Tag Archives: intellectual property

Aug 16

Motorola’s Xoom Tablet Does Not Infringe on ...

Posted on by

Motorola’s Xoom tablet does not infringe on some of Apple’s community designs, the regional court of Dû³¥¬¤orf ruled on Tuesday. Apple wanted a Europe-wide ban on the Motorola tablet, a court spokesman said.

Apple tried to get the Motorola Xoom banned in Europe because it said Motorola infringed on three of its community design rights, unitary industrial design rights that protect the intellectual property of products sold in the European Union. the judge decided that the Xoom does not resemble the iPad enough, said Andreas Vitek, spokesman for the regional Dû³¥¬¤orf court.

Motorola filed a counter claim against Apple, demanding that the court decide that Apple’s community designs were invalid, Vitek said. however, the judge also denied that claim, he said, adding that while both companies lost their claims, Apple had to pay two thirds of the litigation costs and Motorola should pay one third. Vitek could not say how much each company had to pay.

All three community designs used in the case cover iPad designs, and all three designs have an invalidity procedure pending, according to the database of the Trade marks and Designs Registration Office of the European Union. this means that an application for a declaration of invalidity has been filed against that specific design, and that the invalidity request will be examined.

Community design 1222905-0001 contains drawings of an iPad-like device as does community design 001222905-0008. Community design 001222905-0002, however, contains photos of the first iPad. all three the designs were registered in July 2010 and in all three registrations Jody Akana is credited as the designer.

Apple cited a different community design to request a ban of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab sales in Europe last year. In that case, Apple’s iPad-related community design 000181607-0001 was enough to give Apple a preliminary injunction against the Tab 10.1, temporarily blocking sales of the tablet in the Europe.

The community design used against Samsung has also an invalidity procedure pending. it was registered in 2004 and designed by Bartley K. Andre. this design consists of drawings of an iPad-like device and is categorized as a “handheld computer” instead of a “portable display device” as the other three community designs used against Motorola are.

Apple declined to comment on Tuesday’s ruling and Motorola did not respond to a request for comment.

The European ban against the Galaxy Tab 10.1 was lifted last August in all E.U. countries but Germany. Apple won a permanent ban on the 10.1 in Germany in September. to circumvent that ruling, Samsung modified the appearance of the tablet and created the Galaxy Tab 10.1N, which Apple also attacked in German courts.

Apple is still pursuing a ban on the altered Galaxy Tab 10.1N and appealed a ruling of the regional Dû³¥¬¤orf court that decided the 10.1N was sufficiently altered. the higher regional court of Dû³¥¬¤orf is set to rule in the 10.1N appeal case next Tuesday, said Vitek.

Loek covers all things tech for the IDG News Service. Follow him on Twitter at @loekessers or email tips and comments to loek_essers@idg.com

Motorola’s Xoom Tablet Does Not Infringe on Apple’s Designs, German Court Rules

Aug 14

Apple Wins Injunction Against Samsung’s ...

Posted on by

Apple has won its greatest victory yet in its sprawling intellectual property battle with Samsung: An injunction against U.S. sales of what was until recently the Korean company’s marquee Android tablet.

U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh late Tuesday issued a ruling granting Apple’s request for a preliminary injunction banning sales of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet in the United States, pending further review. the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1, which Samsung uncrated last month, is not affected.

“Although Samsung has a right to compete, it does not have a right to compete unfairly by flooding the market with infringing products,” Koh wrote in her order, adding that the strength of Apple’s case on the merits left her no choice but to grant the injunction. “While Samsung will certainly suffer lost sales from the issuance of an injunction, the hardship to Apple of having to directly compete with Samsung’s infringing products outweighs Samsung’s harm in light of the previous findings by the Court.”

Now this is only a preliminary injunction and Samsung will certainly appeal it. but make no mistake, it’s a nasty blow to Samsung. Note that Koh issued her order a few days prior to a Friday hearing on Apple’s injunction request. Evidently, she didn’t feel the need to hear any further arguments on the matter before ruling on it. Which is interesting, as Koh denied a previous Apple request for an injunction against the Galaxy Tab 10.1 last December.

