Seoul court: Apple didn't violate Samsung patents
Much of the reporting we see surrounding Apple's patent infringement case against Samsung centers on the US, which is why it's sometimes easy to forget that the two tech giants are going after each other in numerous jurisdictions across the globe. From the Netherlands to Germany to Australia and a number of places in between, the legal battle between Apple and Samsung is monumental.
In the most recent update to Apple's ongoing legal battles, a court in South Korea this week dismissed Samsung's claims that accused Apple products infringed upon Samsung-owned patents.
A judge at the Seoul Central District Court said Apple products such as the iPhone 4S, iPhone 5 and iPad2 did not violate Samsung patents on short message display methods and messaging grouping features.
The court ruled against a sale ban on the products and threw out Samsung's claim for 100 million won ($95,100) in damages.
Regarding the ruling, an Apple spokesman said, "We are glad the Korean court joined others around the world in standing up for innovation and rejected Samsung's ridiculous claims."
In dismissing the claims, the court found that the patented technologies asserted by Samsung were natural extensions of already existent technologies.
All told, Samsung has had a difficult time gaining much traction against Apple, though it has seen a few small legal victories thus far. But Samsung's collection of patents can seemingly be squared away under two categories: 1) weak patents that aren't truly innovative and 2) strong patents that are subject to FRAND licensing rules. Samsung's weak patents, naturally, don't pose any threat to Apple. Samsung's strong patents, meanwhile, are standard-essential patents, which means that Samsung is obligated to license said technologies to Apple on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms.
A Samsung spokesman said the South Korean-based company will review the ruling before deciding whether or not to appeal.
