legal

In its ongoing legal battle with Apple, Samsung has returned fire against Apple's motion for a preliminary injunction that aims to bar some of its phones and Galaxy Tab in the United States.

In a new filing, picked up by intellectual-property tracking blog Foss Patents, Samsung has opposed the preliminary injunction Apple filed for in early July. While the document is sealed at the moment, Foss points to one of the non-sealed exhibits Samsung is using to go up against Apple, which cites Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film "2001: A Space Odyssey" as clear evidence that tablets … Read more

It appears Apple may be hiring Photoshop artists alongside lawyers for its legal battle with Samsung Electronics.

Webwereld.nl, the Dutch sister site of Computerworld, claims that Apple is using an image of the Samsung Galaxy S smartphone resized to more closely resemble the iPhone 3G. This follows similar claims that Apple had doctored images of the Galaxy Tab to look more like the iPad.

The reportedly altered images--which were presented as evidence in court--would place Apple on shaky ground. The company's primary argument is that Samsung's products are "slavish" imitations of Apple's hit mobile … Read more

As expected, Apple has been hit with a class-action lawsuit in South Korea.

About 27,000 South Koreans filed their class-action suit against Apple today, charging the Cupertino, Calif.-based company with privacy violations in its iOS-based devices, the Associated Press is reporting. The plaintiffs are requesting about 27 billion won ($25.3 million) in damages, which translates to about $936 per person.

Earlier this month, the Korea Herald reported that law firm Miraelaw was planning to file a lawsuit on behalf of over 27,000 people against Apple. That report estimated that Apple would be asked to pay about $… Read more

Several months after rival Apple stepped in to put its weight behind fending off patent holder Lodsys from mobile developers, Google too has begun a public-facing effort against the nonpracticing entity.

Wired reports that Google filed a request with the United States Patent and Trademark office last night seeking a re-examination of two of the four Lodsys patents that have been used to target developers on both Google's and Apple's mobile development platforms.

"We've asked the U.S. Patent Office to re-examine two Lodsys patents that we believe should never have been issued," Kent Walker, … Read more

Viacom and cable operator Cablevision Systems have reached an agreement that will keep Viacom content flowing on Cablevision's iPad application.

The decision marks the end to a lawsuit filed by Viacom in June over Cablevision's Optimum tablet app, which Viacom said was not authorized to stream its content just days after its release.

"Viacom and Cablevision have agreed to resolve their pending litigation, and the Viacom programming will continue to appear on Cablevision's Optimum Apps for iPad and other IP devices," the two companies said in a joint statement.

"In reaching the settlement agreement, … Read more

Following this morning's news about Apple winning a preliminary injunction against Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Europe, Samsung has responded by saying that not only did the company never hear about the filing in the first place, but that it also never had the chance to present its side.

In a statement released to CNET this afternoon, and which has since been added to our original story on the injunction, a Samsung spokesman described the court's decision as "disappointing":

Samsung is disappointed with the court's decision and we intend to act immediately to … Read more

The U.S. International Trade Commission today announced that its members have voted to begin an investigation on Apple's behalf into whether Samsung infringes on Apple's intellectual property with its mobile phones, tablets, and other hardware.

Apple first filed that complaint on July 5, seeking to have the Korean tech giant's devices barred from being imported into the U.S. That was just a week after Samsung had targeted the iPhone, iPod, and Mac maker with its own ITC complaint seeking similar ends. Both of these complaints were on top of the legal battle the two companies … Read more

A U.K. teenager has been charged with five criminal offenses in connection with computer crimes associated with the LulzSec hacking group.

According to London police, Jake Davis, an 18-year-old man, was charged yesterday with gaining unauthorized access to a computer system, encouraging and assisting criminal offenses, and conspiracy to carry out a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack on the Web site of the U.K.'s Serious Organized Crime Agency. He has also been charged with two other counts of conspiracy, both tied to the U.K.'s Computer Misuse Act.

London's Metropolitan Police didn't say … Read more

InterDigital is taking aim at Nokia, Huawei, and ZTE, claiming the companies are illegally using its 3G wireless technology.

The developer of wireless technologies said today that it has filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission, seeking a ban on the importation of 3G phones, USB laptop sticks, mobile hot spots, tablets, and other wireless components from the three companies. The company separately filed a lawsuit with the U.S. District Court in Delaware.

The complaint is just the latest in a myriad of legal entanglements between technology companies, including scuffles between Apple and HTC and Samsung Electronics, … Read more