Apple Wins the Next Round of the Patent Lawsuit Hokey Pokey Against Samsung

Even if you’ve been following along closely, the ‘who won what against whom’ can be more than a little confusing. The latest news is easy to follow, but may be difficult for Samsung to swallow: according to a U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) judge, the tech giant is guilty of infringing upon four of the six patents (’949, ’922, ’678, and ’501) Apple alleged.

The patents involved in the ruling are actually rather core and significant, relating to inventions like touchscreen heuristics, a “method and apparatus for providing translucent images on a computer display”, “audio I/O headset plug and plug detection circuitry” and other elements of the iPhone’s design.

Unfortunately what the judge has to say isn’t necessarily enough as his decision has to be reviewed and approved by the full six-member ITC commission.

Apple is doing well in the courtroom this week. On Monday a Japanese court cleared Apple in Samsung’s claim that the iPad manufacturer had infringed upon two of their patents.

What do you think of all these patent law assertions? Can the court systems around the globe handle the ever-increasing number of patent-infringement lawsuits? Are the lawsuits good press or bad for the companies involved?

[via AllThingsD]

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