Tag Archives: international trade commission

ITC awards victory to Apple in Motorola patent case

Apple won another round yesterday in a patent suit brought by Motorola Mobility against the Cupertino company. Motorola had complained to the International Trade Commission (ITC) about Apple's use of a proximity sensor in all versions of the iPhone, stating that it owned that patent. ITC Judge Thomas Pender ruled that the Motorola patent is invalid, and that Apple didn't violate it in designing the iPhone.

This is the latest skirmish in the ongoing patent fight between Apple and Google, which purchased Motorola Mobility for US$12.5 billion mainly for a stash of 17,000 patents. Google hopes that those patents will help defend Android phone designs against infringement claims being made by Apple.

Earlier this month, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) agreed that a district court decision to deny Motorola's bid for an injunction on several Apple products was correct. In that case, the FTC felt that been using the threat of an injunction in what's called a "patent hold-up," when the owner of a standard-essential patent threatens legal action to pull in higher-than-usual royalty rates and licensing terms.

ITC awards victory to Apple in Motorola patent case originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 20 Dec 2012 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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US International Trade Commission to investigate Motorola claims against Apple

The US International Trade Commission announced on Tuesday that it will look into Motorola's claim that Apple is infringing on patents that cover messaging notifications, location-based reminders, media playback and more. According to a Computerworld report, the ITC will assign the case to an administrative law judge who will hear the evidence and make a preliminary ruling. This initial decision could possibly result in a ban against the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Once an initial decision is made, the case will go to the full commission, which will make a final ruling on the infringement and any potential injunction. This process usually takes 16 months to complete, so the decision to look into this case won't affect this week's iPhone 5 launch.

US International Trade Commission to investigate Motorola claims against Apple originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 19 Sep 2012 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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FTC urges ITC not to ban iPhone, iPad and Xbox

The Federal Trade Commission took on the growing problem of injunctions in a letter addressed to the US International Trade Commission, according to a report by CNET. The letter was meant to dissuade the federal agency from approving import bans in patent and trademark infringement cases that involve industry standards like 3G. The FTC warns such injunctions against products like the iPhone, iPad and Xbox could harm consumers and stifle innovation.

The FTC writes, "Hold-up and the threat of hold-up can deter innovation by increasing costs and uncertainty for other industry participants, including those engaged in inventive activity. It can also distort investment and harm consumers by breaking the connection between the value of an invention and its reward -- a connection that is the cornerstone of the patent system."

The ITC has been the focus of several high-profile patent infringement cases, including the recent battle between Apple and HTC, which led to the ban of select HTC Android phones. Last month, the HTC One X and the EVO 4G LTE were held temporarily at the border by US Customs, which inspected the phones for patent infringement.

A bigger issue brought up in this letter is the use of standards-related patents in litigation. Companies that own patents on standards, like those that govern 3G and 4G wireless communications, are supposed to be license these patents to other companies on fair and reasonable terms (FRAND). Now that competition is heating up, patent owners are reluctant to license their intellectual property and are using them to sue their rivals instead.

You can read an excellent analysis of this issue by Florian Mueller of FOSS Patents. He describes in detail how Samsung and Motorola are abusing the principles of FRAND licensing in their litigation with Apple.

FTC urges ITC not to ban iPhone, iPad and Xbox originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 08 Jun 2012 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ITC rules Apple didn’t violate S3 Graphics’ patents

According to the FOSS Patents Blog, earlier today the US International Trade Commission entirely dismissed the first S3 Graphics complaint against Apple. Interestingly, the official notice (PDF link) has no explanation why the Administrative Law Judge was overruled. There is still one pending complaint by S3 Graphics against Apple which has not been ruled on.

Part of what makes this an issue is that HTC is in the process of buying S3 Graphics, and a couple of strikes against Apple patent-wise would have just sweetened that deal. At least we don't have to wait long for more progress on the ITC front, as a date of December 6th has been set for a ruling on Apple's first complaint against S3 Graphics.

And don't forget there's still a bit of tussling between Apple and HTC going on as well, with a patent infringement throwdown still not yet decided between them, either. Whew!

It's all a bit confusing at first glance, so get comfy, get ready to take some notes, and head over to the FOSS Patents Blog for more information and links to other coverage that will help you make sense of all the legal wrangling.

ITC rules Apple didn't violate S3 Graphics' patents originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 21 Nov 2011 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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International Trade Commission Rules in Favor of Apple in HTC Patent Case

Apple has been busy in the courts lately with lawsuits underway with Motorola, Samsung, Lodsys and HTC.  Apple lawyers now have a reason to celebrate as the US International Trade Commission (ITC) delivered an “initial determination” that Taiwanese phone maker HTC violated two of Apple’s key iOS patents.

