Samsung asks iPhone source, subsidy info for ban
Samsung in an Australian federal court claimed that it needed confidential iPhone 4S data to help pursue its attempt to ban the iPhone 4S in the country. It wanted both the source code for the firmware as well as the subsidy deals Apple had made with Optus, Telstra, and Vodafone. These terms were doing financial damage since there was "less to go around" in discounts for Samsung, attorney Cynthia Cochrane claimed with SmartOffice in the audience.
Samsung also hoped to dodge claims that it wasn't offering the 3G patents in dispute under fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms. It argued that the requirement might not cover Australia and that it had offered a license, although it's not clear that it necessarily made this offer at FRAND rates.
Apple claimed that Samsung had already agreed to license the patents under fair terms and, by extension, would have waived its right to sue. It also wanted to check if Qualcomm's license for the 3G chipset in the iPhone covered usage.
The firm went on to argue that "the horse had already bolted" on the iPhone 4S launch where its own successful preliminary Galaxy Tab 10.1 ban was coordinated for a pre-release product. Apple shipped the iPhone 4S less than two weeks after it was first unveiled. Samsung's current tablet was unveiled in February, leaving several months between then and the intended Australian launch.
Samsung's chances in the case aren't certain but aren't favorable. Justice Annabel Bennett is the same who agreed to ban the Galaxy Tab 10.1 before a full trial. While laws vary from country to country, Apple successfully shot down a Netherlands attempt to get an iPhone ban based on the same 3G patents. In that case, the judge said Samsung couldn't sue over a FRAND-based patent and generally sided with Apple's view that Samsung was asking too much.
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By Electronista Staff
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