05.13.10

Samsung Goes Beyond Corruption and Starts Bullying Critics With Lawsuits

Posted in DRM, Google, GPL, Microsoft, Samsung at 3:24 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

Lee Kun-Hee, Chairman and CEO of Samsung Electronics and a criminal (picture from Gizmodo)

Summary: Samsung gives another reason to boycott Samsung; Techrights reader to force Samsung to disclose GPL-licensed source code

ONE of the companies which we urge/called for a boycott against is Samsung, which puts a Microsoft tax on Linux and Android. We have only just discovered that in addition to Samsung’s history of fraud there is also a vicious attempt to silence critics. Here is this new example:

Samsung Sues Satirist, Claiming Criminal Defamation, Over Satirical Column Poking Fun At Samsung

[..]

As satire goes, it seems pretty tame (and, really, not that funny). But, Samsung went ballistic, suing Breen, the Korea Times and its top editor for both civil and criminal libel charges. Supposedly, after Korea Times ran a “clarification” that was written by Samsung itself, the paper and its editor were dropped from the lawsuit, but the suit against Breen remains. And, since there are criminal charges, not only could he face hefty fines (perhaps $1 million), he might also face jailtime. For writing a satirical Christmas day column. Tough audience.

To quote the original:

The South Korean electronics giant’s libel suit against a British columnist shows both the power of corporate conglomerates and a different view of defamation, satire and free speech.

Samsung has really gotten some nerve. If anyone should be sued, it is Samsung executives, not some satirist. Here at Techrights we don’t do satire; instead, we provide factual information and opinions.

One of our IRC contributors and regulars, Ryan, has just take action upon the suspicion of GPL violations at Samsung (he was unable to find the source code on their site). Here is his initial report.

I own a Samsung BD-C5500 Blu Ray Disc player:

In the Support section, it offers to show you the licenses for all the free and open source software they used, which happens to be most of the software on their Blu Ray player, the GPL/LGL software alone includes:

Linux kernel, Busybox, Binutils, wireless_tools, uClibc, directfb, ffmpeg, smpeg, libgphoto2, libusb, libiconv, libmms.

As we have been saying since 2007, boycott Samsung. It is an unethical company riddled with corruption and it harms Linux more than it helps it. Samsung is merely an exploiter, not a contributor. It also spreads Microsoft's DRM. █

Share this post: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

Permalink Mail Send this to a friend

If you liked this post, consider subscribing to the RSS feed or join us now at the IRC channels.

Pages that cross-reference this one

What Else is New

Links 19/9/2018: Chromebooks Get More DEBs, LLVM 7.0.0 Released

Links for the day
Links 18/9/2018: Qt 5.12 Alpha , MAAS 2.5.0 Beta, PostgreSQL CoC

Links for the day
Today's European Patent Office (EPO) Works for Large, Foreign Pharmaceutical Companies in Pursuit of Patents on Nature, Life, and Essential/Basic Drugs

The never-ending insanity which is patents on DNA/genome/genetics and all sorts of basic things that are put together like a recipe in a restaurant; patents are no longer covering actual machinery that accomplishes unique tasks in complicated ways, typically assembled from scratch by humans; some supposed 'inventions' are merely born into existence by the natural splitting of organisms or conception (e.g. pregnancy)
The EPO Has Quit Pretending That It Cares About Patent Quality, All It Cares About is Quantity of Lawsuits

A new interview with Roberta Romano-Götsch, as well as the EPO's promotion of software patents alongside CIPA (Team UPC), is an indication that the EPO has ceased caring about quality and hardly even pretends to care anymore
Qualcomm's Escalating Patent Wars Have Already Caused Massive Buybacks (Loss of Reserves) and Loss of Massive Clients

Qualcomm's multi-continental patent battles are an effort to 'shock and awe' everyone into its protection racket; but the unintended effect seems to be a move further and further away from 'Qualcomm territories'
Links 17/9/2018: Torvalds Takes a Break, SQLite 3.25.0 Released

Links for the day
The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) Helps Prevent Frivolous Software Patent Lawsuits

PTAB with its quality-improving inter partes reviews (IPRs) is enraging patent maximalists; but by looking to work around it or weaken it they will simply reduce the confidence associated with US patents
Abstract Patents (Things One Can Do With Pen and Paper, Sometimes an Abacus) Are a Waste of Money as Courts Disregard Them

A quick roundup of patents and lawsuits at the heart of which there's little or no substance; 35 U.S.C. § 101 renders these moot
“Blockchain” Hype and “FinTech”-Like Buzzwords Usher in Software Patents Everywhere, Even Where Such Patents Are Obviously Bunk

Not only the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) embraces the "blockchain" hype; business methods and algorithms are being granted patent 'protection' (exclusivity) which would likely be disputed by the courts (if that ever reaches the courts)
Qualcomm's Patent Aggression Threatens Rationality of Patent Scope in Europe and Elsewhere