Koh’s order will become effective as soon as Apple posts a $2.6 million bond to protect Samsung if it is later determined that the injunction should not have been granted.

Reached for comment, Apple reiterated the same message it has been hammering at since this debacle began. “It’s no coincidence that Samsung’s latest products look a lot like the iPhone and iPad, from the shape of the hardware to the user interface and even the packaging,” spokeswoman Kristin Huguet told AllThingsD. “This kind of blatant copying is wrong and, as we’ve said many times before, we need to protect Apple’s intellectual property when companies steal our ideas.”

Meanwhile, Samsung took a shot at Apple’s case as well as its patent litigation strategy. “Apple sought a preliminary injunction of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1, based on a single design patent that addressed just one aspect of the product’s overall design,” Samsung said in a statement. “Should Apple continue to make legal claims based on such a generic design patent, design innovation and progress in the industry could be restricted.”

The ruling in full below:

Apple Wins Injunction Against Samsung’s Galaxy Tab

Jul 26

Apple Wins European Ban On Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7

Posted on by

More bad news for Samsung this morning, as Apple has won a European ban on Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 7.7 Android tablet in a German court, and the ban apparently applies to the whole of Europe and not just Germany.

According to a recent report by the Next Web, an appeals court in Germany has rejected Samsung’s appeal that the tablet ban should only apply in Germany and has now extended the ban to the whole of the EU.

Samsung did have some good news though in the ruling, as Apple also tried to have Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 banned in germany again, the device was previously banned but went back on sale with a modified design, and the court ruled in Samsung’s favor and turned down Apple’s appeal to have the Galaxy Tab 10.1 banned again.

“Samsung welcomes the court’s ruling which confirms our position that the GALAXY Tab 10.1N does not infringe Apple’s intellectual property and does not infringe laws against unfair competition,” the company said. “Should Apple continue to make legal claims based on such a generic design patent, design innovation and progress in the industry could be restricted.”

Things certainly are hotting up between Samsung and Apple, with various court cases around the world, the gloves are off,  and both companies are looking to do as much damage to the other as possible through their various patent lawsuits.

Source The Next Web

Apple Wins European Ban On Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7

Jul 23

Motorola U.S. Import Ban Takes Effect Today

Posted on by

A ban on Motorola devices in the U.S. was scheduled to go into effect today, but the Google-owned company said it has come up with a workaround to address the patent violation that prompted the ban.

In May, the International Trade Commission (ITC) ordered an import ban on Android-based Motorola devices that infringe on a Microsoft-held patent.

The patent in question covers technology for “generating meeting requests and group scheduling from a mobile device.” unless Motorola removes the infringing technology from its gadgets or comes to a licensing agreement with Microsoft, it will not be able to import and sell them in the U.S. – starting today.

In a statement, Motorola said it has taken “proactive measures” to avoid a ban.

“In view of the ITC exclusion order which becomes effective Wednesday with respect to the single ActiveSync patent upheld in Microsoft’s ITC-744 proceeding, Motorola has taken proactive measures to ensure that our industry leading smartphones remain available to consumers in the U.S.,” the company said. “We respect the value of intellectual property and expect other companies to do the same.”

The company did not elaborate on what those measures might be.

“Microsoft brought this case only after Motorola stopped licensing our intellectual property but continued to use our inventions in its products,” David Howard, Microsoft’s deputy general counsel, said in a statement. “It’s unfortunate we’ve been forced to pursue legal action, but the solution for Motorola remains licensing our intellectual property at market rates as most other Android manufacturers have already done.”

As patent blogger Florian Mueller noted, Motorola will likely have to strip the meeting scheduler functionality from its devices to avoid a ban. “Any software preinstalled on those devices, whether it’s the client software communicating with the Google Calendar service or preloaded social networking apps, won’t be able to let users schedule meetings from those mobile devices,” he wrote in a blog post.

According to Ars Technica, the case focused on but is not limited to a number of older Motorola devices. Microsoft told Ars that the order covers all infringing devices until the patent expires in 2018.

Yesterday, Motorola secured a patent victory over Apple this week when the Düsseldorf court dismissed Apple’s request for a ban on the Motorola Xoom in Germany.

