Lawsuit

Phil Schiller, Scott Forstall could testify in Samsung damages trial

Since Apple announced his exodus last fall, we've seen and heard very little from Scott Forstall. Actually, we haven't seen him at all, and the only time we've heard his name mentioned has been in skeuomorphic jokes.

But that could change next month. According to a new report, Mr. Forstall could finally be forced out of hiding to appear as a witness alongside Phil Schiller in a partial damages retrial between Apple and Samsung...

Apple officially appeals ruling in ebook pricing case

Apple has officially filed its appeal in the ebook price-fixing case, according to a new report from GigaOM. The Cupertino company hopes to overturn Judge Denise Cote's 'guilty' verdict handed down this summer.

On July 10, Judge Cote ruled that Apple conspired with 5 major book publishers to eliminate retail price competition in an effort to raise e-book prices. But the company, of course, flatly denies the allegations...

Apple seeks sanctions against Samsung for sharing patent license terms

In a new twist to their ongoing legal battle over patents and other intellectual property, Apple has filed a new motion for sanctions against Samsung in a California court for sharing confidential information.

According to the filing, Apple is accusing the Korean tech giant of illegally disclosing sensitive details of its 2011 patent licensing agreement with Nokia in order to better negotiate licensing terms for itself...

iCloud push email reinstated in Germany

After a German appeals court a month ago lifted the injunction which prevented Apple from offering push notifications for its iCloud email service, owners of the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices in the country can finally again enjoy push notifications for incoming iCloud email messages. The feature has been disabled for German users for about 19 months after it had to be shut down following a legal wrangling with Motorola over patents.

Apple loses fight to stop patent troll Lodsys

The beat goes on for primo patent troll Lodsys. Apple's attempt to intervene in a concerted clipping of iOS developers failed after a patent-owner friendly judge dismissed the tech giant's legal motion. U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap in East Texas ruled Apple's motion "is far outside the scope" of his courtroom.

The decision effectively opens the door to Lodsys settling all cases with defendants, thereby ending a 2011 effort by Apple to shield hundreds of thousands of individual iOS developers from being sued for patent-infringement by Lodsys...

Apple to pay AT&T iPad 3G owners $40 in unlimited data lawsuit

In a ruling issued last week in San Jose, California, US District Judge Ronald Whyte green-lighted a plan for Apple to pay $40 to everyone in the US who purchased an iPad 3G before June 2010.

The decision comes in response to several class action suits waged against Apple and AT&T, accusing them of advertising an unlimited data plan, and then taking it away after they purchased their iPad...

User files class-action lawsuit against Apple over ‘Breaking Bad’ iTunes confusion

Last month, Apple upset tens of thousands of Breaking Bad fans when it posted on iTunes that those who had already purchased what they thought to be the entire final season of the popular series would have to pay again for the final 8 episodes.

It was the TV network's fault— it was AMC's decision to split the fifth (final) season into two parts. But iTunes user Noam Lazebnik, of Ohio, feels that Apple deserves some of the blame too, and he's filed a class-action lawsuit against the company...

Apple can keep 30 percent cut on sales, injunction in DOJ ebooks case confirms

Like a prisoner on Death Row, Apple has delayed its penalty for weeks, offering up objection after objection to a proposed Department of Justice ebook antitrust settlement. Friday, federal judge Denise Cote issued an injunction, giving federal lawyers much of what they wanted.

Among the prohibitions against Apple: a five-year ban on so-called 'most-favored-nation' clauses in publisher contracts that would prevent ebook sellers from using rival services, such as Amazon. Also part of the penalty package was a requirement that Apple stagger contract negotiations with the five publishers that had already settled...

Google-owned Motorola becomes first convicted patent troll

Google may have become the first convicted patent troll, after a federal jury Thursday fined the internet giant $14.5 million related to licenses held by Motorola. The Seattle-based jury upheld Microsoft's claim that the Google-owned Motorola demand $4 billion to license Wi-Fi and video patents that were supposed to be available under fair and reasonable terms.

The finding comes just a week before Apple's appeal of a similar claim against Motorola is to be heard. This week's judgement against Motorola opens a legal can of worms for both Google and Motorola, according to one keen patent observer...

Court rules iTunes FairPlay DRM did not monopolize digital music sales

A California appeals court provided Apple some good news for a change, ruling Apple's FairPlay DRM software did not monopolize digital music sales. The decision has affirmed a lower court's dismissal.

In a Wednesday ruling, a three-judge San Francisco court found that although Apple controlled 99 percent of the digital music and digital music player market after imposing FairPlay, the company did not prevent rivals from competing.

The lawsuit had claimed Apple's DRM prevented songs purchased at iTunes from playing on anything other than its iPod...

German appeals court finally lifts 18-month iCloud injunction against Apple

A German appeals court has finally decided to lift the injunction that has prevented Apple from offering push notifications for its iCloud email service in the country. The feature has been disabled for German users since February 2012—so about 18 months.

The injunction spawned from a lawsuit by Motorola Mobility, which as we all know is now owned by Google. The company claims that Apple's iCloud push notification feature infringes upon its patents, and is seeking both a permanent ban and punitive damages...