> Subject: VoiceOver threatened by Samsung > Reply-To: Blind Democracy Discussion List <blind-democr...@octothorp.org> > > Even if Samsung does not succeed in their action, the very fact they've even > tried it guarantees I will never buy a Samsung product. > And to think Samsung was instrumental in establishing the guide dog school in > Korea. > Unconscionable. > Alice > Samsun g struggles to block iPhone function for the blindBy Leo Kelion > > Technology reporter > > The VoiceOver function is designed to help > blind and partially sighted consumers use the > iPhone Samsung has suffered a setback in its > effort to win an iPhone ban based on a function > making its software accessible to blind people. > > The South Korean firm had sought an injunction in > a German court arguing Apple's VoiceOver > screen-access facility infringed one of its patents. > > However, the judge has ordered the case to be > suspended pending another ruling that could invalidate Samsung's claim. > > Disability campaigners had expressed concern about the case. > > Apple's VoiceOver function is used by blind and > partially-sighted people to hear a description of > what the iPhone is showing by touching its screen. > > The software covers text and icons including > audio descriptions of the battery level and > network signal. It also allows the phones to be > operated via Braille-based add-ons. > > Samsung had argued that Apple had failed to > licence a patent it owned which describes > pressing a button to make a handset describe its > display. The basis for this was that VoiceOver > could be switched on by triple-clicking the iPhone's home button. > > Apple declined to comment. > > A statement from Samsung said: "For decades, we > have heavily invested in pioneering the > development of technological innovations in the > mobile industry, which have been constantly reflected in our products. > > "We continue to believe that Apple has infringed > our patented mobile technologies, and we will > continue to take the measures necessary to > protect our intellectual property rights." > > 'Regrettable in the extreme' > > Patent consultant Florian Muller, who was first > to report the Mannheim Court's decision, questioned Samsung's tactics. > > "If Samsung had only requested monetary > compensation in this action, it would have made a > much better choice than by trying to achieve, > through the pursuit of an injunction, the > deactivation or (more realistically) degradation > of the voiceover functionality Apple provides to > its German customers," he wrote on his blog. > > The British Computer Association of the Blind > said it was worried such an important feature might be threatened. > > "A lack of access to information is arguably the > biggest potential barrier to inclusion in society > for blind and partially-sighted people," a spokesman told the BBC. > > "If something as important as access to telephone > technology had been blocked by the actions of one > company over another the consequences for blind > people everywhere would be regrettable in the extreme." > > The Wall Street Journal's AllThingsD tech site was more damning. > > "Leaving aside the ethics of asserting a patent > against a feature designed to help the blind, > this is unwise," wrote John Paczkowski. > > "It's the PR equivalent of punching yourself in > the face. Samsung has now identified itself as a > company willing to accept the loss of > accessibility for the vision-impaired as > collateral damage in its battle with Apple." > > Apple and Samsung have fought a number of patent > cases against each other in courts across the world. > > The biggest award involved a US jury ordering > Samsung to pay Apple $1.05bn (£688m) in damages. > The judge in the case later rejected Apple's call > for the sum to be increased and a sales ban on some Samsung handsets. > > > > _______________________________________________ > Blind-Democracy mailing list > blind-democr...@octothorp.org > http://www.octothorp.org/mailman/listinfo/blind-democracy
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