Samsung decides 3G lawsuit strategy not working

Samsung has switched up its attempts to countersue Apple, according to reports from the key battleground court in Mannheim, Germany. The Korean firm was said by Florian Mueller to have given up its failed attempts to sue Apple over 3G standards. It now accepts Apple's point of view that the 3G license was already covered by paying for the Qualcomm chip in devices like the iPhone 4S, although it didn't waive the right to leverage 3G patents again.

Dropping the Qualcomm challenge was mostly to streamline a case, Samsung claimed. More likely, the withdrawal was coming after Samsung saw attempts to use 3G as a legal weapon fail in the Netherlands and in France, setting precedents that could hand Apple wins in other countries with similar laws.

The company refused to step down, however, and instead sued Apple again over four patents. Two of these were based on standards while two weren't restricted. The last two are more likely to hold as the first two might be subject to FRAND (fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory) conditions. Their exact nature isn't yet clear.

Samsung has usually been on the receiving end of legal penalties in Germany, having not only faced a preliminary ban on Galaxy Tab models in the country but a ban on the attempted patent-safe redesign of the Tab 10.1.

By Electronista Staff

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