Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
63,279
30,341



German patent licensing company IPCom was handed a setback today when both of its patent infringement lawsuits against Apple were dismissed in a German court, reports FOSS Patents. The decisions were handed down by two different chambers within the Mannheim Regional Court.
Two lawsuits against Apple, including one involving a EUR1.57 billion ($2.2 billion) "partial" damages claim, and one against HTC (a company IPCom has been suing for about six years) were dismissed because the court concluded that Apple and HTC didn't infringe a certain IPCom patent family by implementing the 3G/UMTS standard.
The patents cited in the dismissed lawsuits include European patent EP1841268 and German patent DE19910239, which describe methods of managing priority emergency access when wireless networks are overloaded. Apple, Nokia, HTC and others asked the European Patent Office to invalidate the European patent, but the EPO denied this request.
ipcom-patent-apple.jpg
IPCom is expected to appeal these decisions, while Apple and other mobile manufacturers likely will continue to challenge the validity of this patent. Outside of Germany, Apple is petitioning both the [url="

Article Link: IPCom's $2 Billion Patent Lawsuit Against Apple Dismissed by German Court
 

maflynn

macrumors Haswell
May 3, 2009
73,415
43,304
In general its good to see this, I'm tired of patent trolls reaping millions of dollars for no reason other then fear
 

JacinTatt

macrumors member
Jun 12, 2012
69
0
Looks like everything is patented these days. I'd give a thumbs down, but I don't want to be sued for patent infringement.
 

gnasher729

Suspended
Nov 25, 2005
17,980
5,565
Hurray for common sense!

Not common sense really, but facts.

IPCom accused both Apple and HTC of infringing on a patent. The obvious defenses are: 1. The patent is not valid. 2. We are not actually infringing on the patent (we don't do what the patent says). 3. We have the right to use this patent. 4. Payment for using the patent should be lower than what IPCom requests.

A good lawyer will probably claim each defense if it can be done reasonably. Apple and HTC tried defense (1) but have failed so far. But they also tried defense (2) and have succeeded. I bet they argued (4) as well; I think that happened in Microsoft vs. Google where $4 billion were reduced to $10 million (plus cost assigned to Google if I remember correctly so they actually lost money).
 

TheRealTVGuy

macrumors 6502a
Jul 21, 2010
704
1,156
Orlando, FL
It's interesting to me that the networks can prioritize emergency access. Instead of working on iOS jailbreaks, why can't the development community focus on a hack that makes my phone appear as a priority 1 device. THAT would actually interest me.

While we're at it, instead of stealing credit card info from Target, why can't we convince these Russian kids to figure out a way to hack into and corrupt all the data (including server backups) from Experian and the other credit firms?

That would entertain them, and help everyone out. It's a win-win! I think...
;-)
 

69Mustang

macrumors 604
Jan 7, 2014
7,895
15,043
In between a rock and a hard place
It's interesting to me that the networks can prioritize emergency access. Instead of working on iOS jailbreaks, why can't the development community focus on a hack that makes my phone appear as a priority 1 device. THAT would actually interest me.

While we're at it, instead of stealing credit card info from Target, why can't we convince these Russian kids to figure out a way to hack into and corrupt all the data (including server backups) from Experian and the other credit firms?

That would entertain them, and help everyone out. It's a win-win! I think...
;-)

Not sure if serious.:confused: Are you saying criminal activity is okay as long as it benefits you?

On topic from OP: "Outside of Germany, Apple is petitioning both the U.S. Supreme Court and the EU to limit the power of patent holding companies like IPCom in future infringement cases."

What does this mean for Rockstar Consortium?
 

gnasher729

Suspended
Nov 25, 2005
17,980
5,565
Not sure if serious.:confused: Are you saying criminal activity is okay as long as it benefits you?

On topic from OP: "Outside of Germany, Apple is petitioning both the U.S. Supreme Court and the EU to limit the power of patent holding companies like IPCom in future infringement cases."

What does this mean for Rockstar Consortium?

It's quite common for companies (and people) to argue against things that they are doing themselves. It's like complaining that people rush to get on a bus instead of getting into an orderly queue; you still do the same because if you are the only one forming a queue, the bus leaves without you.
 

apolloa

Suspended
Oct 21, 2008
12,318
7,802
Time, because it rules EVERYTHING!
Apple is petitioning both the U.S. Supreme Court and the EU to limit the power of patent holding companies like IPCom in future infringement cases.

hahahahahaha yet Apple deems it entirely fine to patent a shape or colour based on some drawings....


Anyway, as for the patent in the article, tricky one, on the one hand the patent owners deserve their fees, on the other considering just how important and life saving the feature is, it should be made free and patent free no?
 

AngerDanger

Graphics
Staff member
Dec 9, 2008
5,452
29,002
I just hope I'm not infringing any patents by performing mitosis wth the cells I'm made of.

Tr1kjZC.gif
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: mojolicious

ravenstar

macrumors 6502
Jan 12, 2005
266
505
Apple is petitioning both the U.S. Supreme Court and the EU to limit the power of patent holding companies like IPCom in future infringement cases.

hahahahahaha yet Apple deems it entirely fine to patent a shape or colour based on some drawings....

This is as empty an argument as the US Government tried to make against Apple for using existing tax laws to avoid paying more taxes. Apple or any other company can recognize and argue that the current patent system is unreasonable or unfair, while at the same time playing by the same rules as everyone else.

I have a certain amount of admiration for a company willing to make a sincere case that the very rules it's taking advantage of are unfair and should be changed. That doesn't mean they should refuse the play the game and let everyone else walk all over them until the landscape changes.
 

gnasher729

Suspended
Nov 25, 2005
17,980
5,565
Anyway, as for the patent in the article, tricky one, on the one hand the patent owners deserve their fees, on the other considering just how important and life saving the feature is, it should be made free and patent free no?

Apparently the patent owners do _not_ deserve any license fees, because Apple and HTC proved that they are not actually using the technology described in the patent. You could argue that similar to standard essential patents, perhaps there should be special rules for patents where the use of the patent leads to substantial benefits for society, not just a competitive advantage for the company using it.
 

kdarling

macrumors P6
It's interesting to me that the networks can prioritize emergency access.

To have connection priority in the USA, your phone must be registered with the national Wireless Priority Service (WPS). WPS is typically reserved for emergency officials.

Yet even WPS cannot bump anyone already using a connection. It simply puts the person in the front of the queue for the next free slot.

The lack of bump-someone-else priority for such calls is why it's so important for people to stay off their phones during an emergency, so 911 and official calls can go through quickly.

(There are plans to add true priority, but I do not know if they have been implemented yet.)
 

Wowereit

macrumors 6502a
Feb 1, 2016
963
1,483
Germany
Filing billion dollar lawsuits in Germany isn't the best idea.
Compensations usually aren't as high as in the US.

But we are only talking about a Landgericht, there are at least 2 court instances left.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.