Rich Fiscus
1 Nov 2011 9:55
Samsung is once again going on the offensive in their Australian patent battle with Apple.
They are asking a judge to order Apple to hand over source code for the iPhone 4S firmware so they can examine it for violations of Samsung patents. Samsung has previously claimed Apple is being deceptive about identifying some of the hardware used in the iPhone.
The move, reported by Australia's Smart Office, is part of their effort to get the new iPhone banned in Australia. In part, their request may be motivated by recognition of the weakness of charges Apple is violating 3G patents.
As courts in Europe have already pointed out, even if Apple is violating Samsung patents for 3G technology, those patents are subject to FRAND licensing rules. FRAND, or Fair, Reasonable, And Non Discriminatory rules are applied to technology required for implementing industry standards from various organizations.
Those rules require that Samsung offer Apple reasonable license terms for their 3G-related patents.
In October Samsung was denied a ban of the iPhone 4S in the Netherlands based on those same patent claims. Last week a request to expedite a similar case in Italy was also rejected.