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Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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apple_rubber_banding_patent_figure.jpg
Reuters reports on a decision from a Tokyo court ruling that Samsung has infringed Apple's "bounce back" patent. The report notes that the decision comes months after the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) ruled that the patent was invalid, but the agency reversed that decision just last week, reconfirming the validity of the key claim of Apple's patent.
Apple claimed that Samsung had copied the "bounce-back", in which icons on its smartphones and tablets quiver back when users scroll to the end of an electronic document. Samsung has already changed its interface on recent models to show a blue line at the end of documents.
In the past couple of months, the "bounce back" ruling has come under heavy scrutiny with a number of claims found invalid in multiple rulings. The invalid declaration allowed Samsung to continue to sell older phone models that used the feature.

But with that key claim being reconfirmed after reexamination last week, Apple has now defended it twice against challenges, giving the patent stronger presumptive validity in its court cases.

The patent was successfully used by Apple in its U.S. lawsuit against Samsung, which yielded a $1 billion judgment. In November, there will be a trial to redetermine the portion of damages that Samsung must pay Apple after the ruling was partly thrown out due to jury error.

Article Link: Tokyo Court Says Samsung Infringed Apple 'Bounce Back' Patent
 

Bhatu

macrumors regular
Apr 1, 2013
171
86
Apple to Samsung: "One night I'm gonna come to you, inside of your house, wherever you're sleeping, and I'm gonna cut your throat."
 

street.cory

macrumors 6502
Oct 13, 2009
379
168
Good. I'm glad that Apple is the winner on this patent dispute.

This is a case where Samsung clearly could have created and implemented their own solution of the "bounce back" feature but blatantly copied it until they were called out on it.
 

keysofanxiety

macrumors G3
Nov 23, 2011
9,539
25,302
A Tokyo court! I love it! :p


At the risk of being pedantic, Samsung are Korean... and the Japanese hatred of Samsung (and Korean business in general) is well documented ...

... but other than that! ;)
 
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nagromme

macrumors G5
May 2, 2002
12,546
1,196
Why don't more people want to see what Samsung could do instead of copying Apple?

Every time Samsung copies Apple, we get LESS choice and LESS innovation in the market.

Why do some people seem to want Samsung to be a copycat? Sounds more fun, to me, to see what they come up with on their own. (In this case, a blue stripe--which sounds like it would serve the purpose just fine in a less fun way.) THAT would be competition worth having in the market. I would think Samsung fans would agree--just like Apple fans wouldn't want to see Apple slavishly clone Windows 8.

No, Samsung doesn't copy every little detail from Apple.... but they copy SO many SO slavishly that they're in a league all their own. (They even went white when Apple did!) What would all those iPhone-alike products have been if Samsung acted more like other phone makers and went in their own direction? I'd love to have THAT choice in the market more often, and lazy clones less.
 

dBeats

macrumors 6502a
Jun 21, 2011
637
214
Why don't more people want to see what Samsung could do instead of copying Apple?

You're making the large assumption that they could innovate instead of copy. Considering they Stabbed Sony in the back all those years ago and undercut them on TVs that were essentially the same as the one's they were making for Sony, I think the long term strategy has been pretty clear. Take (or become a "partner"), copy, advertise "Why pay more, we have same thing", make 200 variations each with some spec tweaked, crash the price/commoditize, starve the innovator, spend then next 10 years doing nothing but bumping specs until a new innovator shows a new idea, rinse, lather, repeat.
 

nagromme

macrumors G5
May 2, 2002
12,546
1,196
You're making the large assumption that they could innovate instead of copy. Considering they Stabbed Sony in the back all those years ago and undercut them on TVs that were essentially the same as the one's they were making for Sony, I think the long term strategy has been pretty clear. Take (or become a "partner"), copy, advertise "Why pay more, we have same thing", make 200 variations each with some spec tweaked, crash the price/commoditize, starve the innovator, spend then next 10 years doing nothing but bumping specs until a new innovator shows a new idea, rinse, lather, repeat.

I also remember the Samsung "BlackJack" clone of BlackBerry. And "bump to share"? iPhone has had that (via a very nice free app) since at LEAST the iPhone 3G. (I'd rather have AirDrop, and have never seen anyone "bump" in real life.) However, Samsung tries SOME new things sometimes, and imagine if they did it more? Android fans should be calling for that, not fighting to keep innovative pressure off of Samsung.

