back to article German court tosses out Samsung AND Apple patent sueballs

Friday saw two new rulings in the ongoing Apple v Samsung patent squabble in Germany. Slide to unlock, iPhone screengrab Judge Andreas Voss handed down one ruling in Samsung's favour (kicking out a claim by Apple over the slide-to-unlock patent) and one in Apple's favour (quashing a claim by Samsung that the iPhone had …

COMMENTS

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  1. Dazed and Confused

    So did the judge actually say...

    Now kids, just go away and grow up OK.

    1. This post has been deleted by its author

    2. LarsG

      Re: So did the judge actually say...

      No he said....

      Kinder, kinder, gehen sie jetz nach hause sonst gebe ich dir eine paar hinter deine Ohren.

      Roughly translated go home or you'll get a clip round the ears.

      BILD zeitung, 5-3-2012.

  2. jaduncan

    FOSS Patents is always a bit dubious when away from purely factual reporting; it's as well to remember that Florian Mueller is on the Microsoft payroll.

    1. Turtle

      @jaduncan

      "FOSS Patents is always a bit dubious when away from purely factual reporting; it's as well to remember that Florian Mueller is on the Microsoft payroll."

      Would you please post links that support your assertion that Florian Mueller is on the Microsoft payroll, and, more importantly, and cite some of his "factually dubious" reporting.

      1. BanjoPaterson

        Re: @jaduncan

        Uhh - Florian himself in his blog. From the wikipedia entry for him:

        In October 2011 Müller announced on his blog that Microsoft had commissioned him to conduct a study on patents.

        ... and you can follow the link to his blog. I'd say this puts him on the Microsoft payroll -- at least for the duration of their commission.

  3. DryBones
    Facepalm

    Sigh...

    It still beggars belief that one can even patent 'slide to unlock'. Why has that not been utterly obliterated by the deluge of prior art (sliding locks on gates, the binding on the diary, the stall on the latrine....) I can only put down to justices that are utterly out of their depth.

    And while on a related subject, Apple's "distinctive look". Really? Last I heard, that came about in the 1930s. It was called "international style" architecture, characterized by simple, clean lines, often with extensive use of metal and glass.

    Guess it's like they say, everything old is new again...

    1. Dave 125

      Re: Sigh...

      >>It still beggars belief that one can even patent 'slide to unlock'

      No, because of the "with a computer" thing. Anything obvious plus "with a computer" means you can get a patent on it. Propped a door open with a computer? Have a patent. Found a way of picking your nose with a computer? Patent it. Worked out how to unlock something with a computer? The patent office is just waiting for you.

      1. Sirius Lee

        Re: Sigh...

        @Dave 125

        No you can't. Software patents are not permitted in the EU except in the narrow circumstance of the software being an integral part of the machine (software control of a carburettor for example or 3G wireless transmission hardware).

        Since software can ONLY run on a computer your argument leads to the conclusion that all software is patentable which it manifestly is not. Slide-to-lock (or any other trick) is not an integral part of the hardware as the hardware will function perfectly well without it. I don't read german so I'm not able to read the ruling but I'd bet it was tossed out for exactly the reason that slide-to-lock is just a software tool and locking a computer can be achieved by any of a number of other software operations.

  4. BanjoPaterson
    Paris Hilton

    Are people still taking Florian Mueller seriously?

    What about his claims Google owes Oracle "billions" of dollars in the current Java patent case? Currently, most of the patents have been ruled invalid and the Oracle expert in coming up with the damages has had his report thrown away twice by the judge (and is on attempt number 3). Even the judge has said questioned Oracle's strategy by stating : "Given that the examiners have issued final rejections on patents ’720, ’702, ’476, and ’205, and Oracle has only withdrawn the ’476 patent [... snip .. ] would it be better to postpone trial until after final decisions by the PTO on administrative appeal?"

    Paris, because I believe she knows more about patent law than Florian.

    1. Turtle

      @BanjoPaterson

      "What about his claims Google owes Oracle "billions" of dollars in the current Java patent case?"

      Could you please give me a link to that claim? Because I do not recall ever having read such a claim from him.

      1. BanjoPaterson

        Re: @BanjoPaterson

        Here's the link from Florian's blog: http://fosspatents.blogspot.com/2011/06/oracle-expert-says-google-owes-between.html

      2. Danny 14
        Trollface

        Re: @BanjoPaterson

        Turtle, you're on an ignorance roll today. Just read his blog FFS :-)

  5. Tony Paulazzo
    Holmes

    So who's paying for all this wasted court time? I realise the companies are buying their respective lawyers new houses, but who's actually paying for the lighting and heating and judging that presides over these earth shakingly important cases?

    1. Arctic fox
      Unhappy

      RE:"So who's paying for all this wasted court time?"

      Er......we are - as customers and as taxpayers. That's the way it works. BigCorp's directorati have their fun and we (by one means or another) pick up the bill. Marie Lloyd expressed it thus:

      "It's the rich what gets the pleasure and the poor what gets the blame,

      It's the same the whole world over, ain't it all a bloomin' shame."

  6. MacGyver
    Trollface

    Well.

    I own the "Drop to Hang-up" patent. Give me a call if you'd like to license it. :P

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