Qualcomm's dependence on patent taxes (so-called 'royalties' associated with physical devices which it doesn't even make) highlights the dangers now known; the patent thicket has grown too "thick"
Months After Oil States the Patent Maximalists Are Still Desperate to Crush PTAB in the Courts, Not Just in Congress and the Office

Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) inter partes reviews (IPRs) improve patent quality and are therefore a threat to those who profit from spurious feuding and litigation; they try anything they can to turn things around
IAM, Watchtroll and the EPO Still Spread the Mentality of Patent Maximalism

The misguided idea that the objective (overall) should be to grant as many monopolies as possible (to spur a lot of litigation) isn't being challenged in echo chamber 'events', set up and sponsored by think tanks and pressure groups of the litigation 'industry'
Watchtroll and Other Proponents of Patent Trolls Are Trying to Change the Law Outside the Courts in Order to Bypass Patent Justice

35 U.S.C. § 101 (Section 101) voids almost every software patent — a reality that even the most zealous patent professionals have come to grips with and their way of tackling this ‘problem’ is legislative, albeit nowhere near successful (so far)
Links 16/9/2018: Windows Plays 'Nice' Again, Elisa Music Player 0.3 Beta and Latte Dock 0.8.1

Links for the day
Slamming Courts and Judges Won't Help the Patent Maximalists; It Can Only Make Things Worse

Acorda Therapeutics sees its stock price dropping 25% after finding out that its patent portfolio isn't solid, as affirmed by the Federal Circuitn(CAFC); the only way out of this mess is a pursuit of a vastly improved patent quality, thorough patent examination which then offers legal certainty
Patent Trolls Are Still Active and Microsoft is Closely Connected to Many of Them

A roundup of patent trolls' actions in the United States; Microsoft is connected to a notably high number of these
Advancements in Automobile Technology Won't be Possible With Patent Maximalism

Advancements in the development of vehicles are being discouraged by a thicket of patents as dumb (and likely invalid) as claims on algorithms and mere shapes
Battistelli “Has Deeply Hurt the Whole Patent Profession, Examiners as Well as Agents” and Also the Image of France

A French perspective regarding Battistelli's reign at the EPO, which has not really ended but manifests itself or 'metastasises' through colleagues of Battistelli (whom he chose) and another French President (whom he also chose)
António Campinos Needs to Listen to Doctors Without Borders (MSF) et al to Salvage What's Left of Public Consent for the EPO

Groups including Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and Médecins du Monde (MdM) have attempted to explain to the EPO, with notoriously French-dominated leadership, that it’s a mistake to work for Gilead at the expense of the public; but António Campinos is just another patent maximalist
The Max Planck Institute's Determination on UPC's (Unitary Patent) Demise is Only “Controversial” in the Eyes of Rabid Members of Team UPC

Bristows keeps lying like Battistelli; that it calls a new paper "controversial" without providing any evidence of a controversy says a lot about Bristows LLP, both as a firm and the individuals who make up the firm (they would not be honest with their clients, either)
Links 15/9/2018: Wine 3.16, Overwatch's GNU/Linux (Wine) 'Ban', New Fedora 28 Build, and Fedora 29 Beta Delay

Links for the day
Max Planck Institute Pours More Water on the Dying Unitary Patent (UPC)

The Max Planck Institute gives another sobering reality check for Team UPC to chew on; there's still no sign of any progress whatsoever for the UPC because even Team UPC appears to have given up and moved on
EPO Seals Many Death Sentences With Acceptance of EP 2604620

Very disappointing news as EP 2604620 withstands scrutiny, assuring that a lot of poor people will not receive much-needed, life-saving treatments
Links 13/9/2018: Compiz Comeback, 'Life is Strange: Before the Storm'

Links for the day
Now We Have Patents on Rooms. Yes, Rooms!

The shallow level of what nowadays constitutes "innovation" and merits getting a patent for a couple of decades
EPO Granted a Controversial European Patent (Under Battistelli) Which May Literally Kill a Lot of People

The EPO (together with CIPA) keeps promoting software patents; patents that are being granted by the EPO literally put lives at risk and have probably already cost a lot of lives
Links 13/9/2018: Parrot 4.2.2, Sailfish OS Nurmonjoki, Eelo Beta

Links for the day
Patents on Life at the EPO Are a Symptom of Declining Patent Quality

When even life and natural phenomena are deemed worthy of a private monopoly it seems clear that the sole goal has become patenting rather than advancement of science and technology; media that's controlled by the patent 'industry', however, fails to acknowledge this and plays along with privateers of nature
Defending the World's Most Notorious Patent Trolls in an Effort to Smear the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) is an Utterly Poor Strategy

The 'case' for patent maximalism is very weak; those who spent years if not decades promoting patent maximalism have resorted to attacks on judges, to defense of trolls like Intellectual Ventures, defense of patent scams, and ridiculous attempts to call victims of patent trolls "trolls"
The Belated Demise of Propaganda Sites of the Litigation 'Industry'

Sites that promote the interests of Big Litigation (patent trolls, patent law firms etc.) are ebbing away; in the process they still mothball the facts and push propaganda instead