It's just odd :)
 

Skika

macrumors 68030
Mar 11, 2009
2,999
1,246
You're making the large assumption that they could innovate instead of copy. Considering they Stabbed Sony in the back all those years ago and undercut them on TVs that were essentially the same as the one's they were making for Sony, I think the long term strategy has been pretty clear. Take (or become a "partner"), copy, advertise "Why pay more, we have same thing", make 200 variations each with some spec tweaked, crash the price/commoditize, starve the innovator, spend then next 10 years doing nothing but bumping specs until a new innovator shows a new idea, rinse, lather, repeat.

Agreed. Samsung is a horrible company in that aspect.
 

pirg

macrumors 6502a
Apr 18, 2013
618
0
No surprise here. Samsung is a thief and courts worldwide are proving it
 

SockRolid

macrumors 68000
Jan 5, 2010
1,560
118
Almost Rock Solid
... Samsung had copied the "bounce-back", in which icons on its smartphones and tablets quiver back when users scroll to the end of an electronic document.

Pretty sure the patent has nothing to do with icons quivering or moving in any way.
It's only the document content that bounces back when you scroll past an "edge."
(Emphasis mine.)

This is from an earlier MacRumors story (emphasis mine again):

The patent, which addresses the ability for content displayed on iOS devices to "bounce back" when the user scrolls to the top or bottom of the page.

Full story:

https://www.macrumors.com/2013/04/02/key-claim-of-apples-rubber-banding-patent-once-again-found-invalid-by-u-s-patent-office/
 

blackhand1001

macrumors 68030
Jan 6, 2009
2,599
33
Good. I'm glad that Apple is the winner on this patent dispute.

This is a case where Samsung clearly could have created and implemented their own solution of the "bounce back" feature but blatantly copied it until they were called out on it.

They haven't used bounce back on a product in over 2 years and when they did it was part of stock android from before they switched to edge glow. It now uses the stock edge glow and even the original galaxy s switched to edge glow. Second of all there is so much prior art for the bounce back that the patent will likely be invalidated. Its also no secret that Japan has a hate for South Korea, especially in recent years.
 

macs4nw

macrumors 601
Did you do it first?

Or invent it?

Why don't more people want to see what Samsung could do instead of copying Apple?
Every time Samsung copies Apple, we get LESS choice and LESS innovation in the market.
Why do some people seem to want Samsung to be a copycat? Sounds more fun, to me, to see what they come up with on their own. (In this case, a blue stripe--which sounds like it would serve the purpose just fine in a less fun way.) THAT would be competition worth having in the market. I would think Samsung fans would agree--just like Apple fans wouldn't want to see Apple slavishly clone Windows 8.
No, Samsung doesn't copy every little detail from Apple.... but they copy SO many SO slavishly that they're in a league all their own. (They even went white when Apple did!) What would all those iPhone-alike products have been if Samsung acted more like other phone makers and went in their own direction? I'd love to have THAT choice in the market more often, and lazy clones less.

They've taken the (sl)easy way out.....

You're making the large assumption that they could innovate instead of copy.....

They have more than enough money to hire talented people and come up with their own unique ideas a bit more often.

.....Considering they Stabbed Sony in the back all those years ago and undercut them on TVs that were essentially the same as the one's they were making for Sony, I think the long term strategy has been pretty clear. Take (or become a "partner"), copy, advertise "Why pay more, we have same thing", make 200 variations each with some spec tweaked, crash the price/commoditize, starve the innovator, spend then next 10 years doing nothing but bumping specs until a new innovator shows a new idea, rinse, lather, repeat.

Sadly, True.

I also remember the Samsung "BlackJack" clone of BlackBerry. And "bump to share"? iPhone has had that (via a very nice free app) since at LEAST the iPhone 3G. (I'd rather have AirDrop, and have never seen anyone "bump" in real life.) However, Samsung tries SOME new things sometimes, and imagine if they did it more? Android fans should be calling for that, not fighting to keep innovative pressure off of Samsung. It's just odd :)

Agreed! Encouraging companies to copy good ideas (by purchasing their products), just for the sake of saving a little money, is a short-sighted policy, that in the long run leads to stagnation. When the companies who do stick their neck out, and take risks with bold new ideas, have been 'run out of town' by those, shamelessly copying those new features, and therefore being able to undercut the innovators (no R&D costs), what incentive will there be for another great company to come along, and take big risks with innovation, knowing they will soon enough be undercut by the copycats, and unable maybe, to even recoup their R&D investment.
 

street.cory

macrumors 6502
Oct 13, 2009
379
168
They haven't used bounce back on a product in over 2 years and when they did it was part of stock android from before they switched to edge glow. It now uses the stock edge glow and even the original galaxy s switched to edge glow. Second of all there is so much prior art for the bounce back that the patent will likely be invalidated. Its also no secret that Japan has a hate for South Korea, especially in recent years.

