Here are your Apple rumors and AAPL news items for today:
Solution: Owners of Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone 5 that have failing Sleep/Wake buttons can now get some relief, TheLoop notes. On Friday, Apple announced a program to repair malfunctioning Sleep/Wake buttons on some iPhone 5 units free of charge. Apple noted that the issue affects “a small percentage of iPhone 5 models.” The company has set up a website where iPhone 5 owners can check their phones’ serial numbers to see if they are covered by the repair program. Only iPhone models with specific serials numbers that show the defect are eligible for the program. Most iPhone 5 units have not exhibited a problem with the Sleep/Wake button, which is located at the top of the phone. Apple indicated that iPhone 5 models produced through March 2013 may exhibit the problem, VentureBeat notes. Owners of iPhone 5 units that experience problems with their Sleep/Wake buttons, and which are eligible for repairs under the program, can mail the phone back to Apple, or take it to an Apple Store. Owners who have previously had the button repaired at their own cost can request a refund from Apple. Apple Stores will provide iPhone 5 loaner phones for iPhone 5 models brought in for repairs.
Court Delay: Apple has won a temporary stay against a lawsuit over its ebook practices, Reuters notes. On Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit said it would consider Apple’s request for a stay of class notification for a lawsuit by 33 states and a number of consumers. Apple’s request has been referred to a three-judge panel of the Second Circuit, who will hear Apple’s arguments as to why the trial, which was scheduled to begin in July, should be delayed. Apple is appealing last year’s ruling by a federal judge that found it guilty of violating antitrust laws by conspiring with five publishers to set ebook prices on the iBookstore. On Wednesday, that judge rejected Apple’s request to delay the trial while it appeals the earlier verdict. The Appeals Court also halted the dispatch of notices to consumers potentially affected by the ebook decision, which were due to be sent on this week. Apple has denied any wrongdoing in its ebook sales.
More Litigation: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit says that a federal judge was wrong to dismiss a patent lawsuit between Apple and Google’s (GOOG) Motorola Mobility unit in 2012, Reuters notes. Google has since sold Motorola to Lenovo. Apple and Motorola have sued each other over alleged patent infringement several times. The case in question involved claims by Apple that Motorola had infringed on three of its patents and a counterclaim by Motorola, accusing Apple of violating three it its patents. The lawsuits were consolidated and dismissed by U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois after Judge Richard Posner ruled that neither party could prove damages resulting from the infringement. Both companies appealed the decision on a variety of grounds. Reviewing the six patents covered in the suit, the Appeals Court ordered Posner to reconsider Apple’s request for an injunction against Motorola based on the claimed violation of one of its patents. The Appeals Court upheld Posner’s decision regarding two Motorola patents, but said that Motorola could be awarded damages on possible infringement over a third, but not an injunction to halt Apple sales.
For more about the company, check out our previous Apple Rumors stories.
