Score one for OtterBox, secures $2M court victory against counterfeiters

In their latest battle against counterfeiters, Otterbox managed to secure a $2-million verdict against S & P Trading Inc. A U.S. District Court ordered a permanent injunction against the New York-based firm saying it violated the Lanham Act with the purchase and sale of at least 146,025 counterfeit cases, which infringed on OtterBox’s federally registered trademarks. Otterbox holds over 190 patents in the U.S. and more than 110 trademarks worldwide, with a number of others pending.

This latest verdict is just part of a series of actions OtterBox has taken against counterfeiters. They worked with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection last year to seize 118,000 fake products, which resulted in additional judgments of approximately $11 million.

Source: Apple Insider

Apple and Samsung drop various patent claims against each other

The most popular frenemies in tech, Apple Inc. and Samsung have been ordered by a U.S. district court judge's order to scale down the number patent claims against each other in their monster intellectual-property lawsuit focused on smartphones and tablets.

Paring down the number of patent disputes between the two companies streamlines the trial and what the court has to work with.

Apple noted that, "while the parties have been readying the case for trial Samsung has vaulted into first place in worldwide sales of smartphones, with massive sales of its copycat products." 

Apple, who uses various Samsung components such as displays, memory and processors in its popular mobile and computer products and is one of Samsung's bigglest clients added, "to preserve the July 30 trial date, Apple is willing to narrow the case on its patents for jury trial to four utility patent claims and a small set of design-related claims."

Samsung dropped two patents from the lawsuit, reducing the total number of claims based on those patents. However, it still wants to proceed to trial on 15 claims from seven patents.

"With these reductions, Samsung has narrowed its case from twelve patents to seven, dropping 42% of its affirmative counterclaims. From a total of 75 claims identified by Samsung's experts as infringed by Apple's products, Samsung will drop 60 and only proceed on 15 -- a reduction in total claims of 80%," Samsung's representative said.

Apple took Samsung to court a year ago for violations on various Apple patents and trademarks pertaining to the iPhone and the iPad and even managed to temporarily stop sales of competing Samsung tablets in certain markets.  Samsung has countered with its own series of patent lawsuits.

Hostilities resume in court on July 30th when the trial begins.