The legal battle between Apple and SamsungDownloa

中国日报网 2012-09-04 09:31

分享到

 

Get Flash Player

Download

This is the VOA Special English Technology Report.

Samsung Electronics has won the latest case in its continuing battle with the American owned computer company Apple over property rights. A court in Japan ruled in favor of the South Korean company last week in a case involving its Galaxy series of smartphones and tablets.

The three-judge panel in Tokyo said the products did not violate the property rights of an Apple patent for organizing music and video across devices. The court also ordered Apple to pay all costs relating to the court case.

The case is just one of many in the worldwide legal battle between Apple and Samsung.

Last month, a jury in the state of California found the South Korean company guilty of willfully violating property rights on several patents owned by Apple. The California jury awarded Apple more than one billion dollars in damages.

The patents include so-called utility patents for Apple’s “pinch to zoom” and “tap to zoom” technology. They also include design patents on the look and shape of the iPhone, and one for the home screen design.

Madhavi Sunder is a professor of law at the University of California, Davis. She has also written a new book called “From Goods to a Good Life: Intellectual Property and Global Justice.” She says issues involving design patents are more complex.

MADHAVI SUNDER: “These design patents are much more controversial. And a big question here is isn’t that what market competition is all about.”

Professor Sunder says patents are meant to increase competition and support design and development.

MADHAVI SUNDER: “For Apple to say its design -- which becomes a new industry standard, the standard of sleek, cool, modern gadgets -- is something that only one company can have an exclusive right over, this is a real problem. And it raises the real question of whether or not we should be protecting designs with patents in the first place.”

She says Apple built its computer company using the same methods that it is now opposing.

MADHAVI SUNDER: “Steve Jobs, ironically, built Apple’s reputation on the fact that Apple freely took all the best ideas that were out there and tweaked them and modified them to create a better product. He often quoted Picasso who said ‘good artists copy but great artists steal.’ The said thing now is that Apple is saying they can do it but no one else after them can. This goes to the heart of what innovation is about.”

Samsung said the California court’s verdict, in its words, "should not be viewed as a win for Apple, but as a loss for American consumers.”

In a rare memo to its employees, the company said it would continue its fight until its arguments are accepted.

On the same day as the California ruling, a court in South Korea ruled in another case that both Apple and Samsung had violated each other’s patents.

And that's the VOA Special English Technology Report, written by June Simms. I'm Steve Ember.

相关阅读

Convention to nominate president Obama for second term(视频)

Using art to make summer school more interesting

Words and their Stories: Great Scott

Austrian programmers build free bridge to Internet(视频)

(来源:VOA 编辑:Julie)

 

分享到

中国日报网英语点津版权说明:凡注明来源为“中国日报网英语点津:XXX(署名)”的原创作品,除与中国日报网签署英语点津内容授权协议的网站外,其他任何网站或单位未经允许不得非法盗链、转载和使用,违者必究。如需使用,请与010-84883561联系;凡本网注明“来源:XXX(非英语点津)”的作品,均转载自其它媒体,目的在于传播更多信息,其他媒体如需转载,请与稿件来源方联系,如产生任何问题与本网无关;本网所发布的歌曲、电影片段,版权归原作者所有,仅供学习与研究,如果侵权,请提供版权证明,以便尽快删除。

中国日报网双语新闻

扫描左侧二维码

添加Chinadaily_Mobile
你想看的我们这儿都有!

中国日报双语手机报

点击左侧图标查看订阅方式

中国首份双语手机报
学英语看资讯一个都不能少!

关注和订阅

本文相关阅读
人气排行
热搜词
 
 
精华栏目
 

阅读

词汇

视听

翻译

口语

合作

 

关于我们 | 联系方式 | 招聘信息

Copyright by chinadaily.com.cn. All rights reserved. None of this material may be used for any commercial or public use. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. 版权声明:本网站所刊登的中国日报网英语点津内容,版权属中国日报网所有,未经协议授权,禁止下载使用。 欢迎愿意与本网站合作的单位或个人与我们联系。

电话:8610-84883645

传真:8610-84883500

Email: languagetips@chinadaily.com.cn