4 posts tagged “lawsuit”

So by now you've heard about a little multi-touch device called the iPhone right? And you're well aware that Nokia is set to deliver their new S60 Touch Interface and likely a few new touch-screen devices sometime in 2008. Well, according to Richard Windsor, an analyst with London-based Nomura, Nokia could see "delays or holdups" in its smartphone strategy if Apple decides to unleash its army of lawyers in defense of its over 200 iPhone-related patent filings. (Note: that's "filings" not patents granted for intellectual property.) According to Mr. Windsor, "I think Apple will likely view Nokia as infringing on its user interface patents." Having said that, he further speculates that Apple and Nokia will likely end up in a settlement by 2009 in order to avoid a lengthy Qualcomm vs. Nokia battle in the courts. Of course, in a system whereby laggards and leaders attempt to gain or maintain competitive advantage through lawsuits and lobbyists rather than the innovations of their own engineers, anything goes. And yeah, we know there are a lot of ifs in there. Still, don't forget that Apple failed to defend the "look and feel" of its Mac OS in court against Microsoft back in the Windows 2.0 days, and Nokia's been making touchscreen devices for years, not months like Apple. So, lesson learned or big trouble in little Espoo, what say you? We're guessing the latter if that demonstration device (on the right) is ever released.

Tags: analyst, apple, lawsuit, nokia, patent, s60, speculation

http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/28/nokia-and-apple-to-clash-over-touchscreen-cellphone-patents/

Rather than simply suing Apple, Steve Jobs or AT&T individually, Dongmei Li decided to throw all three under the bus. The suit, which was reportedly filed this week in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, accused the trio of "price discrimination, underselling, discrimination in rebates, deceptive actions and other wrongdoings for their role in the September 5th price drop on the iPhone." As you'd expect, Li was one of the folks who waited hours on end to be one of the first iPhone owners, and apparently feels quite slighted by the slashing. Purportedly, the plaintiff is hoping to secure "compensatory damages in the amount of $1 million" in addition to other punitive damages, and if you're up for a good laugh, hit the read link to browse through quite a few (more) comical gripes.

[Thanks, Mark]

Tags: apple, iphone, lawsuit, price cut, price drop, PriceCut, PriceDrop, pricing, sue, suit

http://www.engadget.com/2007/09/28/discontented-iphone-owner-sues-atandt-apple-and-steve-jobs/

Angry with Apple over the absolute lockdown of the iPhone? You're not alone. Angry enough to start a lawsuit over it? You're probably in a far smaller group entirely, which now includes a number of rabble-rousers on Apple's forums, whose comment threads were killed shortly after beginning discussions of calling for a class action suit against Apple. (Really though, what'd they expect?) There's no question that users want some retribution for the sorry, sometimes even bricked state the iPhone's now in, but big talk is infinitely smaller than even minor action, so until some brave (or publicity hungry) individuals step up to the plate to test legality of disabling hacked features on personal electronics, it sounds like we'll all just have to be content with our $100 refunds or reduced-price purchases until this thing works itself out.

Tags: apple, iphone, legal