“Samsung, in its first acknowledgment of the European Commission’s antitrust investigation of its patent licensing practices, Friday said it believed the commission would ultimately conclude the company complies with the rules. The investigation arose out of Samsung’s dispute with Apple over trademarks and patents that cover smartphones and tablet computers.”
Apple bitch slaps Samsung.
Samsung slaps back
Now it has to go stand in the corner.
It’s funny the way Samsung is treated in Europe, since it’s a much bigger employer in Europe than Apple.
Multiple factories in mainly central Europe, with many Europeans employed. Not just reselling, but actual manufacturing jobs.
By the way, congratulations Samsung. It has just became of the most prolific patent registrations in the US. Won 4,894 US patents in 2011. Only IBM was first with 6,180 patents.
When in Rome.
It’s so lame how fanboi’s always cry foul when their favorite company is taken to task by a court of law.
The EU is just following it’s rules. It would follow those same rules irrespective of whether the company is Samsung or Apple or Microsoft or whatever.
says the Apple fanboy
So, should companies be exempt from the law because they employ lots of people?
No. I probably should have left out that paragraph.
I do however firmly believe from recent events that Samsung is being treated unfairly in some European countries.
The European court think Samsung is not giving other companies fair access to it’s patents including 3G wireless technologies.
Now I am not debating the legality of above. If it is true it is wrong.
I am talking about what I think is double standards.
The Samsung’s galaxy 10.1 is banned from Germany for it being square. For me a tablet being square is a key hallmark of tablet computers. Why should the company trying to prevent companies from using this “IP” not be investigated for the same charge. Is this not also hindering competition?
I’m not a brand fanboy. I don’t even own a Samsung phone.
Ok well that’s a different argument. I think most sane people – including me – agree that the fact that Apple’s suit in Germany is pretty ridiculous but it still follows the rule of law.
Similarly in Germany, Apple was recently forced to pull it’s 3G products because, in Germany, it’s apparently ok for Moto to use FRAND patents against Apple.
Sucks all around but you can’t pick and choose laws and you can’t claim that a law is biased with some tangible proof. These are 1st world countries after all with democratically elected leaders.
Of course it is, FRAND is not some magical get out of jail free card. They require valid licenses as all other patents, and if Apple does not have it they should get hit by lawsuits. IMHO, twice as hard with fair less legal wriggle room than in other patent cases.
FRANDs are obviously widely known in the industry, so it’s not unknown to Apple and could not be the excuse. It can be cut down to two simple reasons. Apple don’t want to license it and disregard other companies IP or they do not accept the FRAND terms all the other licensees of the patent agree to. Sounds like simple IP theft to me, does not matter if it’s done by Apple or any other company.
If that’s the way you reach conclusions… The causal connection between one and the other is not very firm – in fact, democratic elections / populisms make many biases easier; maybe you’re just too used to them…
Just one bias from unrelated field: research shows light drug usage to be pretty consistent across demographic spectrum, and yet IIRC 80-90% of those actually prosecuted from it in the US are inner-city blacks – records of which, down the line, also throw equal employment & education laws out the window; the place is, together with the UK (both 1st world democracies), at the bottom among developed countries in social mobility (essentially, the measure of how much results in life depend on your own efforts, also within legal framework, vs. how much on circumstances of birth, family, place, etc.).
Or – when was the last time you elected a really bald and short president? (I’d imagine the expected prospective & competent demographic to be somewhat higher in those traits than society average)