Featured: US Department of Justice to Investigate Samsung’s Use of Patents Against Apple

| October 23, 2012 | 2 Replies

    Yet again there is trouble surrounding patents when it comes to Apple and Samsung. I doubt that things like this would be happening if Apple hadn’t had their day in court with Samsung earlier in the year but, either way, more and more is happening when it comes to patents in the mobile arena. There’s now something a little more sinister going on here with the US Department of Justice said to be looking into Samsung’s use of particular patents against Apple. The patents in question are standard-essential patents that are, as you guessed it, essential for what you need to do. Without the lincesing of some of these patents then Apple would struggle to do what they do after all, they are the newcomer to the mobile industry – alot of people and press out there seem to forget that it’s Apple who have been playing catchup all these years.

    Apple recently filed  with the International Trade Commission that revealed another ongoing antitrust investigation regarding FRAND pledged - ”Fair, Reasonable, and Non-Discriminatory” – patents that fall under the standard-essential banner. In the filing Apple revealed that the US DoJ are investigating Samsung’s alleged abuse of such patents:

    “The Department of Justice has opened an investigation into the manner in which Samsung has used–or misused–its declared-essential patents” 

    As much as we’d like to believe that Apple could well be crying Wolf I doubt even Apple would try such a thing with the DoJ and the ITC after all, without the ITC pandering to Apple’s requests – who would get Android devices took off the shelves? This isn’t the first time that Samsung are facing fire for their handling of their SEP patents. It’s been revealed the South Korean Fair Trade Commission are looking into the company, as is Europe’s counterpart. It’s certainly looking like Samsung may well be facing some trouble over this.

    Regulators all around the world are becoming increasingly concerned surrounding companies’ use of SEP patents to hold power over their competitors as this could result in a curbing of innovation in the sector. Let’s not forget also, that these disputes are nothing but a drain on the economy, the money spent on lawsuits and lawyers could be pored back into research to further bolster economies worldwide. The way it’s going however it looks like there’s going to be no end in site for such disputes and that perhaps Samsung might come under fire over this more than they’d like.

    [Source: FossPatents]

      Category: Android News

      About the Author ()

      For years now I've had a heavy interest in technology, I grew up with 8-bit computers and gaming consoles and have been using Linux for years now. Android saved me from the boredom of iOS years ago and I've loved every minute of it. As a big reader and writer nothing pleases me more than to write about the exciting world of Android and technology as a whole.
      • John

        How stupid and ludicrous can one get. If Apple had a shred of public interest in it’s jeans, it would not have sued over rectangular shapes or bounce back user interface. Why, it would have made mountain lion open source since that would be FRAND and grand.

        It’s nothing more than good old school bullying…just because they can.

        Sad day for free markets and Adam Smith will definitely turn in his grave tonight…

      • Paulgg

        As a Apple ans Android user I can see it partially from both sides, but back when Apple were in it’s wilderness years and Microsoft was winning the homepc market with win 95 I bought my wife a mobile phone. It was still in the age of analogue, no sim card. I had a Motorola star tac and I bought my wife a Samsung phone. The technology back then in the Samsung was far ahead of the Motorola phone. Apple did turn the PDA market around to domestic users and took us light years away from win mobile, but their initial inertia has fizzled out, people have caught up and passed them. Technology should be shared and people then would have the choice of a premium designed item that had similar performance and features or cheaper brands that were based on cheaper materials. As it stands soon Apple will be left with amazing designs that fail to equal the fastest growing tech of the 21 st century. Apple should embrace its achievements and place in history and move on.

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