this would actually be true. The government has made that decision for you.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

reset password request iphone

Warning: Apple Users Targeted in Phishing Attack Involving Rapid Password Reset Requests

Tuesday March 26, 2024 4:34 pm PDT by
Phishing attacks taking advantage of Apple's password reset feature have become increasingly common, according to a report from KrebsOnSecurity. Multiple Apple users have been targeted in an attack that bombards them with an endless stream of notifications or multi-factor authentication (MFA) messages in an attempt to cause panic so they'll respond favorably to social engineering. An...
Generic iOS 18 Feature Purple

iOS 18: What to Expect From 'Biggest' Update in iPhone's History

Wednesday March 27, 2024 11:10 am PDT by
At least some Apple software engineers continue to believe that iOS 18 will be the "biggest" update in the iPhone's history, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Below, we recap rumored features and changes for the iPhone. "The iOS 18 update is expected to be the most ambitious overhaul of the iPhone's software in its history, according to people working on the upgrade," wrote Gurman, in a r...
maxresdefault

Apple to Launch New iPad Pro and iPad Air Models in May

Thursday March 28, 2024 11:07 am PDT by
Apple will introduce new iPad Pro and iPad Air models in early May, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman previously suggested the new iPads would come out in March, and then April, but the timeline has been pushed back once again. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Apple is working on updates to both the iPad Pro and iPad Air models. The iPad Pro models will...
maxresdefault

Apple Announces WWDC 2024 Event for June 10 to 14

Tuesday March 26, 2024 10:02 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its 35th annual Worldwide Developers Conference is set to take place from Monday, June 10 to Friday, June 14. As with WWDC events since 2020, WWDC 2024 will be an online event that is open to all developers at no cost. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. WWDC 2024 will include online sessions and labs so that developers can learn about new...
apple maps 3d feature

Apple Maps May Gain Custom Routes With iOS 18

Tuesday March 26, 2024 3:10 pm PDT by
Apple may be planning to add support for "custom routes" in Apple Maps in iOS 18, according to code reviewed by MacRumors. Apple Maps does not currently offer a way to input self-selected routes, with Maps users limited to Apple's pre-selected options, but that may change in iOS 18. Apple has pushed an iOS 18 file to its maps backend labeled "CustomRouteCreation." While not much is revealed...
General iOS 17 Feature Orange Purple

Apple Releases Revised Versions of iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 With Updated Build Number

Wednesday March 27, 2024 5:59 am PDT by
Apple on late Tuesday released revised versions of iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 with an updated build number of 21E237, according to MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris. The updates previously had a build number of 21E236. The revised updates are available for all iPhone and iPad models that are compatible with iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, but they can only be installed via the Finder app on macOS...
applephilschiller

Apple's Phil Schiller Works 80 Hours a Week Overseeing App Store

Wednesday March 27, 2024 2:03 pm PDT by
With the App Store and app ecosystem undergoing major changes in the European Union, The Wall Street Journal today shared a profile on App Store chief Phil Schiller, who is responsible for the App Store. Though Schiller transitioned from marketing chief to "Apple Fellow" in 2020 to take a step back from Apple and spend more time on personal projects and friends, he is reportedly working...