South Korean court delivers split decision in Apple v. Samsung patent battle

“A South Korean court hearing mutual patent lawsuits between Samsung Electronics Co. and Apple Inc. delivered a split decision Friday, leaving analysts divided over whether either company emerged as a clear winner,” Chris Oliver reports for MarketWatch. “The three-judge panel ruled that Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple had violated two Samsung patents, while Samsung violated one of Apple’s. The Seoul Central District Court ordered both companies to halt sales of electronic products that infringe patents in South Korea.”

Oliver reports, “It also ordered Apple to pay a nominal 20 million won ($17,650) for each of its patent violations, while Samsung was ordered to compensate Apple with 25 million won… not everyone saw the verdicts as a wash, with Seoul-based technology analyst Kevin Lim saying that Samsung had come out in better shape… Samsung smartphones and tablets affected by the sales ban are no longer commercially viable, according to Lim, who says Apple stands to lose more from the ban affecting sales of its iPhone 4.”

“Additional Apple products affected by the sales ban include the iPhone 3GS, and its tablets the iPad and iPad 2, according to reports,” Oliver reports. “Products by Samsung in the ban reportedly include its smartphone Galaxy SI and SII and its Galaxy Tab and the Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet PCs.”

Read more in the full article here.

Related article:
Seoul court rules Apple infringed two Samsung patents – August 23, 2012

6 Comments

  1. I’ve been thinking about this decision for the past night. My conclusion is that it was a political move. It doesn’t play favorites. No one can accuse them of Samsung favoritism, at least on the surface. It also keeps the anti-Apple trolls slightly mollified via another meagre slap. All in all it’s a wimp-out of injustice in the face of Samsung political clout at home. 😛

Reader Feedback

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.