South Korean consumers band together to sue Apple
Apple is facing yet another legal entanglement overseas, but this one is more of a sideshow compared to the mess going on with Samsung all over the place.
Earlier this month, the government of South Korea imposed a fine of three 3 million won ($2,855) on Apple's division in the country after the controversy that became known as Locationgate, in which any device running iOS 4.0 or higher was tracking the user’s every move and location.
Although $2,855 is pocket change for Apple -- literally as the Cupertino, Calif. based company has more cash and marketable securities than the U.S. government at $76.156 billion -- this kerfuffle is about to get a bit more expensive than Apple might like.
Approximately 27,000 South Koreans are banding together to file a class action lawsuit against Apple that would total up to $26 million, the Associated Press reports. That breaks down to roughly 1 million won ($932) per person, which could be considered a little more than a refund on an unsubsidized iPhone.
So far, Apple hasn't commented publicly on the issue after this latest turn of events.
Apple is already ensnared in a legal battle with Samsung over patent infringement disputes regarding the design of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 as Apple thinks it looks too close to the look of the iPad. Lawsuits in that case are ongoing in the European Union, Australia and the United States, among elsewhere. Apple is also fighting HTC over other patents in the United States and the United Kingdom.
And let's not forget about Kodak, which is also in a lawsuit dealing with Apple as well as RIM over, what else, patents.
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