Dutch Court Issues Europe-wide Ban on Galaxy S and S2

[NoGooD]

The Rechtbank 's-Gravenhage (a Dutch court in the city of The Hague) today issued a formally Europe-wide preliminary injunction against Samsung's Galaxy S, Galaxy S II and Ace smartphones -- but not the Galaxy tablets -- at Apple's request. The decision follows a hearing held on August 10 and 11, 2011.

 

Let me clarify "formally Europe-wide" here:

 

This relates to countries in which one particular European software patent (EP 2059868) is valid. (Formally it's a "device" patent, but it doesn't represent any innovation on the hardware side, so the nature of the invention is that of a software patent the way I define that term.) The injunction relates to the current version of those devices but would not cover future releases that may be designed in ways that don't infringe this particular patent.

 

The status of that patent varies between different countries as this list shows. While the patent was originally designated to more than 30 member countries of the European Patent Organization (which is not an EU organization and also includes non-EU members such as Switzerland), there are many countries in which the application wasn't turned into a valid patent because Apple didn't make the necessary administrative effort and pick up the related costs. Those countries in which Apple didn't successfully pursue and complete a local registration include Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, and Spain. Local registrations have apparently succeeded in Germany, Ireland, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK -- as well as the Netherlands, obviously.

 

In legal terms, the order does not bind Samsung's Korean parent company -- only three different Samsung subsidiaries registered in the Netherlands -- with respect to other countries than the Netherlands. However, it is my understanding that Samsung's European logistics use the Netherlands as the primary hub. If Samsung's Korean parent company wants to exercise its freedom to ship into other European countries despite this injunction, it will have to reorganize its logistics chain in Europe accordingly.

 

According to a statement quoted by the BBC, Samsung appears to be determined to modify its software in order to steer clear of the infringement identified by the court. Samsung vows to fight on against Apple and underscores that all of Apple's infringement allegations except for the one related to this particular patent were defeated. (I did a follow-up post to explain why the judge considered Apple's slide-to-unlock patent trivial and invalid).

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Just a tiny bit douchy IMO

[Qlimax]

Apple is just trying to get more money(like always)

[JoeDirt]

Crapple figures.

[Artisan]

It makes me giggle that apple has altered images of the phone to make it appear more similar. Shame that these people will have to miss out on a superior product :\

[NoGooD]

I swear you couldn't make this stuff up.

 

Samsung claims that Stanley Kubrick introduced the first tablet design in 2001: A Space Odyssey which could legally be considered as "prior art."

 

ZoomHere's a comical topic for sci-fi fans at the next convention (pick one): Samsung claims that film director Stanley Kubrick actually designed the first tablet in his (awesome) 1968 film, 2001: A Space Odyssey.

 

As seen in the YouTube clip below, astronauts Dave Bowman and Frank Poole watch video on a rectangular tablet while enjoying a meal. Samsung is using this example in its patent infringement battle with Apple regarding the iPad 2's design and the alleged patent-infringing device, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet. Because of this clip, Samsung insists that Apple's patent is null and void because Kubrick designed the tablet first, and that Kubrick's creation falls within the "prior art" defense.

 

"Attached hereto as Exhibit D is a true and correct copy of a still image taken from Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey," reads Samsung's oppositional brief filed Monday night. "In a clip from that film lasting about one minute, two astronauts are eating and at the same time using personal tablet computers. As with the design claimed by the D'889 Patent, the tablet disclosed in the clip has an overall rectangular shape with a dominant display screen, narrow borders, a predominately flat front surface, a flat back surface (which is evident because the tablets are lying flat on the table's surface), and a thin form factor."

 

It's true: the movie prop may not have the ability to surf the Internet or play Angry Birds, but it's nearly identical to the iPad and subsequent copycat tablets, and even sports the ability to play video. If anything, it appears as if Steve Jobs may have been half-asleep one night while Kubrick's movie was playing on the TV, and he jumped up out of his chair shouting Eureka! as a sudden idea of a thin, rectangular video-playing device floated behind his dollar-sign eyes.

 

ZoomThis is where "prior art" comes into play. In patent law, this refers to all information made available publicly in any form before a given date that might be relevant to a patent's claims of originality. Hence, if any invention can be described in prior art, its patent on that invention is invalid. Samsung is hoping that Kubrick's tablet design in 2001: A space Odyssey will fall into this category.

 

But if not, the company could always fall back on the tablets used by numerous Starfleet officers during the Next Generation era. Say Mr. Stewart, is that an iPad you're holding? No, of course not. How silly of us to think that.

Source: Toms Hardware