John Paczkowski

Recent Posts by John Paczkowski

Apple Loses Touch Patent Smackdown to Samsung in Netherlands

Apple doesn’t seem to be having much luck asserting its multitouch patent against rivals abroad.

A Dutch court on Wednesday found that Samsung did not infringe Apple’s so-called “touch event” technology, a feature which associate multitouch flags with one or more views.

“The court judges that Samsung with the trading of its Galaxy products does not infringe on [Apple’s patent],” the Court of The Hague explained in its ruling. “Apple, as the unsuccessful party, will be ordered to pay the litigation costs.”

While expected — today’s ruling is an affirmation of an earlier one — it’s still a clear setback for Apple, which has lost similar battles against Samsung in Germany and HTC in the U.K.

The broader war — the smartphone IP Hundred Years War, as we’ve taken to calling it — of course rages on with no end in site. And there Apple has gained significant ground, winning a number of product injunctions and a $1.05 billion jury verdict against Samsung for violation of its design patents.

Errata: An earlier version of this article incorrectly identified the patent in question as pinch-to-zoom.

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December 30, 2013 at 6:49 am PT

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December 28, 2013 at 12:05 pm PT

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