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Apple Seeks Sanctions Against Samsung for Unlawful Use of Apple-Nokia Patent License Terms

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Apple has filed a new motion for sanctions against Samsung in a California court, accusing the Korean electronics manufacturer of unlawfully obtaining sensitive information about the terms and conditions of its 2011 patent license agreement with Nokia, reports FOSS Patents.

The motion states that Dr. Seungho Ahn, a Samsung executive, informed Nokia that the terms of the Apple-Nokia patent settlement were "known to him", and used that information to negotiate other potential patent settlements in Samsung's favor. According to the complaint, the Apple-Nokia license terms were turned over to Samsung's outside lawyers during the Apple v. Samsung case and were marked "Highly Confidential -- Attorneys' Eyes Only", but were improperly shared with Ahn and dozens of other Samsung employees.
Licensing executives from Samsung and Nokia held a meeting on June 4, 2013 to discuss a patent license deal between these parties. In that meeting, a Samsung exec, Dr. Seungho Ahn, "informed Nokia that the terms of the Apple-Nokia license were known to him" and according to a declaration from Nokia's Chief Intellectual Property Officer, Paul Melin, "stated that Apple had produced the Apple-Nokia license in its litigation with Samsung, and that Samsung's outside counsel had provided his team with the terms of the Apple-Nokia license". The Melin declaration furthermore says that "to prove to Nokia that he knew the confidential terms of the Apple-Nokia license, Dr. Ahn recited the terms of the license, and even went so far as to tell Nokia that 'all information leaks.'"
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The motion itself details how files containing the sensitive information were transferred between Samsung's outside counsel and Samsung executives, with the unredacted documents having been posted on an FTP server accessible to Samsung employees and then transmitted via email.
"Samsung's outside counsel posted the report on an FTP site that was accessible by Samsung personnel. An email providing instructions to access the FTP site was addressed the regular client distribution list used by counsel to provide Samsung personnel updates regarding the case.

The information was then sent, over several different occasions, to over fifty Samsung employees, including high-ranking licensing executives. Specifically, on at least four occasions between March 24, 2012 and December 21, 2012, Samsung's outside counsel emailed a copy of some version of the report to Samsung employees, as well as various counsel representing Samsung in courts and jurisdictions outside the United States.
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Since 2011, Samsung and Apple have been in a long, ongoing legal battle over patent and design issues, with the first U.S. trial awarding $1 billion to Apple in 2012. However, a judge voided nearly half of that amount in March, and a new trial between the two companies is set for November of this year.

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Article Link: Apple Seeks Sanctions Against Samsung for Unlawful Use of Apple-Nokia Patent License Terms
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2013/10/03/apple-seeks-sanctions-against-samsung-for-unlawful-use-of-apple-nokia-patent-license-terms/
vmachiel said:
I read this site every day, but please no more patent news. I beg of you.
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At the top of the page there are tabs for Front Page, Mac Blog, iOS Blog, etc. It would be great if they added a tab for Litigation Blog so those of us that don't want to read all the stupid legal machinations could just skip it.
 
Daalseth said:
At the top of the page there are tabs for Front Page, Mac Blog, iOS Blog, etc. It would be great if they added a tab for Litigation Blog so those of us that don't want to read all the stupid legal machinations could just skip it.
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They already give you that option.
Don't click on the thread.:)
 
Daalseth said:
At the top of the page there are tabs for Front Page, Mac Blog, iOS Blog, etc. It would be great if they added a tab for Litigation Blog so those of us that don't want to read all the stupid legal machinations could just skip it.
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Or you could just skip over the articles you don't like. You are not required to read everything. ;)
 
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vmachiel said:
I read this site every day, but please no more patent news. I beg of you.
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No one made you click the link. So don't

Issue solved

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Daalseth said:
At the top of the page there are tabs for Front Page, Mac Blog, iOS Blog, etc. It would be great if they added a tab for Litigation Blog so those of us that don't want to read all the stupid legal machinations could just skip it.
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If they were going to so that how about a 'not really about Apple' blog for all the crap about the Surface etc
 
Round and round we go. Maybe they should spend their time and money being innovative instead of using the courts time. It just sounds like children bickering.
 
JetBlack7 said:
Aren't there enough sanctions already?
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Not until a punishment is imparted upon Samsung that actually hurts them. The reason why Samsung repeatedly lies, cheats, steals, manipulates and bribes, is because they still make money under such practices. If you fine them in such a way that actually shakes their ivory tower, maybe then there will be enough sanctions. Until that point, sanction the hell out of Samsung!

And by the way, this isn't just regarding phones. Samsung has employed these same practices in producing their TVs -- TVs I love -- but they're still wrong. Additionally, I'd just like to say that since I've learned of their practices, I do not buy their name brand offerings, though I know much of the electronic components I use contain their products.
 
Shameless theft/copying of intellectual property is Standard Operating Procedure in Asia.

No big surprise. IIRC Apple counsel tried to prevent this very information from becoming part of the suit.
 
Not excusing Samsung... but

You can't unknow something.

If the outside council mistakenly or on purpose posted something that was accessible (but confidential) and someone sees it - they can't unsee it. So using it for negotiations really can't be "helped."

Now - here's where stupidity reigns. Even if you know the terms - shut up and just negotiate. Grandstanding that you know the terms was a fatal flaw in execution.
 
Add another one to the mountainous list ... Hey Dr Ahn, "all information leaks" - you mean, like, your information? Lol
 
firedept said:
Round and round we go. Maybe they should spend their time and money being innovative instead of using the courts time. It just sounds like children bickering.
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So you think it's perfectly fine for Samsung's legal councel to share competitors confidential licensing agreements with senior executives?

And can we please quit with the 'innovate, don't litigate' nonsense. What Apple's legal department does is not stopping their designers and engineers from innovating. :rolleyes:
 
Also if you read the filing (not the blog post) you'll note that this is also "hearsay" - a filing based on what Nokia is stating to be the truth. So that's why Apple has filed.
 
sseaton1971 said:
Or you could just skip over the articles you don't like. You are not required to ready everything. ;)
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Apparently, some aspect of their personalities compels them to reply.

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samcraig said:
Not excusing Samsung... but

You can't unknow something.

If the outside council mistakenly or on purpose posted something that was accessible (but confidential) and someone sees it - they can't unsee it. So using it for negotiations really can't be "helped."

Now - here's where stupidity reigns. Even if you know the terms - shut up and just negotiate. Grandstanding that you know the terms was a fatal flaw in execution.
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It was illegal for Samsung's hired counsel to share this information. So, what is your point. Once the sharing happened, Samsung needs to be penalized, unless they just pull out of the negotiation.
 
samcraig said:
Not excusing Samsung... but

You can't unknow something.

If the outside council mistakenly or on purpose posted something that was accessible (but confidential) and someone sees it - they can't unsee it. So using it for negotiations really can't be "helped."

Now - here's where stupidity reigns. Even if you know the terms - shut up and just negotiate. Grandstanding that you know the terms was a fatal flaw in execution.
Click to expand...

This wasn't a slip of the tongue by some lawyer. This was an intentional leak of information to high level employees of Samsung. Additionally, Samsung has proven time and again to employ tactics such as these, so why give them the benefit of the doubt? Why is it that people are so willing to allow Samsung to slide on their past behaviors by suggesting that their current judicial predicaments across the globe (not just with Apple) aren't existent due to shady business practices?

Samsung lies, cheats, steals, manipulates and bribes. They've done it in the past, they're presently doing it, and they will continue to do so in the future.
 
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