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A US judge has fined Samsung for withholding vital info in a patent infringement case with Apple. Naughty Samsung.
The case concerns the ‘blue glow’ feature in TouchWiz, Foss Patents reports. Samsung argued it didn’t infringe Apple’s patent on the ‘scrollback’ feature in iOS. This shows a background texture when you scroll beyond the edge of a document or web page — in other words, what you see in the background when you’ve gone too far and the page is yanked back.
Apple asked for code from Samsung so it could see it wasn’t infringing any patents. That’s when Samsung held its hands behind its back and said, “What code?”
Apple then filed a motion with the court demanding Samsung hand it over by 31 December 2011. That didn’t happen and now Judge Paul Grewal has penalised the Korean company.
I can understand Samsung being concerned about vital code falling into Apple’s hands, but the court has issued a protective order to make sure confidential info is only revealed to technical experts and attorneys — i.e. those who need to know. So not Apple’s execs and engineers. It seems a little cheeky of Samsung to think if it just stays quiet for five months the court won’t notice.
Apple and Samsung have some history in the courts, but that looks like it’s coming to an end, with a face-to-face scheduled soon to sort it all out once and for all. The animus between the two is even stranger considering they work together on the iPhone, with Samsung supplying parts.
Tim Cook said a while ago he wanted to settle the battle with Android amicably rather than get catty, which is a good sign in my book. I mean, referring to your rival’s fans as sheep? I think we can all rise above that now, can’t we.
Would you like to see Apple and Samsung bury the hatchet? Or is it hopeless? Let me know in the comments below or on our Facebook page.
