Samsung Apple likely to drop patent war outside US
Arch-rivals
Samsung and Apple have decided to drop a series of bitter patent disputes
pending in multiple courts outside the United States, the South Korean
electronics giant said today.
The
two companies have been locked in a prolonged war of legal attrition in close
to a dozen countries, with each accusing the other of infringing on various
patents related to their flagship smartphone and tablet products.
"Samsung
and Apple have agreed to drop all litigation between the two companies outside
the United States," Samsung said in a statement.
"This
agreement does not involve any licensing arrangements, and the companies are
continuing to pursue the existing cases in US courts," it added.
The
patent row kicked off in earnest back in 2011, when Apple sued Samsung in a US
court, and swiftly went trans-continental with cases being heard in South
Korea, Germany, Japan, Italia, the Netherlands, England, France and Australia
among others.
The
fight will continue in US courts where Apple has accused its South Korean rival
of massive and wilful copying of its designs and technology for smartphones and
tablets, and has asked for a bar on US sales of Samsung smartphones and tablet
computers.
Samsung
has counter-claimed that Apple had used some of its technology without
permission.
Despite
the multiple cases, neither company has managed to land a knockout legal blow
against the other, and a number of judges have urged the two giants to settle their
differences out of court.
As
per Daishin Securities analyst Claire Kim she said that "They have nothing
to gain with a prolonged legal battle because the market situation has changed
-- no more merit of the old strategy to expand market share through attacks on
rivals".
Due
to challenges from Chinese and Indian firms, Apple and Samsung will try to
maintain their solid status in the premium smartphone market through
innovation.
"The
two giants are not expected to expand lawsuits in the US because of the
pressure to produce attractive new high-end products".
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