Ondrej Holzman On Monday, July 30, a major patent war began to peak in San Jose, California - Apple and Samsung are facing each other in court. Both companies are suing each other for more patents. Who will emerge as the winner and who as the loser?
The whole case is really extensive, as both sides have made a lot of accusations against each other, so let's summarize the whole situation.
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Who is judging whom?
The whole case was started by Apple in April 2011, when it accused Samsung of violating some of its patents. However, the South Koreans filed a counterclaim. Although Apple should be the plaintiff and Samsung the defendant in this dispute. However, the South Korean company did not like this, and therefore both parties are labeled as plaintiffs.
What are they on trial for?
Both sides are accused of infringing on various patents. Apple claims that Samsung is infringing on several patents related to the look and feel of the iPhone and that the South Korean company is just "slavishly copying" its devices. Samsung, on the other hand, is suing Apple over patents related to the way mobile communications are carried out in the broadband spectrum.
However, Samsung's patents are in the group of so-called basic patents, which are a necessity for every device to meet industry standards, and which should be within the terms of FRAND (English abbreviation fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory, i.e. fair, rational and non-discriminatory) licensed to all parties.
Because of this, Samsung is arguing about what fees Apple should pay it for the use of its patents. Samsung claims an amount derived from each device in which its patent is used. Apple, on the other hand, opposes that the fees are derived only from each component in which the given patent is used. The difference is, of course, big. While Samsung is demanding 2,4 percent of the total price of the iPhone, Apple insists it deserves just 2,4 percent of the baseband processor, which would make just $0,0049 (ten pennies) per iPhone.
What do they want to gain?
Both sides want money. Apple wants to receive compensation of at least 2,5 billion dollars (51,5 billion crowns). If the judge finds that Samsung violated Apple's patents intentionally, the California company will want even more. In addition, Apple is trying to ban sales of all Samsung products that infringe its patents.
How many such disputes are there?
There are hundreds of similar disputes. Despite the fact that Apple and Samsung are suing not only on American soil. The two roosters are fighting in courtrooms around the world. In addition, he has to take care of his other cases - because Apple, Samsung, HTC and Microsoft are suing each other. The number of cases is really huge.
Why should we be interested in this one?
That being said, there are a lot of patent cases out there, but this is one of the first really big cases to go to trial.
If Apple succeeds in its complaints, Samsung could face a huge financial fine, as well as a possible ban from supplying its key products to the market, or having to redesign its devices. If, on the other hand, Apple fails, its aggressive legal battle against Android phone manufacturers will suffer greatly.
If a jury were to side with Samsung on its counterclaim, the South Korean company could receive hefty royalties from Apple.
How many lawyers are working on this case?
Hundreds of different lawsuits, orders, and other documents have been filed in recent weeks, and that's why there's a really large number of people working on the case. By the end of last week, almost 80 lawyers had appeared in person before the court. Most of them represented Apple or Samsung, but a few also belonged to other companies, because, for example, many technology companies try to keep their contracts secret.
How long will the dispute last?
The trial itself began on Monday with jury selection. Opening arguments will be presented on the same day or a day later. The trial is expected to drag on until at least mid-August, with court not sitting every day.
Who will decide the winner?
The task of deciding whether one of the companies is infringing the other's patents is up to a ten-member jury. The trial will be overseen by Judge Lucy Kohová, who will also decide which information will be presented to the jury and which will remain hidden. However, the jury's decision will most likely not be final - at least one of the parties is expected to appeal.
Will more details be leaked, such as Apple's prototypes?
We can only hope so, but it's clear that both companies will have to reveal more than they would normally be willing to. Both Apple and Samsung have asked that certain evidence remain hidden from the public, but they certainly won't succeed with everything. Reuters has already petitioned the court to release almost all of the documents, but Samsung, Google and several other big tech players have opposed it.
"Reuters has already petitioned the court to release almost all of the documents, but Samsung, Google and several other big tech players have opposed it."
Why didn't Apple oppose it? He probably doesn't have a skeleton in his closet?
I thought of that too