THE DISPUTE OVER PATENTS IS ABOUT BILLIONS
2012-08-09 – by Manfred Neuper, Markus Zottler (Kleine Zeitung)
The big brother of trademark disputes is the dispute over patents. The IT giants Samsung and Apple currently dominate this segment and are now fighting against each other in ten countries and 50 court cases - in a single case, in San Jose, the amount of damages claimed is two billion euros. In the mobile communications industry in particular, there have been disputes over patents and their alleged infringement for years. Every cell phone manufacturer is involved in numerous lawsuits. No wonder, the technology contained in a single smartphone can affect up to 250,000 different patents. In Austria, "patent matters" and "trademark matters" are handled by the domestic patent office. "But these are completely different areas," explains patent office spokeswoman Cornelia Zoppoth. "You apply for a patent for a technical innovation with worldwide validity, while protected trademarks are used to make products distinguishable in a limited area." Patent disputes usually involve a lot of money, "especially when it comes to American law," emphasizes lawyer Stefan Lausegger.