Samsung patent decision may delay new Android phones: research firm

Leading Android smartphone manufacturers may delay new device launches as they analyse a $1.05-billion patent verdict against Samsung and attempt to “design around Apple's patents,” Canaccord Genuity said in a research note Monday. Last week, on Aug. 24, a nine-person federal jury in the United States said South Korean manufacturer Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. must pay Apple Inc. $1.05 billion US for infringing six of seven Apple patents. U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh could triple the damages if she finds that Samsung engaged in “willful” infringement. A hearing at the San Jose, Calif. federal court, near Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., is scheduled for Sept. 20 to consider banning the sale of Samsung devices in the U.S., including its Galaxy 10.1 tablet and smartphones. Samsung says it will fight the decision and is expected to ask an appeals court to delay any bans on the sales of devices. “While a ban would likely increase Apple’s leading smartphone share in the U.S. market, we believe this verdict could lead to Samsung also delaying near-term product launches as it attempts to design around Apple’s patents. We also believe other Android OEMs , such as HTC , Sony , and LG , will review this patent verdict and potentially alter and delay planned Android smartphones and tablets,” Canaccord analyst Michael Walkley said in the research note. “We believe this verdict strengthens Apple’s already strong competitive position in the smartphone and tablet markets ahead of upcoming key product launches such as the iPhone 5,” the note said. Apple had sued Samsung for infringing seven patents and the jury found that the electronics company violated six. CNet News published descriptions of the seven patents, half of which related to software features. Samsung commercially profited from the sale of devices loaded with the Android platform, which Google provides mobile device manufacturers at no charge. According to CNet, the six patents found to be infringing were: the '381 patent, covering the effect where a mobile page "bounces" after scrolling to the bottom as well as touchscreen functions to drag documents, “pinch to zoom” and “twist to rotate”; the '915 patent, covering another touchscreen function that helps devices determine whether the user is conducting a “single-touch scroll operation” or a “a multi-touch pinch-to-zoom operation”; the '163 patent, covering the function of double-tapping a screen to zoom; the D'677 patent, a hardware patent on Apple's “front face of an electronic device”; the D'087 patent, covering the device's "ornamental" design; and the D'305 patent, covering a “grid of rounded square icons against a black background.” Another patent, D'889, covered tablet design, CNet reported, but the jury did not conclude Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 for WiFI or fourth-generation LTE infringed on it. “Most of these patent claims don't relate to the core Android operating system,” Google told The Wire Report in an emailed statement Monday. “The mobile industry is moving fast and all players—including newcomers—are building upon ideas that have been around for decades. We will continue working with our partners to give consumers innovative and affordable products." In another statement issued to the news media Monday, Google said several patents are being “re-examined” by the U.S. Patent Office. Samsung, in a statement to the media Aug. 24, said the jury's verdict should be seen as a “loss for the American consumer. It will lead to fewer choices, less innovation, and potentially higher prices.” The company said the decision “is not the final word in this case or in battles being waged in courts and tribunals around the world” and that it is “unfortunate that patent law can be manipulated to give one company a monopoly over rectangles with rounded corners, or technology that is being improved every day by Samsung and other companies.” Apple spokeswoman Katie Cotton told The New York Times Friday that “the mountain of evidence presented during the trial showed that Samsung’s copying went far deeper than even we knew” and that the lawsuits between Apple and Samsung “were about much more than patents or money. They were about values.” Apple and Samsung are embroiled in similar patent litigation in more than 10 other courts around the world, extending to Australia and South Korea. Apple has also launched patent lawsuits against Motorola, which Google acquired last year, and HTC. In June, U.S. Circuit Judge Richard Posner, in Chicago, dismissed a patent case between Apple and Motorola due to a lack of admissible evidence to prove damages, Reuters reported June 7. Research firm IDC said in August that Google's Android platform represented 68.1 per cent of all smartphone shipments during the second quarter of 2012 and Apple's iOS platform had 16.9 per cent. “Android’s success in the market can be traced directly to Samsung, which accounted for 44.0% of all Android smartphones shipped in 2Q12 and totaled more than the next seven Android vendors’ volumes combined,” IDC said. Any delay in the launch of new Android devices could benefit Nokia Co. and RIM Ltd., which offer devices, respectively, using the Microsoft Corp. Windows 8 and BlackBerry operating systems. RIM, facing criticism for the delayed rollout of next-generation devices, is planning to release new BB10 handsets next year. “A slowdown in Android activity due to patent uncertainty and possible injunctions could open a window of opportunity for the coming Windows 8 and BlackBerry 10 platforms,” William Power, an analyst with U.S. firm Baird Equity, said in a note to clients Monday, according to a Reuters report. “Any negative repercussions for Android could be construed as directionally positive for Nokia and RIM, though both still face an uphill battle in our judgment." Toni Sacconaghi, a telecom analyst with U.S. firm Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., said in a research note Monday that the jury's verdict in the patent case was “a major victory for Apple vis a vis the Android ecosystem” but that “we don’t think it is a game-changing loss for Android.” news@thewirereport.ca

Samsung patent decision may delay new Android phones: research firm

News | August 27, 2012

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Samsung patent decision may delay new Android phones: research firm

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