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????蘋果（Apple）在一樁知識產(chǎn)權(quán)訴訟案第一回合中勝出，但史蒂夫?喬布斯此前曾放言要為該案戰(zhàn)斗到“生命最后一刻”。 ????本周一，美國國際貿(mào)易委員會（ITC）做出裁決，部分HTC智能手機(jī)運(yùn)行的軟件侵犯了蘋果的一項專利，不得進(jìn)入美國市場。 ????不過此次裁決結(jié)果與蘋果的期待尚有差距，而且進(jìn)口禁令直到明年4月才能生效，HTC手機(jī)生產(chǎn)商宏達(dá)電及相關(guān)軟件的開發(fā)者谷歌（Google）有充裕的時間修改軟件以避開禁令。 ????裁決結(jié)果是在美國股市收盤后公布的： ????“美國國際貿(mào)易委員會經(jīng)過調(diào)查發(fā)現(xiàn)，宏達(dá)電違反了337號規(guī)定，因此發(fā)布有限禁令，禁止進(jìn)口涉嫌侵權(quán)的個人數(shù)據(jù)和移動通信設(shè)備，以及相關(guān)軟件，特此公告。委員會裁定，本禁令中涉及的商品應(yīng)從2012年4月19日開始禁止進(jìn)口?！保▉碓矗嚎萍疾┛虯llThingsD） ????專利博客網(wǎng)站FOSS Patents的弗洛里安?穆勒一直密切關(guān)注這場專利訴訟，他發(fā)表博客指出，此次裁決并非蘋果所期待的“致命一擊”。 ????蘋果所贏得是一項將于2012年4月19日開始實施的正式進(jìn)口禁令，不過涉及對象僅限于采用了兩項所謂“數(shù)據(jù)關(guān)聯(lián)專利”中所涉技術(shù)的宏達(dá)電Android手機(jī)，該專利能在電子郵件等松散文本中將電話號碼和其它格式化數(shù)據(jù)標(biāo)記出，以便讓用戶使用其它應(yīng)用程序（如撥號軟件）處理這些數(shù)據(jù)。進(jìn)口禁令并未涉及到宏達(dá)電不具備該功能的Android產(chǎn)品，以及其它雖然具備該功能但沒有采用專利所涉及技術(shù)的產(chǎn)品。 ????“數(shù)據(jù)關(guān)聯(lián)”功能是現(xiàn)代智能手機(jī)的必備功能，而如果谷歌能繞開在此案中其被判侵犯的兩項專利，轉(zhuǎn)而采用其它方法實現(xiàn)該功能，那么進(jìn)口禁令將成為一紙空文。 ????穆勒在FOSS Patents網(wǎng)站上發(fā)布了報告全文。如果想了解相關(guān)背景知識，請點(diǎn)擊此處。 ????最新消息：針對此次裁決，調(diào)研機(jī)構(gòu)ISI的分析師布萊恩?馬歇爾提出了幾點(diǎn)看法，具體如下： ????? 宏達(dá)電【僅次于三星（Samsung）的第二大Android智能手機(jī)制造商】在美國智能手機(jī)市場占據(jù)20%左右的份額，過去一年全球出貨量為4,400萬部（蘋果iPhone出貨量為7,200萬部） ????? 我們認(rèn)為這項裁決印證了蘋果的觀點(diǎn)：Android手機(jī)確實侵犯了蘋果的知識產(chǎn)權(quán)，而蘋果在面對其它Android設(shè)備制造商的訴訟時，也會占據(jù)更有利地位。【例如三星、摩托羅拉移動（Motorola Mobility）/谷歌等】 ????? 蘋果現(xiàn)金儲備高達(dá)800億美元，我們認(rèn)為它無意與宏達(dá)電或其他Android設(shè)備制造商達(dá)成財務(wù)和解。蘋果意在禁止這些侵犯其豐富知識產(chǎn)權(quán)組合的產(chǎn)品開展銷售。 ????譯者：項航 |
????Apple (AAPL) has won a partial victory in an intellectual property case that Steve Jobs had famously vowed to fight to his "last dying breath." ????The U.S. International Trade commission ruled Monday that the software in some of HTC's Android smartphones violated one provision of an Apple patent and that those phones would no longer be allowed into the U.S. ????But the ruling is not as broad as Apple had hoped, and the import ban doesn't take effect until April, giving HTC -- and Google (GOOG), whose software the phones were running -- time to fashion a workaround. ????The announcement was made after the close of markets: ????"Notice is hereby given that the U.S. International Trade Commission has found a violation of section 337 in this investigation and has issued a limited exclusion order prohibiting importation of infringing personal data and mobile communications devices and related software. The Commission has determined that exclusion of articles subject to this order shall commence on April 19, 2012." (Via AllThingsD) ????According to FOSS Patents' Florian Mueller, who has been closely following the case, the ruling is not the knockout punch Apple had been seeking. ????What Apple has won is a formal import ban scheduled to commence on April 19, 2012, but relating only to HTC Android phones implementing one of two claims of a "data tapping patent": a patent on an invention that marks up phone numbers and other types of formatted data in an unstructured document, such as an email, in order to enable users to bring up other programs (such as a dialer app) that process such data. The import ban won't relate to HTC Android products that don't implement that feature, or that implement it in ways not covered by those patent claims. ????If Google can implement this popular feature, which users of modern-day smartphones really expect, without infringing on the two patent claims found infringed, this import ban won't have any effect whatsoever. ????You can read Mueller's analysis here. For background on the case, see here. ????UPDATE: ISI's Brian Marshall offered several "quick thoughts" on the ruling, among them: ????? HTC (#2 Android smartphone vendor after Samsung) has low-20% share of the U.S. smartphone market and has shipped ~44 million units globally over the last 4 quarters (vs. AAPL's ~72 million iPhone shipments) ????? We believe this ruling lends credence to AAPL's view that Android-based phones have infringed on AAPL's intellectual property (IP) and could lead to a stronger position for AAPL in its other cases against Android vendors (e.g., Samsung, Motorola Mobility/GOOG, etc.) ????? With ~$80 billion in net cash, we believe AAPL is not interested in a financial settlement with HTC or other Android vendors but wants to stop the shipment/sale of products that infringe on their vast IP portfolio |
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