Oh, Snap. Apple Wins Rubberband Patent Case in Japan

A Japanese Court has ruled that Samsung is infringing on Apple's rubberband, or bounce-back, patent. The ruling came in the two company's ongoing patent infringement battle, and could lead to a ban on some of Samsung's Android-based smartphones in the country.

Japan Court says Samsung's Android devices infringe on Apple's rubberband patentJapan Court says Samsung's Android devices infringe on Apple's rubberband patent

Apple and Samsung have been fighting in courts around the world over claims that they are infringing on each other's mobile device patents. The patent the court in Japan was dealing with covered the rubberband effect iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users see when scrolling to the end of a page where it appears as if the content over extends and then bounces back into place.

The rubberband effect was part of Apple's fight with Samsung in the United States, too. In that case, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office invalidated the patent after a court ruled Samsung was infringing. The USPTO recently reversed that ruling, so the patent is still considered valid in the U.S.

Assuming Samsung is slapped with a sales ban in Japan, it will likely impact just a few older smartphone models since the company has already implemented a change that uses a blue outline instead of the rubberband effect when users scroll to the bottom of a page.

The court is planning on releasing more about the case soon. Neither company has commented on the ruling.

[Thanks to Reuters for the heads up]