Judges skeptical of “irreparable harm” in Apple-Samsung case
US judges overseeing the latest patent infringement lawsuit filed by Apple against Samsung has expressed skepticism that Samsung is causing “irreparable” harm by not licensing patents for features including slide-to-unlock. Apple is seeking an injunction against sales of some Samsung devices in the US, but would need to prove irreparable harm to win such a ruling, Reuters said. US Appeals Court Judge Sharon Prost indicated that since Apple already extensively licenses its patents, she is “having a hard time getting past irreparable harm.”
China rejects US criticism of software backdoor plan
China and the US are clashing over Chinese proposals to require tech companies doing business in the market to put backdoors into their software and share encryption keys. A spokesperson for China's foreign ministry rejected criticism from president Obama about the proposed new rules, BBC reported, insisting that the powers were needed to fight terrorism and tackle leaks. Chinese state-owned news agency Xinhua accused the US of hypocrisy for objecting to the proposed laws, considering the allegations of NSA spying and the fact that the FBI had objected to Apple and Google building encryption into their smartphone operating systems.