In February, a court ordered Apple to pay a fine of $ 532.9 million for the misuse of the three patents the company Smartflash. After winning in court "patent troll" Texas filed a lawsuit again. As it turned out, the Korean Samsung has taken a number of measures that could allow corporations to avoid paying the Cupertino fine Smartflash.
Company Samsung, as well as a manufacturer of iPhone, also was involved in a legal battle with Smartflash. As it became known last week, the South Korean giant has appealed to the Office of Patent and Trademark United States to check whether the actual two of the three patents for which Apple has been charged.
Smartflash representatives insist on compensation for the use of patents without authorization when creating an online store iTunes. In particular, we are talking about technology patents relating to the storage of personal data and payment. The plaintiff asks the court to order Apple to pay interest on the sales of each smartphone, tablet and computer with access to iTunes.
Of course, Samsung has addressed to the Patent Office is not from a desire to protect the interests of Apple, but on its own grounds. However, this step will help a competitor potentially avoid paying huge fines.
The Supervisory Board of the Bureau of the Patent and Trademark United States has issued a preliminary verdict: the disputed patents Smartflash not describe specific inventions, and some abstract things. Thus, the chances of Apple to win are very high.
Established in the early 2000s Smartflash manages the rights to 7 patents of its founder Patrick Rata. In addition to Apple and Samsung company accused of violating its patents online to Google. Last tries to bring proceedings in California. Online retailer Amazon patent infringement lawsuit in Smartflash was presented in December last year.