For months Samsung has been engaged in a patent war with Apple. Apple is seeking the ban of Samsung tablets and phones in major markets around the world, including the US, Europe, Japan, South Korea, and Australia.
Initially Samsung didn't seem to take these lawsuits too seriously, possibly considering them a prelude to licensing negotiations. With their Galaxy Tab 10.1 already being banned by a German court and its introduction threatened in Australia, their strategy has shifted from defense to offense.
According to a statement from Samsung (via Reuters):
Apple has continued to flagrantly violate our intellectual property rights and free-ride on our technology. We will steadfastly protect our intellectual property.
Unlike the Apple lawsuits in Europe, which have focused on their Community Design Patent for the iPad, Samsung's lawsuits will focus on patents related to industry standard GSM technology. That will likely mean no injunction will be granted.
Mobile technology is generally covered by FRAND (Free And Non-Discriminatory) licensing once it is adopted by a standards organization. This is intended to prevent just the sort of lawsuits Samsung is filing. In fact, Samsung characterizes their patents as essential technology for mobile communications.
While that doesn't stop them from demanding license fees, it does typically require them to give Apple the chance to obtain the necessary licenses first.
In another case over the patents, in the Netherlands, Apple has argued the license fees are already covered because they buy their GSM chips exclusively from Intel, who already pays the licensing fees. There are also some questions about the license terms with Qualcomm, which seem to specifically exclude use in Apple products, and could violate EU antitrust regulations.
Samsung has countered that Apple is also using unlicensed components from other suppliers, but obscuring this fact from the court.
While one goal of Samsung's lawsuits is clearly to force Apple into a cross-licensing deal and end the challenge to their devices, failing that they may have another motive. Earlier this year a US judge ordered Samsung to hand over samples of several unreleased devices for Apple engineers to examine.
By claiming they are being misled about the hardware in Apple products, Samsung may be hoping to get similar access.
Written by: Rich Fiscus @ 5 Oct 2011 11:05
