Apple vs Samsung in Smartphone Patent Wars

For much of the 1980s, Apple battled Microsoft in court, trying to prove that early versions of Windows illegally copied the look and feel of Apple’s Macintosh operating system. Steve Jobs lost that fight, a defeat that at the time seemed like an industry-defining event. History proved otherwise.

The tables were turned recently as Apple, now the world’s most valuable company in terms of market capitalisation, got the best of Samsung Electronics in the first of its Intellectual Property (‘IP’) and patent cases to go to a U.S. jury.

A nine-person jury spent an astoundingly brief three days to conclude that the Korean manufacturer infringed IP and five patents for Apple mobile devices. The judgment came with a $1.05 billion price tag — less than half what Apple was looking for, but not too shabby all the same. The timing could be advantageous to Apple, which is expected to launch the new iPhone 5 in September and a smaller version of its iPad tablet in October.

This is a long-time dispute, noted in Steve Jobs' Biography: I will spend my last dying breath if I need to, and I will spend every penny of Apple’s USD 40 billion in the bank, to right this wrong….I’m going to destroy Android, because it’s a stolen product. I’m willing to go thermonuclear war on this.

Jobs declaration resulted in a full-blown patent infringement war between Apple and Samsung, playing out in nine different jurisdictions with different outcomes. In the UK, the court held that Samsung’s Galaxy tablets were not ‘cool’ enough to be confused with Apple’s iPad. Apple’s appeal will be heard in October later this year. Elsewhere – including France, Germany & Japan – Apple failed with their action, but their luck turned in the U.S., the largest market for smartphones in the world, where the court ruled in favour of Apple on five out of seven infringement counts.

The core of Apple's U-S case against Samsung rest on three grounds - Utility Patents, Design Patents and ‘Trade Dress’.

• Utility patents cover the functionality of a device and Apple accused Samsung of copying three of its utility features- window bounce back, pinch to zoom and tap to zoom.

• Apple’s Design patents cover ‘rectangular devices with rounded corners, metal edges, touchscreen that covers the entire surface of the device’ – and was the first successful action in the use of design patents in the American courts.

• What finally clinched the verdict in Apple's favour was that the jury believed that a Samsung product can be easily mistaken for an Apple product by a consumer- a claim that in legal parlance is referred to as Trade Dress

So aside from the global smartphone wars, how does IP and patents apply to your business? There are four types of IP, and the type of protection you need depends on what you’ve created and what you use it for. Here’s a brief guide:

• Patents protect what makes things work, like the chemical formula of a fizzy drink.

• Trademarks are words or symbols that distinguish goods and services in the market, like logs and brand names.

• Design is all about how something looks, its shape, form and visual appeal, and as shown by Apple, you can protect the appearance

• Copyright automatically protects written and recorded works, which includes everything from books and music to photos and films.

Ideas and concepts for inventions are not patentable, but there are various ways of enforcing IP rights or resolving disputes. IP infringement – for example, fake replica toys, usually takes place when a person who is not the owner exercises any of the exclusive rights without the permission of the owner, and is generally considered counterfeiting or piracy.

Resolving disputes
The unauthorised use of your IP a criminal offence in some instances and can lead to prosecution under Section 92 of the Trade Mark Act in relation to Trade Mark infringement, and Sections 107A and 198 of the Copyright, Design, and Patent Act in relation to Copyright infringement

In many cases, it is better for parties to negotiate a solution before taking legal action in the courts.

Using Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), such as Mediation, can often be cheaper and quicker and the results of a decision can be beneficial to all parties. It allows opposing parties to talk about their dispute and, hopefully, come to an agreement without the need for a court hearing. The outcome is not binding and parties can continue with proceeding if mediation fails.

Alternatively, if you want to use someone else’s intellectual property, you may need to seek permission from the owner of the IP and to ask under what terms you can use their IP. This agreement may be in the form of a licence.

Finally, if you are unable to resolve your dispute then you may have to enforce/defend your rights through the Intellectual Property Courts.

You can ask us for a non-binding opinion on patent infringement, or advice if you consider your IP has been breached, call our Commercial Team for free initial advice today on 0800 310 2000.