Last year Apple filed a complaint with the ITC claiming infringement on ten of its patents by HTC and has since added additional patent infringement claims.  This week’s determination by an administrative law judge agreed two of the originally contested patents were indeed infringed upon.  AllThingsD identified the two patents as 5,946,647  covering a “system and method for performing an action on a structure in computer” and 6,343,263 which describes a “real-time signal processing system for serially transmitted data.”  The next step in the process will be a review of the decision by the six-member Commission (the highest decision-making body at the ITC), making it too early to declare a clear victory.  Like with most law suits, there will also be an appeal and according to HTC general counsel Grace Lei, HTC vows to defend itself “using all means possible.”

Should the final outcome favor Apple, the ITC has the power to ultimately ban infringing products from the country.  Although such drastic action is rare, a ruling against HTC has a number of possible scenarios according to FOSS Patents‘ Florian Mueller.  Because the patents are “very likely to be infringed by code that is at the core of Android,” the worst case could result in an import ban on Android-based HTC products in the US and open the door for Apple to file for bans against dozens of other Android device makers.  Another less extreme scenario would require HTC to remove specific functions from its products, potentially resulting in a degradation of quality.  It’s possible, although probably unlikely, Apple and HTC could reach an agreement on licensing the patents in question.

With a possible win, Apple would have the upper hand in its fight against handset makers using Google’s Android operating system. Apple, Microsoft and other equipment vendors have been using the courts to try to protect their intellectual property (IP) and force other mobile device makers to either license the offending IP or use it as a bargaining chip to setup a cross licensing agreement between the two parties.  The increased litigation is one of the reasons Apple, RIM, Microsoft, Sony, Ericsson and EMC partnered together to buy the 6,000 patents held by Nortel.  The consortium agreed to pay  $4.5 billion dollars, outbidding Google’s top offer by a half billion.

FOSS Patents’ Mueller also states that Apple has 16 additional patents in question, another ITC complaint and three federal lawsuits against HTC.  This case appears to be among a long list of law suits involving Android and not all of them include Apple. It will certainly be interesting to see how things play out for the companies involved and ultimately how the consumers will be affected.

Apple looking to block sale of HTC devices with patent complaint

Apple has filed a second patent infringement complaint against Android handset maker HTC. The details on this second complaint are not yet available to the public so the patents at dispute are unknown.

An earlier ITC complaint filed in March focused on patents for the iPhone UI, hardware and architecture. A final initial determination for this first complaint is due August 5, 2011, but a third-party ITC group (Office of Unfair Import Investigations) claims HTC did not infringe on any Apple patents. This early ruling against Apple may influence the ITC's final ruling later this summer.

Apple is aware of this possible, impending defeat and may be using this second complaint to bolster its position against HTC. Until the details are made public and the lawyers weigh in on the subject, we wont know whether this second case is stronger than the first. HTC is also refraining from comment until it can review the details of the complaint.

[Via BGR, Electronista and Foss Patents]

Apple looking to block sale of HTC devices with patent complaint originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 11 Jul 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung files ITC complaint against Apple

Samsung and Apple's legal battle over trademark and patent infringement continues to heat up. The latest salvo was fired by Samsung which lodged a complaint with the ITC asking for a ban on the import of the iPhone, iPad and iPod. The court has up to 18 months to make a decision on this request. Apple has yet to file an ITC complaint, but it is likely to do so after this move by Samsung.

The bigger question is not about trade dress and infringement, but the weakening relationship between Samsung and Apple. Are the two companies headed for a separation or will they stay manufacturing BFFs throughout this legal skirmish?

Samsung files ITC complaint against Apple originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 29 Jun 2011 10:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ITC rules in favor of HTC and Nokia in Apple infringement case

The ITC weighed in on the infringement complaint Apple filed against HTC and Nokia and decided the two handset manufacturers are not liable for infringing on Apple's patents.

In the Monday hearing, Apple accused HTC of infringing on five Apple patents that focus on the "seamless integration of hardware and software." The patents describe methods for signal processing and inter-process communications. Nokia allegedly infringes on one of these signal processing patents. Apple sought a ban on the import of HTC's Android handsets as well as select Nokia devices.

This initial ruling is a setback for Apple, but it's not the end of the line. The full six member ITC commission still has to review the case and rule on this initial decision. The commission has the opportunity to reverse this decision, but this initial ruling often weighs heavily in the commission's final decision.

Apple could always opt to do what Nokia did when the ITC ruled against the Finnish company in its complaint with Apple. A few days after the ITC ruled against Nokia, the Finnish company filed a second infringement complaint against Apple that focused on seven new patents.

ITC rules in favor of HTC and Nokia in Apple infringement case originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 19 Apr 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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