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Apple's Chief Patent Litigator Profiled as Samsung Threatens Lawsuits over iPhone 5

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Apr 12, 2001
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Bloomberg Businessweek publishes a profile of Noreen Krall, Apple's chief patent litigator handling the growing number of lawsuits and other disputes involving Apple, including the high-profile U.S. case that saw Apple win a $1 billion verdict against Samsung late last month. The article offers an interesting look at how Krall has managed to become one of the "masters of the chessboard" in understanding patent and court rules around the world and herding teams of lawyers both inside and outside of the company.
"There is no historical precedent for what Noreen Krall is doing," said John Thorne, who ran Verizon Communications Inc.'s intellectual-property team before joining Kellogg Huber in Washington this year. "Good generalship produces results like Noreen has gotten. She's mastering big decisions, like which law firms to hire, how to manage resources, how much of Tim Cook's time to take."
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The report notes that the 2009 hiring of Bruce Sewell from Intel to become Apple's general counsel and the subsequent 2010 recruitment of Krall from Sun was part of a strategy to ramp up the company's patent protection efforts as the looming threat from Android grew. Krall, an electrical engineer by training who spent time at both IBM and Sun before joining Apple, appears to be highly-regarded by her peers and former coworkers, and while Apple refused to comment for the report it appears that Krall is certainly making a name for herself at her latest company.

Krall's profile comes as Apple may be facing even more lawsuits in the coming months, as The Korea Times reports that anonymous Samsung officials have acknowledged plans to sue Apple over the iPhone 5, focusing on LTE-related patents held by the Korean company.
"It's true that Samsung Electronics has decided to take immediate legal action against the Cupertino-based Apple. Countries in Europe and even the United States - Apple's home-turf - are our primary targets," said a senior Samsung who is directly involved with the matter, in a telephone interview with The Korea Times. [...]

"Apple claimed the existing 3G-related patents are standard essential patents (SEPs) according to our earlier commitment to the FRAND (fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory) terms. But the story is totally different when you talk about LTE patents. These are new and highly-valued," said another Samsung executive.
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The report also mentions word from an anonymous executive at Korean carrier SK Telecom claiming that Apple has agreed to launch an LTE-enabled iPhone 5 on the carrier. Word of negotiations between Apple and SK Telecom surfaced last month, and late last week The Wall Street Journal confirmed that the iPhone 5 will have "global LTE support".

Update 9:20 PM: SK Telecom has contacted us to let us know that it has not confirmed anything to The Korea Times with respect to the iPhone. The Korea Times has also updated its report to cite "industry sources" rather than SK Telecom directly.

Article Link: Apple's Chief Patent Litigator Profiled as Samsung Threatens Lawsuits over iPhone 5
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2012/09/10/apples-chief-patent-litigator-profiled-as-samsung-threatens-lawsuits-over-iphone-5/
D

drewisanapple

macrumors regular
Jun 3, 2011
188
0
Missouri
Someone is having a little fit.

How is 3G different than 4G. Samesung needs to realized that when you are caught red-handed than you get in trouble.
 
B

BigZ243

macrumors regular
Aug 25, 2008
130
112
This is getting way out of hand. Also, just from a consumer standpoint how is LTE not standards essential patents if all the carriers are using them? Can't we all just get along...
 
M

mmccaskill

macrumors 6502
Jan 3, 2007
349
0
The bigger question is do other LTE phone manufacturers have existing licenses with Samsung? If not I think it's clear why Samsung is doing this.
 
R

Raftysworld

macrumors 6502
Oct 28, 2011
287
0
Apple already had LTE in the New iPad before Samsung even touched it, so this couldn't be more pathetic. Shame on Samsung.
 
I

iEvolution

macrumors 65816
Jul 11, 2008
1,432
2
What'd you guys expect for Samsung to just take it?

What comes around goes around as far as I am concerned.
 
W

Waxhead138

macrumors 6502
May 18, 2012
473
546
This screams nothing but retribution and hopefully will be seen as such in the courts.

Anyone have any patent knowledge for LTE?
 
bbeagle

bbeagle

macrumors 68040
Oct 19, 2010
3,541
2,981
Buffalo, NY
mmccaskill said:
The bigger question is do other LTE phone manufacturers have existing licenses with Samsung? If not I think it's clear why Samsung is doing this.
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Correct.

Apple's LTE phone is not even announced yet, while other phones have had LTE in them for over a year, and have not been targeted by Samsung.
 
chrmjenkins

chrmjenkins

macrumors 603
Oct 29, 2007
5,325
158
MD
Apple is going to walk into court claiming two things: 1) Even if LTE is new, it's still a standard that all handset manufacturers have to implement (and therefore should be FRAND) and 2) they're buying chips from a third party that are implementing the standards, so technically that should be bundled in the sale of the chip.
 
