The ABCs of Apple v. Samsung
There are five drama-laden days of hearings coming up this week in the patent battle between the two tech titans. Here are some bite-sized takeaways to help keep you in the know.
To casual observers, patent disputes too often prove impenetrable -- with their arcane legal arguments and mind-numbing technical detail.
Apple v. Samsung, however, has been as good a courtroom drama as Silicon Valley has to offer.
We've seen lawyers snapping at the judge. One of Samsung's lawyers literally begged the court to reverse a ruling. A steady stream of juicy trade secrets has flowed out of both companies in the form of courtroom exhibits. And somewhere just offstage waits a third powerful player.
CNET broke the news last week that Google, the company that isn't a party to the suit but has plenty at stake, is lending aid to Samsung as well as other Android partners that Apple has named in similar patent suits.
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Trust us, as we go into a full week of new courtroom testimony, there's still plenty of action left. Here are some key facts to help you stay on top of it all.
How did this start? You can trace the clash back to January 9, 2007, when the iPhonedebuted. Apple said in a lawsuit it filed against Samsung in April 2011 that within a couple of years of Apple's releasing the iPhone, Samsung had created iPhone clones that ripped off Apple's technology and designs. Apple also claims Samsung did the same thing after the iPad came out. Samsung responded by countersuing Apple for patent infringement.
What's at stake? Apple wants $2.5 billion if it wins. Samsung is also seeking monetary damages. What this case is really about, though, is stopping Google and its Android operating system. Steve Jobs, the late Apple co-founder and CEO, said before dying last October that he wanted to destroy Android because he considered it a "wholesale" ripoff of the iPhone.
If Apple wins, the company's lawyers will first be able to force Samsung to stop shipping some of its handsets and computer tablets in the United States but more importantly, Apple will have a nice precedent with which to attack HTC and other companies that use Android. If Apple loses, then the decision will obviously work against Apple's larger anti-Android strategy.
Why doesn't Apple sue Google?: One likely reason is that Android is free and Google doesn't profit directly from sharing the OS with phone makers. Samsung, on the other hand, chooses to use Android and is generating revenue upon which Apple can calculate damages.
Samsung also makes for an easier target. Apple can compare the iPhone with Samsung's handsets side by side.
Apple v. Samsung
Important dates in the patent dispute.
January 9, 2007
The Apple iPhone debuts.
The Apple iPhone debuts.
April 15, 2011
Apple files suit against Samsung, asserting patent and trade-dress claims.
Apple files suit against Samsung, asserting patent and trade-dress claims.
June 30, 2011
Samsung files counterclaims against Apple. In response to Samsung's infringement claims related to its standards patents, Apple asserts counterclaims of license exhaustion and FRAND/antitrust violations.
Samsung files counterclaims against Apple. In response to Samsung's infringement claims related to its standards patents, Apple asserts counterclaims of license exhaustion and FRAND/antitrust violations.
July 1, 2011
Apple files a motion for preliminary injunction against the Galaxy S 4G, Infuse 4G, and Droid Charge smartphones, and the Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet, which was denied on December 2, 2011.
Apple files a motion for preliminary injunction against the Galaxy S 4G, Infuse 4G, and Droid Charge smartphones, and the Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet, which was denied on December 2, 2011.
June 26, 2012
Apple appeals the denial of preliminary injunction to the Federal Circuit, which affirms on all counts except the D'889 design patent, which claims the design of a tablet computer. On this day, the court enters preliminary injunction against the Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet based on the D'889 patent.
Apple appeals the denial of preliminary injunction to the Federal Circuit, which affirms on all counts except the D'889 design patent, which claims the design of a tablet computer. On this day, the court enters preliminary injunction against the Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet based on the D'889 patent.
July 31, 2012
Opening arguments in the trial get under way.
Opening arguments in the trial get under way.
Has Apple landed any punches? Apple seems to have the edge when it comes to which side the court favors. In June, the presiding judge in the case granted preliminary injunctions against Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet. In addition, Samsung has received four sanctions mostly related to failure to turn over evidence.
