“Dutch website Webwereld.nl reports that the Rechtbank’s-Gravenhage (the District Court of The Hague, Netherlands) just handed Apple — and the concept of FRAND standards, which is more important than even the world’s most valuable company — a highly meaningful victory over Samsung,” Florian Mueller reports for FOSS Patents.
“The Dutch court reaffirmed in a partial ruling based on a full-blown main proceeding, which included a hearing on February 17, what it had already decided in a fast-track proceeding triggered by a Samsung motion for a preliminary injunction last October: in light of its FRAND licensing obligation governing patents allegedly essential to 3G/UMTS, Samsung cannot pursue injunctive relief as long as Apple appears willing to negotiate a license agreement on FRAND terms, an effort that shouldn’t be marred by the threat of an injunction,” Mueller reports. “Furthermore, the court held that Samsung cannot assert 3G/UMTS patents against the iPhone 4S due to patent exhaustion: Apple is licensed by extension since it purchases baseband chips from Qualcomm, and Samsung’s attempt to terminate its license agreement with Qualcomm as far as third-party beneficiary Apple is concerned failed because Samsung had make a commitment to ETSI, the standards body in charge of 3G, that it would grant irrevocable licenses to its 3G/UMTS-essential patents.”
Mueller reports, “To the extent that Apple actually infringed Samsung’s patents because it wasn’t licensed indirectly through the purchase of its relevant [Infineon] baseband chips, Samsung is entitled to damages. Based on the positions the court has taken on FRAND so far, it appears most likely to me that any such damages will be determined in light of Samsung’s FRAND licensing obligation. This means that whatever money Samsung can expect to get out of this litigation will, most likely, be rather limited.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Slowly the wheels turn.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Dan K.” for the heads up.]
A FRAND of the Devil.
… is a FRAND of mine.
Surely even Shamsuck’s legal department knew this outcome already and was just humoring the upper hysterical echelon of the company to even try. A pointless lawsuit and restriction to something they pledged to keep FRAND which defeats the whole purpose and opens up a kettle of fish if it was granted (which it won’t). You can’t have your cake and eat it too. This Emperor truly has no clothes or a case. I wish for trying though they could be stripped of the relevant patent rights to teach other companies not to go there too.
I like that idea – sounds similar to what’s happening to Righthaven on the copyright front – they have to sell the copyrights to the articles they originally sued people over to settle their debts.
I hear the sound of cracking and crumbling bones.
Samsung: Soooo screwed.
Glad to hear this NEWS.
Actually that place is called Rechtsbank – s’Gravenhage.
s’Gravenhage is the way the Dutch spell The Hague.
Rechtsbank – ‘s Gravenhage The ‘s = Des means from
The dutch call The Hague Den Haag
Weird
Grasping at straws