蘋
果公司(Apple Inc. AAPL +1.88% )上週在對三星電子(Samsung Electronics Co.)的專利訴訟中取得了里程碑式的勝利。蘋果公司將雙方複雜的專利戰提煉成一個清晰的故事情節。在這個故事中﹐蘋果被描繪成“好人”﹐而三星則被逼到了防守位置。據法律專家估算﹐蘋果三星雙方都聘請了美國國內頂尖的知識產權律師﹐為此砸下的律師費高達數千萬美元。
European Pressphoto Agency
週五，美富律師事務所的律師巴特萊特(Jason Bartlett)在法庭外。
為了證明三星蓄意抄襲蘋果標志性的iPhone和iPad設計﹐蘋果的代理律師請到了一系列證人﹐其中包括蘋果公司一位資深設計師。這位設計師聲稱﹐三星抄襲了蘋果的設計。
為了支持證人的證詞﹐蘋果出示了一張圖表﹐上面顯示了iPhone誕生前後三星手機的不同外觀設計。此外蘋果還出示了三星的一份內部報告﹐這份報告對iPhone“優美的設計”和“容易被復製”的硬件進行了剖析。
斯坦福大學法學院(Stanford Law School)教授萊姆利(Mark Lemley)說﹐所有這些證據清楚地表明在一定程度上三星決意模仿蘋果的產品設計。
三星的代理律師則面臨更為艱難的挑戰。他們必須說服陪審團：蘋果公司的專利並非像該公司所聲稱的那樣是原創的﹔蘋果也侵犯了三星開發的無線技術相關專利。這些專利是確保iPhone能正常工作的先決條件。
雙方的說法完全取決於種種技術細節和專利法的具體條文。法律專家說﹐這些內容可能很難向外行人解釋清楚。
羅格斯大學法學院(Rutgers School of Law)教授、知識產權專家凱利爾(Michael Carrier)說﹐三星更為複雜的論述未能打動陪審團。他說﹐蘋果的論述更流暢﹐相比之下﹐三星的證人不太可信。
聖 克拉拉大學法學院(Santa Clara University School of Law)助理教授拉夫(Brian Love)說﹐如果說蘋果發起的專利戰針對的是智能手機的外觀設計﹐那麼三星提出的反訴則取決於那些涉及智能手機工作原理的知識產權。拉夫一直在密切關注 此案的進展。
拉夫說﹐想要獲勝﹐三星的律師必須向陪審團清楚地說明這一點﹐同時精心打造一個強有力的辯方說辭。他說﹐三星必須說明蘋果並非像其所聲稱的那樣是一家具有創造力的天才公司。他們還必須說明﹐蘋果是因為在市場份額上輸給三星所以才想在法庭上同三星一決高下。
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美國紐約經濟研究與投資諮詢機構Isi集團的分析員馬紹爾（Brian Marshall）說：「這個判決結果，一定會影響到Android系統的成長，對智慧型手機的產業也將有不小的傷害。」
陪審團24日裁定，因為三星的手機頁面最後一面的「頁面彈回」設計，還有手指連續觸控螢幕可以拉近頁面，以及用2隻手指放大頁面等功能抄襲蘋果，所以判三星要賠蘋果10.5億美元賠償金。
分析家表示，雖然這次蘋果只控告三星侵權，然事實上很多智慧型手機系統都有類似的設計，科技分析家說明，很多其他廠牌的智慧型手機，都慌忙得再找替代設計，唯恐侵權。
What Does Apple’s Big Victory Against Samsung Mean for Consumers?
By Daniel Politi
|
Posted
Saturday, Aug. 25, 2012, at 12:14 PM ET
So, Apple won. That was expected. What came as a surprise—besides how
shockingly quickly jurors seemed to be able to answer hundreds of
complex technical questions—was what a sweeping victory it really was
for the world’s most valuable company. Jurors handed Apple $1.05 billion
in damages, ruling that the South Korean firm infringed on Apple
patents. Even if it is technically less than half of the $2.5 billion it
was seeking, as Reuters notes, it's a big win for the Silicon Valley company in part because Samsung’s countersuit was an utter failure.
As the Verge
explains, “Samsung lost every part of its case against Apple” and its
only consolation was that the jury didn’t think Samsung’s tablets copied
the iPad’s design. But the verdict is hardly the end of the story as
the judge could triple the damages since the jury found that the
infringement was willful. In addition, Judge Lucy Koh still has to
decide whether to order Samsung to remove infringing products off the
shelves, notes the Wall Street Journal.
And that’s not to mention the appeals that will be filed. But for
consumers, will the verdict translate into fewer choices or more
variety? Probably both.
Samsung’s response to the verdict was defiant. The verdict “should
not be viewed as a win for Apple, but as a loss for the American
consumer,” Samsung said.
“It will lead to fewer choices, less innovation, and potentially higher
prices.” Samsung insists its schedule to release new products won’t be
altered and the company has been able to quickly figure out workarounds
in the past, notes Bloomberg.
Is Samsung right? Probably, at least in the short term. There’s
little doubt the verdict gives Apple more ammunition to fight back
against the rise of Google’s Android, but some optimists see this as
potentially good news that will bring about more variety to a smartphone
market that has been depressingly trending toward uniformity.
“Get ready for the Apple tax,” warns the Wall Street Journal.