Okay. I really don't understand why you're responding to me. I didn't say or imply recent Samsung devices infringed on the patent or that Samsung hasn't implemented their own feature.

I said they
copied it until they were called out on it.

Which means, they used to use it, now they don't.

As far as previous art, that's all good and dandy but they didn't patent it did they? Is the patent system abused in some cases? Yes. Does it protect people who own the patent? Yes.

Also, if you think Japan's hate for South Korea is the reason Apple won I'll direct you to this patent case.
 

inscrewtable

macrumors 68000
Oct 9, 2010
1,656
402
I find the 'sosumi' apple sound to be rather irritating but with the current rate of litigation, it looks like this 'in' joke will be with us for a long time yet.
 

Yamcha

macrumors 68000
Mar 6, 2008
1,825
158
Ridiculous! iOS6 & 7 clearly borrows so much from Android 4+ yet as far as I know Apple hasn't been sued yet, maybe the difference is it wasn't patented? Well in my view copying is copying, so I really find it appalling when Apple is "Borrowing" ideas from Android and they don't seem to have an issue with it.

But when another company like Samsung in this case uses the bounce back effect, it becomes the end of all things.

How about let's stop having double standards and start being fair and objective?
 

thepowerofnone

macrumors member
Apr 10, 2011
97
7
SUE EVERYONE.

I filed a patent on breathing. I'm taking everyone in the whole world to court. I want $1 from every person.

A patent on breathing you say? I would like to license that under FRAND please - since it is truly essential to life, and $1 is a hugely inflated price. Also, I will see you in court to challenge whether I actually infringed on your "breathing" patent, since my way of breathing is just a little bit different, and I will be filling with the Patent Office to have your patent invalidated on grounds that I don't believe you can prove that you invented it. Welcome to the world of patents - even if you had legitimately invented breathing I would have so many ways to try to dodge your patent and cost you money defending it, it begs the question why would you invent at all when you can just replicate. Why indeed...

When I win, don't deliver my legal expenses to me in $0.05 coins: a bank transfer is necessary.
 

thepowerofnone

macrumors member
Apr 10, 2011
97
7
Ridiculous! iOS6 & 7 clearly borrows so much from Android 4+ yet as far as I know Apple hasn't been sued yet, maybe the difference is it wasn't patented? Well in my view copying is copying, so I really find it appalling when Apple is "Borrowing" ideas from Android and they don't seem to have an issue with it.

But when another company like Samsung in this case uses the bounce back effect, it becomes the end of all things.

How about let's stop having double standards and start being fair and objective?

Maybe its because iOS 6 was publicly previewed before Jelly Bean was and most of the similarities didn't come in until JB? So surely Apple should be suing Google for that to? Or maybe because the similarities between the early iOS's (which was the first to be developed/released/previewed/any other word you like) and the original Android are so staggeringly obvious that of Google to go into court and say "iOS is a copy of Android" would have the whole room in hysterics? IF Android were to introduce a piece of software or a phone developer introduced a piece of hardware which was legitimately patentable then Apple ought to have to pay for it. However, you can't patent "4G on a mobile device" or "a home screen with icons arranged in a grid pattern" and if you could Samsung got there first on the 4G and Apple beat Android to the grid pattern so everyone owes everyone else lots of money. You can patent software quirks which improve the interface without really adding functionality however since Samsung can't turn around and say "we introduced bounce back because it solved this major issue our customers have been having"; they introduced it because they saw it on iOS and realised that it improved the user experience. I can't think of any user experience items which Apple has copied.

FYI I use a Nexus 4 and think that its an amazing, great value product that blows the iPhone out of the water when it comes to value for money, but it just really annoys me when people accuse Apple of not innovating when its one of very few companies to truly alter traditional technology markets in the past 10 years and its done it three times. The only other one which springs to mind is Sony with the RX100 camera - that little thing has changed the digital camera market significantly by raising the bar a long, long way for its competitors.
 

szw-mapple fan

macrumors 68040
Jul 28, 2012
3,453
4,299
At the risk of being pedantic, Samsung are Korean... and the Japanese hatred of Samsung (and Korean business in general) is well documented ...

... but other than that! ;)

Correct, but then all the Japanese phone makers used and still uses Android. If they awarded Apple this case it might open the doors for Apple to sue other Japanese makers who have also 'borrowed' this feature.

I'm glad Apple won this. The bounce back feature is much more than a 'rounded rectangle'.
 
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