The Australian Communications and Media Authority has fined Nokia for sending spam-filled text messages to its customers. Nokia had been sending messages with tips on how customers could take advantage of their phones’ features, Reuters said Tuesday, but the government agreed Nokia should allow its customers to opt out of receiving the messages. ”Some businesses are still not getting SMS marketing right,” Australian Communications and Media Authority chairman Richard Bean told Reuters. &#...

As Samsung continues to field repeated patent-related strikes from Apple in Australia and around the world, the Cupertino-based company’s aggressive stance seems to be having an unforeseen side effect in some cases. As Apple continues to inadvertently help Samsung advertise its products across the Australian region, market research firm IDC revealed on Monday that the South Korea-based electronics giant passed Apple in the third quarter to become the No.1 mobile phone vendor in Australia and New Ze...

Samsung recently won a appeal lawsuit against Apple in Australia that overturned a ban on sales of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet in the country. An appeals court, which recently said the ban was “not terribly fair” to Samsung, explained that the original judge in a lower court had made a mistake in approving Apple’s request for an injunction against the tablet. “We cannot see how Samsung’s conduct in refusing the offer of an early trial could properly be weighed,” the appeals court ...

An appeals judge in Australia recently said that a ruling which banned Samsung’s local subsidiaries from selling the Galaxy Tab 10.1 was unfair to Samsung. “The result looks terribly fair to Apple and not terribly fair to Samsung,” federal court justice Lindsay Foster said on Friday. Samsung’s lawyer Neil Young said the lawyer in the original case, federal court justice Annabelle Bennett, failed to take into consideration the “dire consequences” that the ban would have on Samsu...

Australian Federal Court Justice Annabelle Bennett has ruled that Apple must show Samsung its contracts with Vodafone, SingTel and Telstra if it cannot reach an agreement on Samsung’s accusations that the iPhone maker contractually forces the carriers to subsidize the iPhone. Samsung has also argued that the Apple iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPad 2 and iPhone 3GS infringe on its patents, and has sought to ban sales of the devices in Australia. Apple, however, has already successfully banned Samsung’s ...

Samsung recently asked Apple to provide it with source code for the the firmware used in its iPhone 4S, ZDNET reported on Tuesday. The South Korea-based phone maker also asked for details on Apple’s subsidy agreements with Australian carriers Vodafone, Optus and Telstra. The moves were part of an ongoing lawsuit in which Samsung has accused Apple of infringing on three of its patents. Apple believes Samsung has no need to access the information, but Samsung’s lawyer argued that there are fewer ...

Samsung has appealed a ruling by an Australian court that prevents it from selling the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the country in an effort to get the tablet on store shelves in time for the holidays. Samsung attorney Neil Young accused Justice Annabelle Bennett of making “irrelevant considerations” and “making errors of law in her approach” to the injunction. The request for an appeal hearing will be granted by Justice Lindsay Foster, likely for the week of November 21st, The Wall Street Journ...

Samsung recently filed lawsuits in Japan and Australia in an attempt to prevent Apple from selling the iPhone 4S. In addition, Samsung is seeking to block the sale of the iPad 2 and the original iPhone 4 in Japan, Bloomberg said Monday. In September, the South Korea-based phone maker also filed motions to ban the iPhone 4S in France and Italy. “Apple has continued to violate our patent rights and free ride on our technology,” Samsung said. “We will no longer stand idly by and will steadfastl...

Apple won a patent infringement lawsuit it brought against Samsung in Australia, The Sydney Morning Herald reported on Thursday. The ruling prevents Samsung’s Australia-based businesses from selling the Galaxy Tab 10.1 locally. Samsung had originally agreed not to sell or advertise its tablet in Australia until the court issued its ruling on the matter. In late September, the South Korea-based phone maker proposed a secret deal with Apple, in which it would tweak the parts of the tablet in order to avoi...

The Apple iPhone 4S goes on sale in Australia on Friday and Samsung is ready to give it some competition from the get-go. According to The Sydney Herald, the South Korea-based phone maker set up a temporary pop-up shop two doors away from an Apple Store in Sydney, Australia. It then began to offer the Galaxy S II for just $2, which is valid for the first 10 people in line each day. It appears as though Samsung even has representatives trying to lure people away from the line that has been starting to form ou...

Apple denied Samsung’s proposed deal in Australia that would allow the South Korea-based company to begin selling its Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet there. Apple believes Samsung’s products are “copycat” versions of its iPad and iPhone, and that the touchscreen technology used in the Galaxy Tab 10.1 infringes on its patents. According to Reuters, Apple attorney Steven Burley said, “The main reason we are here is to prevent the launch of [the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1] and maintain the stat...

Samsung recently offered Apple a secret deal in Australia that could potentially allow the South Korea-based phone maker to put its Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet on store shelves as soon as next week, The Wall Street Journal said Friday. Samsung’s lawyer David Catterns discussed the deal briefly in the Federal Court in Sydney but did not divulge the details of Samsung’s offer. However, Apple lawyer Stephen Burley suggested the iPhone maker may be interested in taking Samsung up on the offer. Samsung̵...

Steve Jobs made contact with Samsung in an effort to resolve a patent argument last year, Bloomberg reported on Thursday. However, Jobs did not participate in the discussions that eventually took place and deteriorated, Apple’s patent attorney Richard Lutton explained during a hearing in an Australian court. “Samsung is an important supplier with whom we have a deep relationship” Lutton said while being questioned by a Samsung lawyer. “We wanted to give them a chance to do the right th...

Samsung has again delayed the launch of its GALAXY Tab 10.1 Android tablet in Australia amid an ongoing patent dispute with Apple. This time, Samsung has stated in court that it will not market or sell its 10-inch Honeycomb tablet until September 30th at the earliest. While the repeated launch delays are no doubt victories for Apple, which claims the Tab 10.1 infringes on multiple Apple-owned patents, Samsung won’t stick to a defensive stance for much longer. Samsung in a statement confirmed that it &...