Samsung loses second patent claim against Apple in Germany
updated 05:00 am EST, Fri January 27, 2012
Second Samsung 3G claim tossed in two weeks
Samsung has suffered its second patent loss against Apple in as many weeks. The company has said that a German court has ruled that its second of three patent claims related to 3G/UMTS has been rejected. The latest blow in its bitter ongoing legal battle with Apple comes after the same court ruled that the first of the three patents that it is asserting against Apple was also rejected. The Mannheim court has reserved its decision on the third of Samsung’s 3G claims until March 2.
The judge presiding over the case, Andreas Voss, again chose not to offer the rationale behind the court’s rejection of the Samsung patent. According to FOSS Patents’ Florian Mueller who attended the hearing, that Samsung is better positioned in the third of 3G/UMTS and may be able to obtain some leverage on Apple in any potential settlement between the two tech titans.
Apple has repeatedly argued that the 3G/UMTS chipsets that it uses in the iPhone are produced by Qualcomm, which already has a licensing agreement Samsung to use its technology in its chipsets. Apple has insisted that Samsung is trying to double-dip. Whether the German court agrees with Apple’s position or has dismissed the two claims for other reasons remains unclear.
As with the first loss, Samsung has the right to appeal the ruling, although it hasn’t indicated whether it will on either claim as yet. [via Reuters]
Grizzled Veteran
Joined: Oct 1999
No rationale?
How can a judge provide a verdict without explaining the decision-making process behind it? Whilst Apple's victory is welcome, coming on the back of an essentially inexplicable (given that no explanation is provided) verdict, Samsung will doubtless appeal this decision and the merry-go-round will continue.