A GERMAN court has dismissed two cases brought by Apple and Samsung Electronics against each other as part of a global battle for dominance in the market for smartphones and tablet devices.
The regional court of Mannheim rejected Samsung’s bid to protect mathematical coding procedures as well as Apple’s case over features for unlocking touch screens.
Neither company showed a patent was infringed, Judge Andreas Voss said when delivering the rulings. Samsung lost because “the standard doesn’t protect the result but the way to reach the code”, Judge Voss added. Apple did not prevail because Samsung’s devices “don’t use a displayed pre-determined path on the touch screen”.
The two cases were among a flurry of patent disputes being brought to courts in Germany, as well as other countries around the world, as makers of smartphones and tablets compete for a market worth billions of dollars.
The Mannheim court had already ruled against Samsung regarding two other patents in January. There are cases over four other patents held by Samsung and several by Apple pending there.
The court is expected to make a decision on March 16th on another slide-to-unlock suit Apple has brought against Samsung.
The Korean firm said in a statement yesterday it welcomed the court’s decision to dismiss Apple’s claims, which it said confirmed its position that the Galaxy range was distinctive and did not infringe Apple’s intellectual property.
Apple was not immediately available to comment.
Apple first sued Samsung in April, claiming that the maker of the Galaxy range of smartphones and tablets “slavishly” copied Apple’s iPhone and iPad models.
Samsung also said it was disappointed that the court dismissed its patent case against Apple, which concerned 3G/UMTS-essential patents, and said it would lodge an appeal with the higher regional court in Karlsruhe.
The court in Karlsruhe earlier this week handed Apple a legal success over rival Motorola Mobility Holdings in a separate dispute, saying Motorola could no longer ask Apple to halt sales of iPhone and iPad devices for now.
Apple is also involved in patent battles with other smartphone makers using Google’s free Android platform. – (Reuters)
