Samsung Electronics Co Ltd lost its case to have certain products by Apple Inc banned in South Korea Thursday when a Seoul court ruled the US manufacturer had not violated Samsung patents.
Samsung in March 2012 filed for damages and a sales ban on some iPhone and iPad models, saying Apple had breached three patents on technology for handling and displaying text and messages from its flagship Galaxy product range.
The Seoul Central District Court said the relevant technology could easily be developed in parallel by another manufacturer, and there was no infringement of intellectual property.
“We are disappointed by the court’s decision,” Samsung said. “As Apple has continued to infringe our patented mobile technologies, we will continue to take the measures necessary to protect our intellectual property rights.” In August 2012, the same court ruled each company had infringed patents of the other in a separate case.
The two smartphone giants have also faced off in the US courts, which have awarded Apple around 930 million dollars, and courts in Germany, Britain and the Netherlands, which have found in favour of Samsung.