AMSTERDAM, Oct 14 (Reuters) - A Dutch court on Friday
turned down Samsung Electronics' request for an injunction
against all of Apple's mobile products that use 3G
telecommunications technology, denying it revenge over a
similar move by Apple.
The two technology giants have been locked in an
acrimonious battle in 10 countries involving smartphones and
tablets since April. Four patent infringement cases launched by
Samsung against Apple were filed in the Netherlands alone.
A court in The Hague on Friday dismissed Samsung's claims
of patent infringement by Apple, scuppering its bid to ban the
sale of iPhones and iPads in the Netherlands. It also rejected
Apple's counterclaims in the case.
"A win for Apple but also relief for the industry because
the judge upheld widespread understanding of fair, reasonable,
and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms in the use of patents,"
independent intellectual property expert Florian Mueller said.
On Friday, the Dutch court found Samsung's 3G patents were
part of essential standards which should be open to license
under FRAND and that the two companies should negotiate an
agreement.
The ruling is a blow to Samsung, which has filed
patent-infringement claims in France and Italy in order to ban
the sale of the iPhone, just as Apple has started marketing the
latest edition of the popular gadget, iPhone 4S.
"Apple will be taking French and Italian translations of
the Dutch ruling with it. This makes it a long shot for Samsung
that it could win an injunction in the EU based on its 3G
patents," Mueller said.
Samsung vowed not to give up the legal fight in the
Netherlands against its Californian rival.
"Today's ruling relates only to Samsung's preliminary
injunction request, and Samsung will continue to assert our
case against Apple's violation of our wireless technology
patents through the main proceeding filed with the court in The
Hague," the Korean electronics giant said in a statement.
Apple has filed its own lawsuits in several countries,
arguing Samsung's Galaxy line of mobile phones and tablets
"slavishly" copied its iPhone and iPad.
"It is no coincidence that Samsung's latest products look a
lot like the iPhone and iPad, from the shape of the hardware to
the user interface and even the packaging," an Apple spokesman
said.
Thursday, a federal judge in California said during a
court hearing that Samsung Electronic's Galaxy tablets infringe
Apple's iPad patents, but added that Apple has a problem
establishing the validity of its patents. The judge did not
rule on Apple's request to bar some Galaxy products from being
sold in the United States.
This month, Samsung was forced to upgrade three of its
smartphones to get around temporary sales bans on earlier
versions of products that a Dutch court said violated an Apple
patent.
Apple's new iPhone went on sale in stores across the globe
on Friday, prompting thousands to queue around city blocks to
snap up the gadget despite criticism about the lack of a design
revolution and reports of software glitches.
The California case in U.S. District Court, Northern
District of California is Apple Inc v. Samsung Electronics Co
Ltd et al, 11-1846.
For Apple: Morrison & Foerster; Wilmer Cutler Pickering
Hale and Dorr; Taylor & Company Law Offices; Bridges &
Mavrakakis.
For Samsung: Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan.
(Reporting by Greg Roumeliotis and Gilbert Kreijger;
Additional reporting by Georgina Prodhan)
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