Samsung May Scrap Australian Galaxy Tab 10.1 Release as Apple Balks at Deal

[MacRumors]

Last week, Samsung proposed a deal to Apple behind closed doors in an attempt to find a way to launch its Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia. Samsung has delayed the device's introduction there for two months while a court has heard Apple's case for a preliminary injunction to bar Samsung from the selling the device due to infringement of Apple's intellectual property rights.

Reuters reported late yesterday that Apple has rejected the deal, pressing forward with its position that Samsung should be barred from selling the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia.

"[The proposed deal] is one we don't accept and there is no surprise. The main reason we are here is to prevent the launch (of the Galaxy 10.1) and maintain the status quo," Apple lawyer Steven Burley told the court.

Samsung has been forced to delay the launch of its new Galaxy in Australia until after the court makes a ruling.

"It is not going to be achievable your honour, given the positions advanced by each party," a Samsung lawyer told the court when asked about the prospects of a settlement.

Bloomberg follows up with a new report today noting that the federal judge in the case has yet to issue a ruling on Apple's request for a temporary injunction as the hearing comes to a close, reporting that she will need a "little" time to reach a decision.

For its part, Samsung has noted that if it can not win clearance to launch the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia within the next two weeks it may simply scrap the launch altogether.

Samsung is willing to abandon plans to launch the product because missing the Christmas season would result in the new tablet being "dead," Neil Young, a lawyer representing the Suwon, South Korea-based company, told Federal Court Justice Annabelle Bennett in Sydney today.

[...]

"We're willing to pull out all the stops to get it out by mid-October," Young said. "We're absolutely desperate."

Apple and Samsung have been locked in a patent dispute ranging across a number of countries. Apple has had its most success in Australia and Germany, where it has been able to delay the launch of Samsung's products as the legal proceedings play out.

Article Link: Samsung May Scrap Australian Galaxy Tab 10.1 Release as Apple Balks at Deal

 

[Shrink]

So Apple owns Australia. Competition may be good for the consumer, but monopoly is good for profits.

Not dumping on Apple - any company would envy their position.

Too bad for consumers...

 

[bb426]

eBay Australia?

 

[ouimetnick]

If Samsung innovated instead of copying, they wouldn't be on these shoes. My advice to Samsung... Innovate, don't steal!

 

[Skika]

So Apple owns Australia. Competition may be good for the consumer, but monopoly is good for profits.

Not dumping on Apple - any company would envy their position.

Too bad for consumers...

Its good for consumers. Maybe companies will think twice now before just copy & pasting Apple products and actually innovate or a least come with original ideas.

 

[slrandall]

Wow. Despite all the talk that this was just a delay, it may be that Apple really has killed the Galaxy Tab 10.1.

 

[nylonsteel]

re original article

i'm ok with the situation

samsung has alot more battlefronts to pursue

 

[*LTD*]

So Apple owns Australia. Competition may be good for the consumer, but monopoly is good for profits.

That alleged "monopoly" happens to be legally-sanctioned.

Why not tell Samsung to clean up their act. Then there wouldn't be any need for all these court-sanctioned injunctions.

 

[byke]

Wow. Despite all the talk that this was just a delay, it may be that Apple really has killed the Galaxy Tab 10.1.

Apple haven't killed it, local law has done that since Samsung has breached such law and been found guilty of doing such.

While it may hamper consumer choice, the same could be said as any counterfeit goods.

 

[skoorbevad]

Its good for consumers. Maybe companies will think twice now before just copy & pasting Apple products and actually innovate or a least come with original ideas.

It's readily apparent that you've not been keeping up with this.

----------

If Samsung innovated instead of copying, they wouldn't be on these shoes. My advice to Samsung... Innovate, don't steal!

You realize that their infraction here was basically making a tablet in the shape of a rectangle, right?

 

[dodgerbluetx]

So Apple owns Australia. Competition may be good for the consumer, but monopoly is good for profits.

Not dumping on Apple - any company would envy their position.

Too bad for consumers...

I think everyone would agree that multiple copycat companies ripping off products from a single company is bad for consumers.

 

[Amigan]

Why does this only effect Oz?

Why does this only effect Oz? Is Australian law different to the rest of the world in this respect?

 

[lehite]

"We have always been shameless about stealing great ideas."

 

[FaustsHausUK]

You realize that their infraction here was basically making a tablet in the shape of a rectangle, right?

Don't be silly. If that were the case, Apple would have sued basically everyone who makes a tablet.

The issue is that...

- The TouchWiz skin has icons and design embellishments that were intentionally made to resemble the appearance of iOS. Most notably in the application tray.
- Their chargers, cables and certain other accessories were clearly designed to look like those used by Apple products (although in black, not white, because colour totally changes everything).
- The fascia of the device was designed to resemble the iPad as closely as possible (and it is more than just "it's a rectangle" - I have owned many televisions that are essentially rectangles, but their fascias were distinct).
- Their packaging and marketing materials were designed to ape those of the iPad so the devices appear similar side by side on store shelves.

Also at play is the fact Samsung's TouchWiz and other Android enhancements feature patented software solutions to problems including, but not limited to, correcting accidentally touches. While we can argue that such things should not be patentable, they presently are and so Apple are entitled to pursue infringements.

We can all have our opinions on how the law is broken and how stupid the legal action might be, but Apple are not operating illegally, and the justice system clearly agrees with them on many of their points if they are granting injunctions.

 

[kyjaotkb]

Idea

I think Samsung's lawyer should be aware that his Cinnamon Girl is playing a double game with him, being obvious that she and Apple are plotting a big strudel together against Samsung.

 

[*LTD*]

I think Samsung's lawyer should be aware that his Cinnamon Girl is playing a double game with him, being obvious that she and Apple are plotting a big strudel together against Samsung.

