By Roberta Cowan
AMSTERDAM, Oct 24 (Reuters) - A Dutch court has ruled
Samsung Electronics does not infringe an Apple Inc patent by
using certain multi-touch techniques on some of the Samsung
Galaxy smartphones and tablet computers.
Samsung and Apple, the world's top two smartphone makers,
are locked in patent disputes in at least 10 countries as they
vie to dominate the lucrative mobile market and win over
customers with their latest gadgets.
Apple scored a sweeping legal victory over its South Korean
rival in August when a U.S. jury found Samsung had copied
critical features of the hugely popular iPhone and iPad and
awarded Apple $1.05 billion in damages.
But a judge has not yet ruled on Apple's request to
permanently ban some of Samsung's products from the U.S. market,
and the U.S. company has also faced some setbacks.
Apple argued in September in the Hague court that Samsung
infringed its patent on multi-touch function, which lets users
use two fingers at one time on a touch screen.
"With these products Samsung does not infringe the claims
that Apple has made," the court said in its ruling on Wednesday.
Apple has taken Samsung and others to court over the "pinch
to zoom" function popular on smartphones and tablets.
Apple lost a preliminary injunction on this patent in the
Dutch courts last year and also lost its battle in the courts in
Britain against HTC Corp, and in Germany against Samsung and
Motorola Mobility, which is owned by Google.
The Dutch court acknowledged that its multi-touch patent
ruling was similar to those in Britain and Germany.
Samsung said it welcomed the Dutch court's decision, while
Apple declined to comment on the ruling.
The Hague has become an important court room battle ground
between companies making mobile phones and tablet computers, as
court actions there are considered to be cheap, speedy and
efficient.
The Dutch court's ruling comes ahead of a decision in the
United States from the International Trade Commission on
Thursday over claims that Samsung infringed on Apple patents.
(Additional reporting by Gilbert Kreijger)
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