http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/09/05/apple_samsung_iphone5_lte/
Apple hoards LTE patents to deflect Samsung attack
Possible defensive move to stop Samsung marching iPhone 5 to court
Apple has been hoarding LTE patents in a bid to head off a possible legal attack from fierce rival Samsung on its forthcoming iPhone 5, according to reports from Korea.
Apple has gone from holding zero LTE patents last year to having 318 filed away today. That's around five per cent of the world’s total, today, the Korea Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) told local news site The Chosun Ilbo.
Cupertino apparently developed just 44 of those patents itself while the rest were bought from once-proud Nortel as it was broken up.
The Rockstar Bidco consortium which Apple joined with EMC, Microsoft and others to bid for further Nortel patents owns a further 116 LTE patents, effectively bumping Apple’s number up in excess of 400.
By comparison, Samsung has the largest share of the patents on the planet with 819 (12.7 per cent), while US patent firm InterDigital is second with 780 (12.1 per cent).
"This shows that Apple has been taking strategic steps to acquire intellectual property to prepare for potential legal disputes before it launches its own LTE smartphones," a KIPO official told Chosun Ilbo.
http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2012/09/04/2012090400833.html
Apple Acquires Stack of LTE Patents
Apple has acquired a large number of patents related to the fourth-generation LTE mobile technology in order to prepare for possible legal disputes with archrival Samsung.
LTE standard patents registered with the European Telecommunications Standards Institute show that Apple had no LTE patents last year but has now acquired 318 patents or 4.9 percent of total LTE patents to rank among the top 10 patent holders, the Korea Intellectual Property Office said Monday.
When the institute sets technological standards, companies notify it of the patents they have either applied for or already possess. LTE standard patents registered with ETSI increased 21.4 percent (1,139) in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year.
Samsung Electronics had 819 (12.7 percent) to rank first, followed by the U.S. patent company InterDigital with 780 patents (12.1 percent). China's Huawei ranked fifth with 402 (6.2 percent).
Apple only developed 44 of it 318 LTE patents itself and bought the rest from Nortel and Freescale last year. Patent enforcement firm Rockstar Bidco, in which Apple holds a majority stake, owns another 116 LTE patents, giving Apple 434 in all.
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/tech/2012/08/133_118544.html
Samsung set to strike back against Apple
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/tech/2012/09/133_119161.html
Copycatting ? Apple style
US firm’s internal memo indicates iPhone imitated Samsung, LG products
Apple sued Samsung Electronics for copying its iPhone and a U.S. jury made a “patriotic” ruling ordering the Korean firm to pay $1.05 billion in damages.
Now, what appears to be an internal memo from Apple appears to show it was the other way around — the U.S. firm copying designs from Samsung and LG Electronics.
The San Jose verdict was made without key evidence being shown to the nine-member jury.