AppleInsider Staff
Apple on Wednesday received a boost in its legal struggles against chief rival Samsung, as Germany's Federal Patent Court invalidated part of a Samsung patent on 3G technologies.
Germany's Bundespatentgericht ruled in Apple's favor on Wednesday, invalidating the German part of EP1005726, which Samsung had declared essential to 3G wireless standards, according to FOSS Patents. EP1005726 covered a "turbo encoding/decoding device and method for processing frame data according to QoS."
The German Federal Patent Court (BPatG). Image via Wikipedia.
Samsung had been trying to secure injunctions against Apple products over the patent, but a preliminary ruling by the European Commission found that Apple was a willing licensee of the patent and that injunctive relief against such a licensee amounted to abusive conduct. Samsung withdrew its injunction requests, but the company continued to pursue damages.
In licensing standard-essential patents such as EP1005726, Samsung is bound by rules dictating that it conduct its licensing in a Fair, Reasonable, And Non-Discriminatory (FRAND) fashion. The South Korean manufacturer may still appeal the Bundespatentgericht's decision to the Bundesgerichtshof (Federal Court of Justice).
The most recent ruling affects but one of an array of cases, both in Germany and around the globe, in the Apple-Samsung patent struggle. In February, the Mannheim Regional Court stayed another Samsung suit, this one over Apple's VoiceOver functionality, pending yet another case that could invalidate a Samsung patent.
The two tech giants are locked in litigation in a number of countries, with allegations of infringement on myriad patents coming from both parties. In the United States, a federal judge recently ordered the two companies to narrow their respective patent claims so that their cases could proceed next year.
Malcolm Owen
Amber Neely
Christine McKee
Chip Loder
Marko Zivkovic
11 Comments
uh, am I the only one who thinks this headline is completely wrong. Nowhere in the text does it mention that Samsung's patent was invalid, but rather that "the European Commission found that Apple was a willing licensee of the patent and that injunctive relief against such a licensee amounted to abusive conduct." These lawsuits on both sides are just ridiculous, and amount to a colossal abuse of the court system. Both companies are acting like little children, pointing fingers at each other and tattling on each other. It's a shame so many resources are wasted on this when the companies could actually be making new and exciting products. Phil
the picture from wikipedia of the external of a building where stuff in the article happens is a nice touch.
[quote name="philgar" url="/t/156922/boon-for-apple-as-german-court-invalidates-samsung-3g-patent/0_100#post_2308918"]It's a shame so many resources are wasted on this when the companies could actually be making new and exciting products.[/quote] Surprisingly, the solicitors don't make the new and exciting products, so don't worry, be happy!
uh, am I the only one who thinks this headline is completely wrong. Nowhere in the text does it mention that Samsung's patent was invalid, but rather that "the European Commission found that Apple was a willing licensee of the patent and that injunctive relief against such a licensee amounted to abusive conduct."
Really? It's the first 2 sentences of the article.
Really? It's the first 2 sentences of the article.
That doesn't mean it's invalid; it means it's essential. Samsung still has the patent on it, but they're now forced to license it to anyone at a FRAND rate.