Dough you actually believe this? Sounds half-baked.

 

[wescravn]

HA HA! Good for Apple!

Basically the Android OS is a knock-off IOS. YES knock-off!

For some of you outside the US that don't understand that terminology, let me break it down!

1) In the US in places like chinatown, and jamica, queens they sell "Knock-off" clothing, and designer items, such as lui vuitton, versace, etc. These products are INFERIOR to the originals, and have shabby logo's etc, that look like the real thing.
2) They cost less than the real product
3) Are not as durable, or anywhere near the same manufacturing quality.
4) Typically available in two-for-one at much lower prices, for those that can't afford the original.

I have Android phone, and it is a "KNOCK-OFF", because it meets all the criteria above. So bottom line, Apple should sue them for every penny, and then start in the US, and target Google.

I really blame Google. Can anyone invent anymore? At least Windows 8 Mobile is different, it's a POS, and not copy. So now Google has taken over Microsoft's Job. Seems like history repeats itself, all over.

US law sucks, so Apple probably won't have much luck here unfortunately.

FYI: I own apple products primarily

 

[BC2009]

Don't be silly. If that were the case, Apple would have sued basically everyone who makes a tablet.

The issue is that...

- The TouchWiz skin has icons and design embellishments that were intentionally made to resemble the appearance of iOS. Most notably in the application tray.
- Their chargers, cables and certain other accessories were clearly designed to look like those used by Apple products (although in black, not white, because colour totally changes everything).
- The fascia of the device was designed to resemble the iPad as closely as possible (and it is more than just "it's a rectangle" - I have owned many televisions that are essentially rectangles, but their fascias were distinct).
- Their packaging and marketing materials were designed to ape those of the iPad so the devices appear similar side by side on store shelves.

Also at play is the fact Samsung's TouchWiz and other Android enhancements feature patented software solutions to problems including, but not limited to, correcting accidentally touches. While we can argue that such things should not be patentable, they presently are and so Apple are entitled to pursue infringements.

We can all have our opinions on how the law is broken and how stupid the legal action might be, but Apple are not operating illegally, and the justice system clearly agrees with them on many of their points if they are granting injunctions.

Great points. I don't think Apple would have cared so much about the functional patents had not so many aspects of the Galaxy Tab mimicked the iPad, its packaging, and its accessories. Apple cares very much about brand recognition and they painstakingly design every little aspect of the device, the box, the accessories -- very much attention to detail -- the kind of stuff the consumer only recognizes subconsciously as pleasing.

I also think Apple is being a bit vindictive with Samsung too because they feel betrayed. On one hand you are somebody's biggest customers (to the tune of $8B per year) and on the other hand they are ripping off your brand identity. Most suppliers would simply cheer for their customer to sell more units so they can make more on the backend, but apparently Samsung is determined to compete head to head with their biggest customer. I don't know what profits the line of Galaxy smartphones made for Samsung last year, but the tablets could not have made that much money. I still think there are some sales account managers at Samsung that want to beat the crap out of whomever pursued the Galaxy strategy. They are watching a whole lot of commissions go down the toilet.

Can you imagine a company like IBM competing directly with a customer who pays them $8B annually? I guess the difference here is that Samsung was already making smartphones when Apple entered the fray. So the supplier relationship came after the competitor relationship -- Apple just snuck up on Samsung very quickly from being a very minor player to being the major player. But you think these two companies could have found a way to be friends during the negotiations before it came to this point. After all, they were both making a load of money from each other's businesses. Apple was getting great components and Samsung was getting tons of revenue.

 

[localman]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)

Shameful, Apple. If you can't make a better product then you sue them? "Maintain the status quo" says your lawyer? What happened to you? The Apple that I love would have ignored Samsung and blew them out of the water with newer better products.

Absolutely shameful.

 

[ouimetnick]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)

Shameful, Apple. If you can't make a better product then you sue them? "Maintain the status quo" says your lawyer? What happened to you? The Apple that I love would have ignored Samsung and blew them out of the water with newer better products.

Absolutely shameful.

So if you worked you arse off on a great selling product, and another person ripped you off in terms of design of the tablet, cable, charger, and OS, and caused a loss of income, would you simply worked your arse off more, to create another better device or sue for violating your patents, and simply complying you?

 

[*LTD*]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)

Shameful, Apple. If you can't make a better product then you sue them?

They do. It's called the iPad. The "sue them" part comes into play when Samsung messes with Apple's designs and IP. The courts seem to agree.

"Maintain the status quo" says your lawyer?

Yes, as in exactly what it means. The "status quo" of Samsung under an injunction in that country. As in, Apple says they aren't prepared to change that situation. So, the "status quo" vis-a-vis Samsung's injunction will remain. Probably because Samsung can't seem to clean up their act.

What happened to you?

What happened? OMG Did something happen??

The Apple that I love would have ignored Samsung and blew them out of the water with newer better products.

The Apple you love was *always* litigious. From Day 1. That's the Apple you love. They just make a lot more than computers and an OS these days. Was it ok for them back in those days to drag competitors into court, but these days it's somehow horrible?

Apple was always in court over something. This is nothing new for them. When Apple entered the tech market they resolved to approach tech as an opportunity to innovate and then *take ownership* of those innovations as best they could, not treat it like a common pool from which everyone drinks.

Have you forgotten that Steve Jobs founded Apple? This was his plan all along. And you've been buying into it all these years. So why stop now?

 

[ARM1968]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8G4 Safari/6533.18.5)

Apple should just leave these dudes alone. All this litigation makes it actually look like Samsung might be offering something good. Makes Apple look scared. Counter productive!!

 

[RichardBeer]

Patent wielding bullies are what corporations are nowadays. We need Atlas to shrug.