At least in the short-term, producing smartphones, tablets, and other
mobile devices will likely get more expensive. And consumers are likely
to have fewer smartphone options, notes the Associated Press. After all, the verdict only affects Samsung, but it is a clear warning to other manufacturers who produce similar devices.
That’s the glass-half-empty way of looking at the world. The verdict
could ultimately be good news for consumers, forcing manufacturers to
create handsets that are markedly different from the iPhone, writes Bloomberg.
For now though there's little doubt, Apple will be able to squeeze
“even more profit out of an industry it already dominates,” writes the Wall Street Journal.
The biggest loser in the case might not be Samsung, but Google, the
company some analysts say Apple was targeting all along, as the New York Times points
out. And Microsoft could end up being a collateral winner from all
this. Bill Cox, senior marketing director for the Windows Phone, quipped
on Twitter: “Windows Phone is looking gooooood right now.”
Taking a look at the big picture, consumers could certainly come out
the winners if the high-profile case helps to spur much-needed reform in
U.S. intellectual property law. But that hardly looks likely in the
near future.Jury Awards $1 Billion to Apple in Samsung Patent Case
Jo Yong-Hak/Reuters
A Samsung Galaxy S II smartphone, left, and an Apple iPhone 4.
By NICK WINGFIELD
Published: August 24, 2012 50 Comments
A jury awarded Apple
more than $1 billion in damages after finding that Samsung infringed a
series of Apple patents on smartphones and tablet computers, in a
closely watched court case that could have broad implications for the
mobile business.
What the Verdict Said
* Samsung violated a series of Apple's patents related to the software and design of mobile devices.
* Apple's patents are valid.
* Apple did not violate any of Samsung's patents.
* Apple was awarded $1 billion in damages.
As the jury’s verdict was read in a federal court case in San Jose,
Calif., Apple appeared to prevail on many of its claims against Samsung,
according to Reuters. These included allegations that various Samsung
products violated an Apple patent covering the “bounce back” effect when
a user scrolls to the end of a list, and the pinch-to-zoom gesture that
users make when they want to magnify an image on their screens.
The nine-person jury deliberated for three days, fewer than many had
expected for such a complex case. Jurors were required to fill out a
20-page verdict form with answers to over 700 questions relating to the
particulars of the case.
It was the first in a wave of legal cases in the United States involving
smartphone patents to reach a jury trial, and the one with the highest
profile because the parties in the suit, Samsung and Apple, are the two
biggest makers of smartphones in the world.
Apple had asked the jury to award it $2.5 billion in damages for what it
said was Samsung’s violation of a handful of patents related to the
physical design and software functions of the iPhone and iPad. In a countersuit, Samsung had demanded that Apple pay it $422 million for its own patent violations.
The stakes in the case are enormous, in large part because Apple has
become the most valuable public company ever through the blockbuster
success of its mobile products. The lawsuit, and others like it by
Apple, were an effort to respond to the rise of devices based on
Google’s Android
operating system, which Apple executives view as a knock-off of the
software for the iPhone and iPad. Samsung is the biggest maker of
Android smartphones.
Analysts and legal experts had predicted that a victory for Apple in the
case would send a signal to all Android device makers that they should
make greater efforts to steer clear of features and design that resemble
those of Apple products. A win for Samsung, on the other hand, could
give Apple’s rivals greater leeway to copy Apple product products with
impunity, making it harder for the company to distinguish its creations.
The evidence Apple presented during the trial, including internal
Samsung memos and strategy documents, left little doubt that the iPhone
inspired a major effort by the Korean manufacturer to overhaul its
mobile phone efforts.
But a key question throughout the trial was whether the jury would
decide that Samsung had stepped over the line by improperly copying
Apple’s technologies.
The verdict in the trial hardly concludes the legal battles over patents
among companies in the mobile business. There a dozens of legal cases
between Apple and Samsung winding their way through courts in other
countries.
小菜
A South Korea court delivered a split decision in its piece of
the battle between Apple and Samsung over mobile computing patents.
蘋果三星專利大戰 韓法院：雙方都侵權…
2012年8月24日 19:13
南韓首爾中央地方法院今天公布三星與蘋果公司專利訴訟案判決結果，蘋果侵犯三星兩項通訊技術專利，三星也侵犯蘋果一項專利，法院因此下令在南韓禁售蘋果和三星相關產品。
南韓「聯合新聞通訊社」報導，根據判決，三星電子主張的5項專利侵權中，認可蘋果公司侵犯了CDMA系統相關975號專利和行動通訊系統相關的900號專利。
法院同時也判決三星侵犯了蘋果公司「彈回畫面」（bounce-back）的專利。
報導指出，根據上述判決結果，法院下令禁售蘋果的iPhone4和三星Galaxy SII等產品。據了解，禁售產品中並不包括iPhone4S和iPad3。
禁售的機型是目前已經很少在市場上銷售的舊款機型，因此對兩大公司的銷售將不會帶來很大影響。
報導指出，三星電子2011年4月以蘋果公司產品侵害了三星電子的通訊專利為由，向首爾中央地方法院提出訴訟，以因應先前蘋果公司在美國法院向三星提出的訴訟。
蘋果公司則在2011年6月於韓同一法院提出訴訟，控告三星的智慧手機和平板電腦濫用了蘋果公司的設計專利等。（中央社）
Apple Victory Shifts Power Balance
Apple's
court victory over Samsung cements its dominance of the wireless
industry and could force carriers, and even Google, to re-evaluate their
product plans.
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