A Valencian company wins in court to Apple

The holder of the court of First Instance and Instruction No. 1 Quart de Poblet (Valencia) has agreed to the provisional dismissal of the complaint filed by the company against a company Apple In Valencia - New Technologies and Energy Catalá SL '- to which accused of copying its iPhone, as recorded in a car.

A pple introduced in November 2010 a complaint for an offense against intellectual property against this company - represented by counsel in the firm Rocabert Bar & Grau, Salvador Silvestre - after ordering the shutdown of its 'tablets' in Customs Valencia were on the ground that a copy of your iPad. This prevented the Valencian commercial marketing their product.

Specifically, the complaint, retaining specified in Valencia Customs various items from China and destined for commercial Valencia, understanding of the company, "reproduced on the device itself and / or packaging registered Community designs, which shall belong exclusively to Apple, he noted.

So he added in his letter that the manufacture or use of products covered by these rights by a third party without permission from Apple was in violation of intellectual property rights of the company, since the designs held devices - added - were exclusive right to use the American company.

Against this, Silvestre - who has clarified that software used by your client ( Android ) was totally different from iPad - has indicated that Apple's goal with the complaint was to prevent the entry of 'tablets' and let the suspected breach of industrial property rights 'drowned in the courts' any commercial activity of the company in Valencia.

In fact, the judge in Quart de Poblet, after studying all the documentation provided, has decided to terminate the proceedings and to agree with the Valencian company does not appear to consider that 'substantiated' commission of the offense in this case.

Before the Competition Commission
Parallel to this action, and after the stay in the Customs 'tablets' of this company, Sylvester filed a complaint against Apple with the National Competition Commission of this fact, that there is still no resolution . The commercial has always maintained that their devices do not even use the same software as the iPad. In that complaint, Silvester asked the Competition Commission that an investigation into this matter and to perform all those acts necessary to ascertain the facts and establish responsibilities.

According to the lawyer picked up on this complaint, Apple released in 2010 a 'tablet' - laptop with which you can interact via a touch screen or multi - which he called iPad commercially. This dominates the commercial market for these devices and has a dominant position. Moreover, the complainant company - 'New Energy Technologies and Catalá SL' - is dedicated to the purchase and sale of electronic and computer equipment. Among others, sells a type of 'tablet' that has nothing to do with the Apple iPad and sold under the brand NTK.

In November 2010, Apple , 'abusing its dominant position', as specified in the complaint, paralyzed 'tablets' of this company in the Customs' with a clear intention to close the market and prevent entry to potential competitors '.