For more from Chloe, follow her on Twitter @ChloeAlbanesius.

For the top stories in tech, follow us on Twitter at @PCMag.

Motorola U.S. Import Ban Takes Effect Today

Jul 21

Tablet Encryption 101

Posted on by

Today’s workplace is becoming increasingly agreeable to the BYOD (bring your own device) concept: Employers are finally giving the green light for staffers to use their own equipment for work while they’re at the office. For businesses, it’s cheaper to let employees bring in their own laptops, smartphones, or tablets, since that cuts down on the need to purchase hardware (though not on the need to support it). regardless, businesses seem to have little choice in the matter, since many employees are bringing their devices in whether they have permission or not–and some people are knowingly breaking the company’s security policy in doing so.

If you want to bring your own Android or iOS tablet to work, you should consider a couple of factors before taking the plunge. First, in some respects you lose ownership of your device once you commit to using it at work and keeping potentially sensitive data on it. Corporate intellectual property or client data is extremely valuable to your employer, and as such you lose certain freedoms regarding any device that contains that information. Mishandle that information, and you might lose your job.

Second, you have to think about how to secure the device against tampering, to protect its information and thereby minimize your loss of ownership. If you plan to store confidential material of any kind on your tablet, you’ll want to safeguard that data against the chance that you lose the device or let it slip into the wrong hands.

So how do you keep your data secure? you encrypt it. the field of data encryption is always changing, and you can encrypt your tablet in many different ways. here are a few popular methods of tablet encryption that I was able to test.

For our purposes, encryption is a process that changes data in a way that makes it unreadable to anyone who doesn’t possess the key to unlock it. the data is, in theory, useless without the key, thus affording some measure of security in the case of theft or loss.

Encryption itself is a complicated topic. For a PC, you can purchase encryption software or encrypted hardware, as well as products that encrypt the “whole” disc, including the Master Boot Record. the debate over which approach is better rages on. Software encryption involves running an encryption program on a standard drive to make its data indecipherable unless you have the key. this implementation tends toward slower access time, since the managing software decrypts the data for applications as they need it. Hardware encryption, in contrast, is generally invisible to the PC’s software, including the operating system. Although this type of encryption is faster, it tends to be more expensive, as it requires specific hardware components. There’s a whole lot more involved in encryption and device security, but a deep delve into those details is outside the scope of this article.

Since this story covers tablet encryption, let’s look at two of the world’s leading tablets: the Apple iPad and the Asus Eee Pad Transformer. Although both tablets offer some measure of security, you should be aware that both fall a bit short of enterprise levels of encryption. Still, if you want to encrypt your tablet for business purposes (or for your personal protection), take the following steps.

Apple claims that all of its devices have hardware encryption out of the box, protection that the user can’t disable. this is a good thing, since it makes the “Fast Erase” functionality (if you lose your iPad or iPhone, you can remotely wipe the device in seconds if the feature is enabled) possible. nevertheless, the hardware encryption has a weakness: If your device is jailbroken, all bets are off. Jailbreaking an Apple device bypasses the security code, so if your tablet is stolen, your data is only a jailbreak away.

Thankfully, the iOS 4.0 update added the Data Protection feature, which offers true encryption. Unfortunately, applications must enable Data Protection in order to take advantage of it–and most applications, to date, do not make use of Data Protection. this is deplorable! It’s also my duty to note that iCloud Storage does not encrypt your data, so using that service will open your cached data to prying eyes if someone compromises your device via a jailbreak.

That said, if you want to encrypt your iPad without jailbreaking it, you will have to rely on Apple’s encryption features. Turning on Apple’s encryption is as easy as activating the Passcode feature in the General settings; the default Simple Passcode provides a 4-number combination to unlock the device, and turns on the basic hardware-encryption functionality. Remote Wipe, also listed in the General settings under Passcode Lock, will turn on Data Protection, and will erase all data on your device after ten invalid passcode-entry attempts, as shown in the screenshot above.

