Apple is currently battling with a lot of litigations in courts all over the world. This situation is not strange to the company as it is a yearly occurrence. According to new reports, theĀ British parliament filed a lawsuit against Apple over Tim Cook’s remarks about China’s iPhone demand. Now, the lawsuit has been granted class-action status.Ā A group of shareholders led by Norfolk County Council in the UK has successfully turned the lawsuit against Apple into a class action.Ā The move opens the door for any affected shareholders to join the lawsuit, potentially increasing the risk Apple faces. Norfolk County Council is the governing body of the Norfolk Pension Fund.
The lawsuit concern comments Cook made during a November 2018 earnings call. At the time, Cook said Apple was seeing sales pressure in some markets. However, he went on to say: “I wouldn’t put China in that category”. In 2019, Apple lowered its revenue guidance due to lower iPhone sales in China. Shareholders, including Norfolk County Council, argue that the revised guidance came too late and that Apple should have foreseen the problem. It is accusing Apple of concealing the fact that demand has fallen.
Gizchina News of the week
Other recent Apple lawsuits
A Colorado court is currently handling the filing by one Christopher Bryan, a resident of the state. According to him, Apple is well aware of the iPad mini 6 “jelly screen” defect. However, the company did not inform users and also did not stop selling the product. However, an Apple executive claims that the iPad mini 6 jelly screen is “a normal phenomenon for LCD screens”.
For those who do not know, the jelly screen issue is the inconsistent refresh of the display. When a device has this issue, the scrolling operation is not smooth. There is usually a sort of distortion which causes the left and right sides of the display to be discordant.
Apple will also have to deal with the recent lawsuit from SpaceTime3D. This case is actually a patent dispute thus it may take several years before there is a final conclusion. SpaceTime3D is a software company that “provides consumers with a seamless digital experience”. Apple is facing this case in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas. According to SpaceTime3D, app multitasking and Safari tabs on the iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch infringe on one of its 3D user interface patents. Like with most patent cases, SpaceTime3D wants the Cupertino company to pay for damages and attorneys’ fees.