S

samcraig

macrumors P6
Jun 22, 2009
16,779
41,982
USA
I guess we could all discuss what warrants essential technology patents vs what doesn't.

Fact is - if Samsung does have these patents and believes Apple has infringed - then no matter how frivolous - they are entitled to have their day in court if it goes to trial just like Apple was.

If you're going to hate the system - hate the entire system - not just when a company you don't care for takes advantage of it.
 
D

DTphonehome

macrumors 68000
Apr 4, 2003
1,914
3,377
NYC
Do they really think that Apple would take any chances by not properly licensing LTE patents? If they intend to allege that Apple needs to pay an additional license on top of what they already pay to component manufacturers (who are licensed themselves), which is what they alleged for the 3G patents, then Samsung really has no case here.
 
S

samcraig

macrumors P6
Jun 22, 2009
16,779
41,982
USA
chrmjenkins said:
Apple is going to walk into court claiming two things: 1) Even if LTE is new, it's still a standard that all handset manufacturers have to implement and 2) They're buying chips from a third party that are implementing the standards, so technically that should be bundled in the sale of the chip.
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1) You don't have to implement LTE. You can have slower phones. Just like you can create a phone that doesn't have rounded corners (as an example)

2) depends on what the licensing agreements say


Raftysworld said:
Apple already had LTE in the New iPad before Samsung even touched it, so this couldn't be more pathetic. Shame on Samsung.
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Doesn't matter. They don't have to sue before or at launch. They can wait until several product infringe just like Apple did.
 
AustinIllini

AustinIllini

macrumors G5
Oct 20, 2011
12,682
10,517
Austin, TX
Everyone on this board was cheering Apple's victory over Samsung a few weeks ago. We all lost that day. This is now the reality of the tech industry.
 
nick_elt

nick_elt

macrumors 68000
Oct 28, 2011
1,578
0
what goes around.... ah i see someone has already said that.

anyway, this is going to go back and foward for years now. its just apple has a case and samsung has f all.
 
G

G4DP

macrumors 65816
Mar 28, 2007
1,451
3
Samsung hold more than double the number of LTE Patents that Apple do. Could be interesting. Let's see what happens in a Korean court.
 
E

enfanteribl

macrumors member
Apr 22, 2009
58
0
DTphonehome said:
Do they really think that Apple would take any chances by not properly licensing LTE patents? If they intend to allege that Apple needs to pay an additional license on top of what they already pay to component manufacturers (who are licensed themselves), which is what they alleged for the 3G patents, then Samsung really has no case here.
Click to expand...

True - Apple would be unlikely to blunder into this by mistake.
 
S

scottwaugh

macrumors 6502
Jul 22, 2002
359
12
Chicago
Loosing face in Asian culture (Korea for example) is often avoided at all costs....even if you end up loosing your biggest customer (besides internal).
 
B

bonaccij

macrumors newbie
Sep 19, 2008
25
35
I think what is most frustrating as an outsider watching all of this, is that it seems as if it is less about companies not wanting other companies to make money - it is that companies don't want APPLE making money. It almost seems as if all of these phone manufacturers are saying "Hey, they make computers, they have no business here in the phone world! We've been doing this for Years! What makes them think they can just step in and..." you fill in the blanks there.

It's completely ridiculous. Stop and think about this for a moment. If any of these were successful, do these companies think that just because they "put Apple out of the game" that consumers will just automatically go and buy their devices? Sure - they would be the only ones out there, but when you have to decide which is the better junk stock to buy... you get my drift.

This all harkens back to 2007 when both RIM and Nokia went onstage and BOTH said "We aren't worried about Apple's entrance into this field. They are not telecom people. We are." - Now look at them. It's almost like watching a bunch of children in a school yard. One group picking on another group. It just looks ridiculous. If these other companies would just spend the money and time (and that is really the biggy here - the time factor - cause it takes TIME to innovate) and actually make something lust-worthy, none of this would be going on. I hate to say it, but Asia, for the most part, is just one gigantic photocopier. That is why all of Sony's, Panasonic's, HTC's, Samsung's stuff looks almost identical. Someone comes up with a good idea and the rest of them just follow suit. What the real problem comes down to is an American company who just isn't going to stand for that. Now they are pissed and wanting to retaliate any way they can. Stop being LAZY! OWN YOUR PROBLEMS!!!
 
S

summitRun

macrumors regular
Aug 28, 2011
132
0
gotta love lawyers...they sure find ways to keep themselves employed. And once again it will be the public who pays :mad:
 
R

Reddmanz

macrumors regular
Jul 23, 2010
169
0
This reminds me of a really bitter relationship breakup, just a shame the whole world has to suffer.
 
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