Seeing that it has no chance to block iPhone 4S sales based on telecommunications technology patents, Samsung is now asking an Australian court to compel Apple to show them the source code of the iPhone 4S but also the subsidy plan that Apple agreed with the Australian operators. Basically, Samsung wants to check the source code of the iPhone 4S to see which patents the Cupertino company's terminal infringes, and this is a sign that Samsung doesn't really have anything left to attack Apple in court.
Samsung are demanding the source code for iPhone 4S firmware as well as Apple's agreements with all major Aussie telco's as it looks to ban iPhone 4S here. The demand came today as Samsung faced yet another legal showdown with foe Apple, who claim the South Koreans infringed iPhone and iPad patents, and have already succeeded in gaining a temporary ban on the sale of Galaxy Tab 10.1 here.
On the other hand, the request to view the contracts regarding the subsidies offered by Australian operators for iPhone terminals seems exaggerated. Samsung claims that the subsidies offered for the iPhone are so high that operators cannot offer subsidies for the Asian company's smartphones. From my point of view, this request shows the desperation of those from Samsung and the poor sales of the terminals in Australia. The operators can conclude the subsidy contracts as they wish, considering that everything is done to increase the sales of the terminals that are the most popular among consumers.
It goes to show that since the iPhone 3G was made available in Australia in July 2008, the impact on the market for every iPhone product has been significant, and has led to a substantial increase ... in market share by revenue," Cochrane said in court today.
If subsidies are given for the iPhone 4S, there are less to go around for my client's products.
In Australia, Apple managed to block the sales of Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablets and it is very likely that the sales of iPhone terminals will not be blocked considering the requests from Samsung.
