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Apple receives first iOS-based patent
Apple receives its first patent from the US patent office for an iPad-like device. The design patent, is the first of many to come from Apple and one of at least 48 design and innovation patents relating to iPhones, iPod touches and iPads that carry Steve Jobs' name as inventor. <b>Steve Jobs' patents</b> -
Cisco puts up iPhone hurdle
Days after the announcement of the initial iPhone at Macworld, unified communications provider Cisco files a US lawsuit against Apple over the use of its trademark of the same name. Cisco had used the name for some of its VoIP phones. The two companies settled an agreement a month later. -
Apple receives iPhone patent
Apple receives the first patent for its iPhone device from the US patent office, carrying Steve Jobs as a primary inventor. -
Heuristics patent granted
One of Apple's core patent assertions in litigation with Samsung worldwide focuses around the application of "heuristics" - or a device's ability to discern a vertical or horizontal swipe on a touch screen and fix user mistakes - which was granted to Apple in 2008. -
Nokia sues Apple
Nokia takes Apple to a US court claiming the iPhone maker infringed 10 of the Finnish rival's patents. Both parties end up filing complaints to the US International Trade Commission but settle the dispute in mid-2011. -
Apple fires back in Nokia suit
<b>Full story here</b> - Apple files a cross-claim against Nokia in the US, asserting 13 patents it claimed Apple had infringed relating to computers. It follows on from an October suit filed by Nokia. The matter is ultimately settled in mid-2011. -
Kodak files complaint on Apple, RIM
Eastman Kodak Co begins seeking a US injunction on RIM's BlackBerry devices and Apple's iPhone, filing a complaint to the US International Trade Commission alleging the companies had failed to license its imaging patents. The ITC ultimately handed down a mixed ruling in mid-2011 with no clear judgment. Further directions were expected in August but are yet to be handed down. -
Apple takes patent suit to HTC
<b>Full story here</b> - In the first of many lawsuits brought by Apple against rival phonemakers, the iPhone manufacturer asserts HTC infringed 20 of its patents in a US court. Steve Jobs' biographer Walter Isaacson quotes the Apple chief as saying he is "willing to go thermonuclear" on asserting its patents. -
Apple warns Samsung
According to an Australian affidavit from Apple's global legal counsel Richard Lutton, chief executive Steve Jobs warned Samsung about potential litigation as early as June in 2010, shortly after the release of the first Galaxy phones. He warns Samsung lawsuits will follow if it does not modify its phones. -
Apple sues Samsung
In the first of many legal battles with Samsung, Apple files a suit in a US court, claiming the South Korean manufacturer "slavishly copied" Apple's design for its Galaxy phones. The suit is the first of many that are copied and counter-claimed across the world. -
Apple, Nokia settle patent row
Apple agrees to pay on-going royalties to Nokia and license its patents, settling a two-year-old row with the Finnish rival. -
Apple launches Australian action
<b>Full story here</b> - In the first of several cases to be tried on the issue in Australia, Apple alleges Samsung had infringed on ten of its patents in making the Galaxy Tab 10.1. Though the case was initially brought against the US version of the tablet, it would lead to an interim injunction against the Australian tablet two-and-a-half months later. -
Galaxy Tab 10.1 slapped with EU ban
<b>Full story here</b> - German court grants an interlocutory injunction against the Galaxy Tab 10.1 applicable across the European Union. The ban doesn't stick - it is later restricted to Germany - but sets the tone for litigation worldwide. -
Google buys Motorola Mobility
<b>Full story here</b> - Google buys Motorola's mobility division for US$12.5 billion. The buy is most valuable for its patent portfolio - up to 17,000 individual filings - that the search giant hopes will bolster its efforts to protect Android and Motorola devices from rival litigation. -
HTC sues Apple in the US
<b>Full story here</b> - Android and Windows Phone 7 maker HTC sues Apple over patents related to wi-fi capability and other technologies. It attempts to stop US imports of most Apple products over the patents and files complaints with a US District Court and International Trade Commission and later adds a further nine patents acquired from Google. -
Galaxy Tab injunction restricted to Germany
<b>Full story here</b> - After imposing a Europe-wide ban on the Galaxy Tab 10.1, a German court revises the injunction to just affect Samsung's German division. The revised judgment allows Samsung's South Korean headquarters to sell in Europe and elsewhere. -
Galaxy phones banned in Western Europe
<b>Full story here</b> - In another European blow, a Dutch court bans Samsung's Galaxy S, S II and Ace across much of Western Europe, but not its tablet devices. The ban affects countries including the Netherlands, the UK, France, Germany, Finland, Ireland, Lichtenstein, Luxemburg, Monaco, Sweden and Switzerland. -
Galaxy Tab 7.7 removed from German trade show
<b>Full Story Here</b> - Samsung is forced to remove the Galaxy Tab 7.7 from display at a German trade show after Apple secures an injunction against its sale and marketing in the country. -
US telcos join Apple-Samsung fray
<b>Full story here</b> - US telcos Verizon and T-Mobile join a chorus of voices criticisng Apple's continued litigation against Samsung for the Galaxy Tab 10.1 globally. They claim potential blocks on the tablet could ruin their planned Christmas campaigns. -
Australian court blocks Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1
<b>Full story here</b> - The Federal Court of Australia grants an interlocutory injunction against the sale of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia. It is the first major blow against the South Korean manufacturer in the country but the first milestone in one of a number of long-running cases. -
Samsung files European iPhone 4S suits
<b>Full story here</b> - Samsung strikes back with suits in France and Italy against Apple's iPhone 4S, a day after the smartphone is announced. The cases rely on telecommunications patents which require French jurisdiction under an international standards agreement. Both cases are currently set for further evidence in mid-November before final hearings in December. -
Samsung gains Australian appeal
<b>Full story here</b> - Samsung overcomes first major hurdle toward an appeal of the injunction against the Galaxy Tab 10.1, with a hearing assigned for November 25. Lawyers will attempt to overturn the October injunction in front of a full court bench in hopes of retaining a Christmas campaign for the tablet. -
French law dragged into Australian dispute
<b>Full story here</b> - Apple and Samsung begin preliminary hearings on the potential interlocutory injunction of the iPhone 4S in Australia. The case, still in tow, is likely to rely on Samsung's obligations under an international agreement to license its telecommunications patents in a fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory way to Apple. It is governed under French law. -
Apple loses Spanish Android case
<b>Full story here</b> - A Spanish regional court rejects Apple's attempt to present a criminal case against small Android tablet maker nt-k. The rival maker has filed a cross-claim for damages. -
Motorola notches win in German court
<b>Full story here</b> - Motorola Mobility secures an injunction against Apple on two patents it could use to block the sale of any of the US manufacturer's mobile devices in Germany. Apple lost the case due to its failure to submit evidence. It downplayed the failure as a "procedural issue". -
Apple hands over telco agreements
<b>Full story here</b> - Apple loses in bid to keep confidential its agreements with major Australian mobile carriers Telstra, Vodafone and Optus. It is one of several batches of documents that the Australian lawyers must hand over, including the firmware used for the iPhone 4S' baseband chip, supplied by Qualcomm.
