Apple Says Google Now, Galaxy S4 Violates Siri Patents

In an official motion filed by Apple, the company outlines five patents the Galaxy S4 violates, which is in line with our previous report about adding the recently released Android handset to its ongoing patent litigation with Samsung. Yet, in an interesting turn of events, Apple claims even Google Now is in violation of two Siri patents (via Foss Patents).

The two Siri patents are US Patent No. 8,086,604 and US Patent No. 6,847,959 relating to a “universal interface for retrieval of information in a computer system.”

Apple asserted the ‘604 and ‘959 patents against the Android Quick Search Box, but with the launch of Google Now, it appears that the company wants to update its infringement claims accordingly.

To further complicate matters, Apple’s infringement analysis of the ‘604 and ‘959 patents focuses on Google functionality that Samsung incorporates into its devices. For example, in its original contentions, Apple identified Google’s Quick Search Box found on the accused Samsung phones as satisfying the limitations of the ‘604 and the ‘959 patents. Since Apple initially served those infringement contentions, however, Google released the Google Now search application, which in some instances, replaces the Quick Search Box, but incorporates the relevant ‘604 and ‘959 patented functionality.

The trial is scheduled for next spring.