Apple vs Samsung: Judge Initially Determined Samsung Infringes Apple’s Patents
- Staff
- October 25, 2012
If you are Samsung you have to be wondering when is this all going to end. Samsung has just received with a favourable ruling against Apple in the Netherlands, and the next day got hit again in the US.
The latest blow to Samsung came from Administrative Law Judge Thomas B. Pender published on the October 24. He found in his initial determination that several of Samsung’s devices have infringed the following Apple patents. US Patent No. D 618, 678; claims 1, 4-6, and 10-20 of US Patent No. 7,479,949; Claims 29,30, and 33-35 of US Patent No. RE41, 922; and claims 1-4 and 8 of US Patent No 7,912,501.
Here is a breakdown of the various patents found to be infringed:
D 618, 678; claims 1, 4-6 Electronic Device
As indicated above, the article of manufacture is an electronic device. Examples of an electronic device are a computer, a portable or hand-held electronic device, media player (e.g., music, video and/or game player), media storage device, a personal digital assistant, a communication device (e.g., cellular phone).
10-20 of US Patent No. 7,479,949 – Touch screen device, method, and graphical user interface for determining commands by applying heuristics
33-35 of US Patent No. RE41, 922 – Method and apparatus for providing translucent images on a computer display
A method and apparatus is described for producing a translucent image over a base image created on the display screen of a computer system by a selected first application program, and conducting image operations either on the base image created by the selected application program with reference to the translucent image produced, or conducting image operations on the translucent image with reference to the base image of the first application program. The first application program runs on a central processing unit (CPU) of a computer system to produce a base image, and another application program referred to as the overlay program is run to produce the translucent image such that portions of the base image which are overlapped by the overlay image are at least partially visible through the translucent image. There is also a mechanism for blending the first video data and the second video data to produce a blended image on the screen assembly.
Claims 1-4 and 8 of US Patent No 7,912,501 – Audio I/O headset plug and plug detection circuitry
A single prong, multiple signal conducting plug and plug detection circuitry is provided. The plug may be electrically coupled to a stereo headset including a microphone. The plug may include four signal conducting regions arranged in a predetermined order along the length of the prong. Detection circuitry may be operative to determine whether a microphone type of plug (e.g., a four region plug including a microphone region and two audio regions, or a three region plug including microphone region and only one audio region) or a non-microphone type of plug (e.g., stereo plug) is inserted into the jack of an electronic device (e.g., mobile phone). Detection circuitry may also detect user activated functions performed in response to user activation of one or more switches included with the headset. For example, the headset may include a single switch for performing a function with respect to a microphone (e.g., end-call function).