If you’re not sure whether these safety features measure up to your employer’s requirements, take a look at Apple’s white paper regarding the security of the iPad; it’s a decent read, and for many corporate environments the iPad’s amount of protection might be sufficient, even with the caveats described above.

Now that you’ve seen the limited encryption options available on the iPad, you’re probably thinking that an Android tablet is a safer option, right?

Well, the truth depends on which tablet you own and on which version of Android it’s running. Before I dig into that topic, let’s take a quick peek at how to enable encryption on a tablet running Android 4.0. First, open the Settings menu and find the Security section, as shown below. from there it’s one tap to enable encryption and one tap to confirm, and off Android goes. the encryption process can take up to an hour depending on your device, so be patient.

Now that your Android tablet is encrypted, you might wonder how strong the encryption is, or how hard a malefactor would have to work to decrypt it. the problem is, Google has been closed-mouthed about the specifications of Android encryption. is it 256-bit AES, as on the iPad? We know that Android 3.0 Honeycomb is 128-bit AES, according to source.android.com, but I couldn’t find any data about whether Google will strengthen Android encryption in later versions.

Is Android encryption just hardware encryption? do apps have to utilize an API to gain encryption protection, just as they must in order to take advantage of the iOS Data Protection feature? We don’t know yet, though PCWorld has reached out to Android representatives for comment.

If you want to learn more about your Android tablet’s encryption features and how strong they are, try looking up the specific device you own and checking for any white papers or security manuals the manufacturer has published. the Android developer community can be a fantastic resource, too: For example, I learned that the Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime’s hardware encryption includes cryptographic signatures protecting the boot partition, an improvement over the security implemented on the Asus Eee Pad Transformer.

Having encrypted my Transformer, I can say that the tablet won’t even finish booting without a passcode. That’s good–until the tablet crashes and reboots in the middle of the night, and the alarm fails to go off in the morning because it’s waiting on input from you, and suddenly you’re late to work. Encrypt your device if you must, but understand that Android tablet encryption can have some unintended consequences.

On top of all of the concerns described above, rumor has it that an encrypted device that is already running is vulnerable to terminal commands if the Debug mode is enabled and someone gains physical access to your device. Beware, developers!

Even so, for both tablet platforms, the verdict isn’t all bad. Android also includes a remote-wipe functionality, and you can find some decent security apps for both platforms that enhance or replace the default encryption, making either tablet enterprise-ready with some customization.

All in all, from a risk perspective, neither tablet platform passes the test for me when confidential information is at stake, but you might feel differently. If you have any relevant experience or tips to share regarding tablet encryption, let us know in the comments. and if you’re an employer looking for enterprise-class approaches to BYOD security, feel free to talk about that too. would you allow iPads and Android tablets on your network, knowing what I’ve outlined above?

Tablet Encryption 101

This Tablet PC Post was also found by:

    add debugging capability to android tablet running android 2 3 3
    lenovo android tablet doesnt allow whole encryption
    what does an encryption do when you encrypt a lenovo android tablet idea pad
    wifi data encryption aes transformer
Jul 21

Motorola’s Xoom tablet doesn’t ...

Posted on by

IDG News Service – Motorola’s Xoom tablet does not infringe on some of Apple’s community designs, the regional court of Dusseldorf ruled on Tuesday. Apple wanted a Europe-wide ban on the Motorola tablet, a court spokesman said.

Apple tried to get the Motorola Xoom banned in Europe because it said Motorola infringed on three of its community design rights, unitary industrial design rights that protect the intellectual property of products sold in the European Union. The judge decided that the Xoom does not resemble the iPad enough, said Andreas Vitek, spokesman for the regional Dusseldorf court.

Motorola filed a counter claim against Apple, demanding that the court decide that Apple’s community designs were invalid, Vitek said. However, the judge also denied that claim, he said, adding that while both companies lost their claims, Apple had to pay two thirds of the litigation costs and Motorola should pay one third. Vitek could not say how much each company had to pay.

All three community designs used in the case cover iPad designs, and all three designs have an invalidity procedure pending, according to the database of the Trade marks and Designs Registration Office of the European Union. This means that an application for a declaration of invalidity has been filed against that specific design, and that the invalidity request will be examined.