Some of the more compelling evidence that Apple has shown to the jury includes side-by-side comparisons of the two company's icons and graphics. Apple has also presented internal e-mails and documents that show Samsung closely studied the iPhone and knew that its own handsets were inferior to Apple's. Apple argues that these documents prove Samsung was trying to mimic the iPhone.
Has Samsung bloodied Apple's nose? In many people's eyes, Apple is choosing to litigate instead of compete and that has many people cheering for Samsung. Samsung polled Best Buy managers and reported back that customers most often returned the company's tablet because of a glitch, not because they had mistakenly believed they were buying an iPad, as Apple had asserted. Up to now, Apple has been presenting its case but this week Samsung takes its turn.
Who are the lawyers? As you might expect, there are oodles of them. Apple's lead attorney is Harold McElhinny of the firm of Morrison & Foerster. At 65, McElhinny has a lot of big victories under his belt. The top man for Samsung is Charles Verhoeven from the firm of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan. Verhoeven is younger but just as much of a winner. A legal journal not long ago implied that Google doesn't need patents. It has Verhoeven.
Who is the judge? Lucy Koh, a U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of California. She has been a federal judge since June 2010. When granting the preliminary injunction against Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1, Koh said: "Although Samsung has a right to compete, it does not have a right to compete unfairly by flooding the market with infringing products."
How long will it last? The trial began on July 30 and is scheduled to conclude by August 24. This week (the week of August 13) is the only one in which proceedings will occur Monday through Friday. The schedule otherwise is Monday, Tuesday, and Friday. Court starts at 9 a.m. PT and ends at 4:30 p.m. PT.
Where can I get the best info on this? I'm glad you asked. CNET is covering the case gavel to gavel. Our Josh Lowensohn is in the courtroom and posting to Twitter, and is filing numerous stories. All our news, features and photo galleries about the trial can be found here.
In addition, All Things D, The Verge, and Foss Patents are pulling out the stops to cover the case as well.
Where is the trial taking place? It's at the Robert Peckham U.S. Courthouse and Federal Building in San Jose, Calif.
Apple's patent claims
Utility patents:
Utility patents:
- '381 patent: Relates to the "bounce-back" feature when scrolling beyond the edge of a photo or document.
- '915 patent: Relates to a device capable of distinguishing between a single-touch scroll operation and a multitouch "pinch-to-zoom" operation.
- '163 patent: Relates to touch to double-tapping to enlarge and center portions of an electronic document.
Design patents:
- D '677 patent and D '087 patent: Relates to the front face of an electronic device, as embodied by the iPhone.
- D '305 patent: Relates to a user-interface design depicting a grid of rounded square icons against a black background.
- D '889 patent: Relates to the industrial design of a tablet computer.
Trade dress (a legal term that refers to a product's physical appearance, including its size, shape, color, design, and texture):
- Dilution: Apple asserts that Samsung's smartphones dilute its iPhone trade dresses (one registered, two unregistered), and that the Galaxy Tab 10.1 dilutes its unregistered iPad and iPad 2 trade dresses.
- Infringement: Apple alleges that the Galaxy Tab 10.1 infringes its unregistered iPad and iPad 2 trade dresses.
- Antitrust: Apple alleges that Samsung's assertion of patents that are essential to 3G standards constitutes a violation of federal and California antitrust law.
Samsung report: Consumers couldn't tell iPad, Galaxy Tab apart (pictures)
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Samsung's Patent Claims
Standards-essential patents:
Standards-essential patents:
- '516 patent: Directed to scaling down the transmit power of certain radio broadcast channels before other channels, to give priority to the most important data channels.
- '941 patent: Describes a more efficient use of radio resources by reducing overhead associated with transmitting a particular type of data unit.
Features patents:
- '711 patent: Allows a user to play music while the user multitasks and accesses other programs and menus.
- '460 patent: Allows a user to take a picture on a phone/tablet, immediately review the picture in a gallery mode, and then seamlessly e-mail it along with a message.
- '893 patent: Allows a user of a phone/tablet to browse pictures in the gallery, switch to the camera mode, take a picture, and then switch back to the last picture viewed in the gallery.
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