Alleged Illegal Conduct by Apple

Apple is being sued in Australia by the ACCC in relation to the Error 53 software fault in iPhones.  When this fault bricked iPhones and iPads, Apple refused to fix the problem where third parties had done prior repairs. 

The latest judgment on a procedural motion is http://www.judgments.fedcourt.gov.au/judgments/Judgments/fca/single/2017/2017fca1329

Apple Store Privacy Issues

Do you trust Apple Store employees when they take away your phone to fix it?

Staff in a Brisbane Apple Store reportedly lifted photos from some Apple customers' iPhones and took more than 100 close-up and explicit photos of female customers and staff without their knowledge.

This raises both privacy and copyright issues.  It is also creepy.

See Brisbane Times

Apple v The Government

If you are following the Apple v US Government legal process over the FBI request to brute force break of the passcode on Syed Farook’s work phone, the link below has a good summary and also a link to the 65 page motion.

https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20160225/15240333713/we-read-apples-65-page-filing-calling-bullshit-justice-department-so-you-dont-have-to.shtml

Lessons From Apple Case

Lessons from Apple and Samsung's patent war.  See BRW.

Apple beats Samsung in Court - First Reactions

Apple won one of the largest patent damages awards against Samsung.  First reactions.  News Report.  Will this impact the Australian court cases?

Google's Top Lawyer: Some Apple Inventions are Commercially Essential, Should Be Made Into Standards

Apple CEO Tim Cook has said that he wants other companies to "invent their own stuff", and that Apple shouldn't be "inventor for the world". 

Google General Counsel Kent Walker disagrees, and this month wrote a letter to the US Senate Judiciary Committee arguing that commercial inventions that impact "consumer welfare" should be just as important as technical patents.
See Here

e-book pricing

On Friday, the Department of Justice responded to the over 800 comments filed in its settlement with a group of publishers over e-book pricing. The Department responded as part of the Tunney Act proceeding for the settlement, while it is in the midst of litigating the same Complaint against Apple and publishers that did not settle.

The response can be found here: http://www.justice.gov/atr/cases/f285300/285315.pdf.
The comments are posted online and can be found here: http://www.justice.gov/atr/cases/apple/index.html

Apple v. Samsung

The Apple v. Samsung patent case restarted in Federal Court of Australia today.  See Sydney Morning Herald

e-book Price Fixing?

Last week, the United States Department of Justice and 16 U.S. States sued Apple and several publishers alleging a conspiracy to raise retail prices for e-books. 

In the Southern District of New York, the Department sued Apple, Hachette, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Macmillan, and Penguin, reaching a settlement with Hachette, HarperCollins, and Simon & Schuster.  The Department’s complaint and proposed final judgment can be found here: http://www.justice.gov/atr/cases/applebooks.html

The Department’s press release and statements by Attorney General Holder and Acting Assistant Attorney General Pozen can be found here:

http://www.justice.gov/atr/public/press_releases/2012/282133.htm

http://www.justice.gov/iso/opa/ag/speeches/2012/ag-speech-1204111.html

http://www.justice.gov/atr/public/speeches/282147.htm

In the Western District of Texas, the a number of States sued Apple, Macmillan, Simon & Schuster, and Penguin. The States'  redacted complaint can be found here: https://www.oag.state.tx.us/newspubs/releases/2012/041112ebooks_complaint.pdf 

The States were led by the Texas AG and the Connecticut AG. The States did not sue HarperCollins or Hachette, but stated they had reached agreement with the two publishers on restitution and injunctive releif.  Here is the Texas AG’s press release: https://www.oag.state.tx.us/oagnews/release.php?id=4026

Privacy Issues re Apps

Congressmen Send Inquiries to 34 App Developers Over Privacy Practices:

See MacRumours

Privacy Lawsuit Against Twitter, Apple, Facebook

Privacy suit filed against Path, Twitter, Apple, Facebook, others
http://cnet.co/FOc5zl or PCMag

For Creators of Games, a Faint Line on Cloning

"Cloning the soul of a game — its gameplay mechanics, design, characters and storyline — is now commonplace in digital marketplaces like Apple’s iOS App Store and Google’s Android. And while the app stores have offered an unparalleled opportunity for independent software makers to reach customers and make money with an innovative game, they are learning it is just as easy for another game studio to compete with a very similar game."
See Full Article

Apple Apps

On Christmas morning, millions of people will unwrap new iPads, iPhones and iPod Touches — and immediately start downloading games and other applications for them. It is the biggest day of the year for app sales, which can mean big money for developers.


Flurry, a mobile analytics firm, estimated that in the period from Dec. 23 to Dec. 26 last year, 240 million applications were downloaded to Apple mobile devices, or about 20 percent of the total downloads for the month.


Source:  NYTimes

Samsung Overturns Apple Injunction in Australia

Samsung was successfully in having an interlocutory injunction overturned today in the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia.  See decision:  Samsung Electronics v. Apple Inc. [2011] FCAFC 156 (30 November 2011).

The case concerned two Australian patents owned by Apple.  Apple asserted that the Samsung Galaxy 10.1 Tablet infringed claims of those two patents.  An injunction was granted by the trial judge to prevent Samsung launching the Galaxy 10.1 in Australia until trial.  Today, Samsung was successful in having that injunction removed.

As soon as the appeal court decision was announced today, Apple asked for the decision to be suspended so that it could appeal to the High Court of Australia.  Apple asked this without even reading the Court's decision.  The judge today suspended the decision until 4pm Friday, in effect keeping the injunction in place until Friday.  Apple now has until 4pm Friday to convince the High Court of Australia to keep the injunction in place -- a hard task.

Location Tracking

Google said Friday that it collected location data from Android phones, but that it did so anonymously and with user consent. The company said it gathered the data to provide services like maps and searches for shops or restaurants near a person’s location. The company said it also used the information to estimate traffic on various roads.

“Phones know where you are, and they need to for many of the services we offer,” said Mike Nelson, a Google spokesman.

Full Story Here.

Apple Sues Maker of Google's Android Phone

See NY Times article

"In the lawsuit, filed with the office of the United States International Trade Commission and the United States District Court in Delaware, Apple said that HTC phones running Android violated 20 of its patents, including those relating to the iPhone’s ability to recognize the touch of multiple fingers on its screen at once."

Apple and Protection of Trade Secrets

From the NY Times
"The local police bureau declined to answer questions about the case. But reports of the apparent suicide have set off a firestorm of criticism of Foxconn’s treatment of Mr. Sun, labor conditions at its factories and the pressures Apple places on suppliers to abide by the culture of secrecy that surrounds its development of new products.

The case also underscores the challenges that global companies face in trying to safeguard their designs and intellectual property in the hotly contested smartphone market, particularly here in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, an electronics manufacturing center known for piracy and counterfeiting."

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/27/technology/companies/27apple.html

iTunes patent

WIRELESS ITUNES DISTRIBUTION - Apple receives patent

A patent application filed by Apple Computer in December 2004 appears to cover a method of buying a song, ring tone, for music video from an online store over a wireless network. The application was published yesterday on the Web site of
the US Patent and Trademark Office. It describes an invention that allows cell phone or wireless handheld users to interact with an online music store, such as iTunes, and mark a song or video file that can be downloaded to a computer at a later time.
http://news.com.com/2100-1027_3-6068654.html