Community design 1222905-0001 contains drawings of an iPad-like device as does community design 001222905-0008. Community design 001222905-0002, however, contains photos of the first iPad. All three the designs were registered in July 2010 and in all three registrations Jody Akana is credited as the designer.

Apple cited a different community design to request a ban of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab sales in Europe last year. In that case, Apple’s iPad-related community design 000181607-0001 was enough to give Apple a preliminary injunction against the Tab 10.1, temporarily blocking sales of the tablet in the Europe.

The community design used against Samsung has also an invalidity procedure pending. It was registered in 2004 and designed by Bartley K. Andre. This design consists of drawings of an iPad-like device and is categorized as a “handheld computer” instead of a “portable display device” as the other three community designs used against Motorola are.

Apple declined to comment on Tuesday’s ruling and Motorola did not respond to a request for comment.

The European ban against the Galaxy Tab 10.1 was lifted last August in all E.U. countries but Germany. Apple won a permanent ban on the 10.1 in Germany in September. To circumvent that ruling, Samsung modified the appearance of the tablet and created the Galaxy Tab 10.1N, which Apple also attacked in German courts.

Apple is still pursuing a ban on the altered Galaxy Tab 10.1N and appealed a ruling of the regional Dusseldorf court that decided the 10.1N was sufficiently altered. The higher regional court of Dusseldorf is set to rule in the 10.1N appeal case next Tuesday, said Vitek.

Loek covers all things tech for the IDG News Service. Follow him on Twitter at @loekessers or email tips and comments to loek_essers@idg.com

Motorola’s Xoom tablet doesn’t infringe on Apple’s designs, German court rules

Jul 04

Nokia warns Google and Asus over possible Nexus 7 ...

Posted on by

Nokia warns of legal action over patents against Google, Asus and the Nexus 7, but would prefer to sort it all out without going to court.

The patent battle between Samsung and Apple may routinely grab the most headlines, but it’s by no means the only one being fought, with everyone from Microsoft to Motorola and even Yahoo all wanting a slice of someone else’s pie.

Nokia has also added its voice to the cacophony, but instead of sending a team of lawyers in the direction of the court, it has suggested the objects of its attention get in touch to work something out.

The problem is the Nexus 7 tablet, launched last week at Google I/O, which Nokia claims uses some of its intellectual property, and according to a Nokia spokesperson talking to TheInquirer.net, neither Asus or Google has licensed the technology from them.

However, instead of letting bands of frenzied lawyers, all armed with legal pads full of carefully considered arguments loose on the alleged infringers, Nokia has asked the pair to get in touch and work something out in a civil manner.

The statement says “neither Google nor Asus is licensed under our patent portfolio,” adding that “companies who are not yet licensed under our standard essential patents should simply approach us and sign up for a license.”

Wi-Fi patents could be the problem

So what’s the problem with the Nexus 7? Fosspatents.com says the complaint is probably related to the IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi standard. Nokia is known to own patents related to this standard, and is already fighting it out with ViewSonic over them in Germany.

Nokia sued ViewSonic, HTC and Research in Motion in May over 45 different hardware and software technologies, it claimed had not been properly licensed. The outcome of these lawsuits has yet to be determined.

Nokia is believed to own a portfolio of at least 10,000 individual patents and earns around $650 million per year from royalties, but a strong result against a big company could increase this amount substantially, providing a cash injection Nokia would probably welcome. It’s possible too, as HTC famously pays Microsoft $5 for each Android phone it sells, and based on performance estimates for HTC in 2011, this would have been $225 million.

Nokia has previous form in intense courtroom battles against big-name opponents too, as it won a two-year legal fight with Apple in mid-2011, where it was agreed Nokia would receive a one-off payment and ongoing royalties, although the exact figures weren’t released.

Here’s hoping Nokia, Asus and Google manage to avoid the courtroom this time, in turn curbing the possibility of a potential halt in sales or price increase for the Nexus 7 should the complaint prove successful, and settle any disputes with a handshake and a signature. you never known, it could encourage others to do the same in the future.

Nokia warns Google and Asus over possible Nexus 7 patent infringement