Samsung says its mammoth tit-for-tat patent battle with Apple could have been avoided if the latter wasn't so trigger happy, as the Korean giant's attempt to ban sales of Apple's iPhone 4S in Australia gets set for a full court hearing in March.
In the Federal Court in Sydney today, it was decided that the patent infringement case would go to an early full hearing in March and in return Samsung would pause its attempt to temporarily ban the device between now and then.
There was some argy bargy in the court this morning as Apple argued it could not be ready for such an early final hearing.
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It was almost a replay of similar arguments in the Samsung vs Apple case surrounding the Galaxy Tab. There, Apple, which wanted to ban the Samsung tablet from sale due to patent infringement, was seeking an early final hearing, while Samsung was arguing it could not be ready in time. This time the shoe was on the other foot.
Justice Bennett repeatedly rejected Apple's lawyer's reasons for why an early hearing could not go ahead and she became increasingly agitated. She said Apple typically released a new iPhone each year and delaying the start of the case may push it back even further as Samsung would "have to recast their entire case to deal with a new product".
"They are trying to expand the Android market. The longer it's left the harder it will be for Samsung," Justice Bennett said.
"It's exactly the same reverse situation it was in the last case [concerning the Galaxy Tab 10.1]."
Senior patent lawyer Mark Summerfield said the early hearing date was a win for Samsung. "Samsung has managed, for the first time, to gain some control over the proceedings, which have thus far been driven largely by Apple," he said.
Samsung said in court that it had a "very close commercial relationship" with Apple, one of its biggest clients, until April this year when Apple sued Samsung for patent infringement. Apple claimed the Galaxy Tab copied its iPad.
Samsung's lawyer said the pair were in broad licensing discussions in the lead up to April, which "might have avoided litigation". "I assume we're way past that point now," Justice Bennett replied.
Samsung's lawyer continued: "In effect the informal policy of not suing Apple for patent infringement was terminated when Apple sued Samsung for patent infringement in California and then elsewhere."
The patents that were the subject of this case, Samsung said, had been licensed to other manufacturers but Apple did not seek to obtain a license.
"Apple was on notice that it was infringing Samsung's essential 3G patents from April 2011 at the very least and thereafter proceeded with its eyes wide open to take steps ultimately in Australia in October that involved infringement of patents," Samsung's lawyer said.
He said Samsung would present evidence showing that in the four or five months preceeding the iPhone 4S launch, Samsung was "gaining substantial market share" at the expense of competitors including Apple but the launch of the iPhone 4S had "an immediate impact".
Samsung's case against the iPhone 4S - which also names previous iPhone models - will centre on three patents which Samsung claims Apple has infringed.
Apple's lawyer argued this case was different to the Galaxy Tab case as here Samsung was trying to target Apple with "standard essential patents for the operation of the 3G telephone network".
"They agreed to an irrevocable license to third parties on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms," Apple said.
Samsung said it only declared it would be open to negotiating a license and that no license had actually been granted. Both sides have licensing experts backing up their position.
Apple is also challenging the validity of the patents variously on grounds of obviousness, clarity, utility and novelty.
Justice Bennett said there would be signficant overlap between this and the Galaxy Tab case and she said she may take into account evidence presented there in the new case. "There does seem to me to be a huge duplication of time and effort," Justice Bennett said.
A directions hearing is set down for Friday morning which will set the exact date in March when the full hearing will occur and other particulars.
Apple was successful in getting a temporary ban on the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia, but that hasn't stopped online retailers offering the product. Samsung is appealing the ban and the appeal will be heard later this month.
The case is one of many tit-for-tat patent battles between Samsung and Apple that are running all over the world.
In the Federal Court in Sydney today, it was decided that the patent infringement case would go to an early full hearing in March and in return Samsung would pause its attempt to temporarily ban the device between now and then.
There was some argy bargy in the court this morning as Apple argued it could not be ready for such an early final hearing.
Advertisement: Story continues below
It was almost a replay of similar arguments in the Samsung vs Apple case surrounding the Galaxy Tab. There, Apple, which wanted to ban the Samsung tablet from sale due to patent infringement, was seeking an early final hearing, while Samsung was arguing it could not be ready in time. This time the shoe was on the other foot.
Justice Bennett repeatedly rejected Apple's lawyer's reasons for why an early hearing could not go ahead and she became increasingly agitated. She said Apple typically released a new iPhone each year and delaying the start of the case may push it back even further as Samsung would "have to recast their entire case to deal with a new product".
"They are trying to expand the Android market. The longer it's left the harder it will be for Samsung," Justice Bennett said.
"It's exactly the same reverse situation it was in the last case [concerning the Galaxy Tab 10.1]."
Senior patent lawyer Mark Summerfield said the early hearing date was a win for Samsung. "Samsung has managed, for the first time, to gain some control over the proceedings, which have thus far been driven largely by Apple," he said.
Samsung said in court that it had a "very close commercial relationship" with Apple, one of its biggest clients, until April this year when Apple sued Samsung for patent infringement. Apple claimed the Galaxy Tab copied its iPad.
Samsung's lawyer said the pair were in broad licensing discussions in the lead up to April, which "might have avoided litigation". "I assume we're way past that point now," Justice Bennett replied.
Samsung's lawyer continued: "In effect the informal policy of not suing Apple for patent infringement was terminated when Apple sued Samsung for patent infringement in California and then elsewhere."
The patents that were the subject of this case, Samsung said, had been licensed to other manufacturers but Apple did not seek to obtain a license.
"Apple was on notice that it was infringing Samsung's essential 3G patents from April 2011 at the very least and thereafter proceeded with its eyes wide open to take steps ultimately in Australia in October that involved infringement of patents," Samsung's lawyer said.
He said Samsung would present evidence showing that in the four or five months preceeding the iPhone 4S launch, Samsung was "gaining substantial market share" at the expense of competitors including Apple but the launch of the iPhone 4S had "an immediate impact".
Samsung's case against the iPhone 4S - which also names previous iPhone models - will centre on three patents which Samsung claims Apple has infringed.
Apple's lawyer argued this case was different to the Galaxy Tab case as here Samsung was trying to target Apple with "standard essential patents for the operation of the 3G telephone network".
"They agreed to an irrevocable license to third parties on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms," Apple said.
Samsung said it only declared it would be open to negotiating a license and that no license had actually been granted. Both sides have licensing experts backing up their position.
Apple is also challenging the validity of the patents variously on grounds of obviousness, clarity, utility and novelty.
Justice Bennett said there would be signficant overlap between this and the Galaxy Tab case and she said she may take into account evidence presented there in the new case. "There does seem to me to be a huge duplication of time and effort," Justice Bennett said.
A directions hearing is set down for Friday morning which will set the exact date in March when the full hearing will occur and other particulars.
Apple was successful in getting a temporary ban on the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia, but that hasn't stopped online retailers offering the product. Samsung is appealing the ban and the appeal will be heard later this month.
The case is one of many tit-for-tat patent battles between Samsung and Apple that are running all over the world.
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