On Monday, as jury selection for their fresh court battle got under way and the newest star in that constellation started to shine brightly, Samsung resurrected some of the ghosts of their last courtroom skirmish by counter-suing Apple for stealing ideas relating to its older devices.
The Korean technology giant is also expected to argue that Apple was too late to patent its "slide to unlock" feature, and that the technology was already in use by a number of other companies before the Californian business filed its paperwork.
Whether it proves this point or not, the case is likely to revive concerns that many patents have been awarded too freely. These patents – the title-deeds of the technology industry that allow companies to claim exclusive rights to their inventions – are often too sweeping, critics claim.
"There's a widespread suspicion that lots of the kinds of software patents at issue are written in ways that cover more ground than what Apple or any other tech firm actually invented," said Mark McKenna, a law professor at America's Notre Dame university.
Instead of encouraging innovation by incentivising companies to invest in new technology, they discourage innovation by allowing those businesses to block rivals from relatively simple ideas. "Overly broad patents allow companies to block competition," Mr McKenna said.
However, in the high-stakes smartphone and tablet markets, technology giants will use everything in their power to dent the competition.
Samsung is not the only business in Apple's sights this time around, however. The Californian behemoth is also taking an indirect swipe at Google, whose Android operating system is a key fixture not only in Samsung's phones but in around three-quarters of all smartphones sold last year.
Apple cannot sue Google itself – only the hardware makers – but it has long-claimed that Google's software borrows too heavily from Apple inventions. Steve Jobs, Apple's co-founder, warned before his death that it would go "thermonuclear" on Google if it copied his own company's designs
It has not quite managed that in the San Jose courtroom, but Google is undoubtedly being dragged closer to the legal action.
In 2012 it paid $12.5bn for Motorola Mobility in order to get its hands on a trove of patents that would help it to defend the companies that used its Android system (and took a near $10bn haircut when it sold most of the company to Lenovo for $2.9bn around 18 months later).
Next month, it will also testify in court on Samsung's behalf. Executives including Hiroshi Lockheimer, vice-president of engineering for Android, are expected to paint a picture of how they developed the powerful operating system, developing ideas independently of anything that was going on at Apple's headquarters, just six miles down the road.
This, perhaps, is where this legal battle differs most from all its predecessors. Apple may have the home court advantage, but Samsung is bringing in powerful US allies to help it fight its case. It may be the battle of two goliaths, but as the gloves come off, there are at least three goliaths in the room.
via Technology - Google News http://ift.tt/1ghu7Yi
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