HONG KONG, (Yonhap) -- A patent battle spanning four continents between the world's two top smartphone makers Samsung Electronics Co. and Apple Inc. will not likely impact the Chinese market, an expert said.
Stan Abrams, a Beijing-based lawyer who specializes in intellectual property and information technology, said Chinese consumers will not be affected immediately from the results of a series of legal suits that Samsung Electronics and Apple have been waging against each other.
"Keep in mind that patents are territorial, so if Apple wants to replicate its victory over Samsung here, it must first have the requisite patent portfolio, and then it would have to file in a Chinese court," he said.
Abrams said it is unclear which of Apple's patents are recognized in China, making it difficult for the California-based company to file lawsuits in the world's largest smartphone market.
He said that Apple could go after the Chinese manufacturers that produce Google's Android operating system-based smartphones, such as Huawei Technologies Co. and ZTE Corp., following a U.S. jury verdict last month, which was in favor of Apple over Samsung.
However, the companies will figure out a way to minimize the pain, as the industry is fast growing and Android is a flexible operating system, he said.
Last month, a California federal jury ordered Samsung Electronics to pay the iPhone maker US$1.05 billion in compensation, saying it infringed some of Apple's patents for mobile devices.
While the decision has yet to be finalized until Judge Lucy Koh makes her ruling, which is expected within a few weeks, the verdict has cast dark clouds over Samsung's booming sales of smartphones and tablet computers in the U.S. market.
Meanwhile, Samsung's smartphones outsold rival Apple Inc.'s iPhones by nearly threefold in China in the first half of this year, proving the South Korean tech firm's prowess in the world's largest mobile phone market.
Samsung Electronics sold 14.4 million units of smartphones in China in the January-June period, claiming the No. 1 position with a 20.8 percent market share, according to market researcher IHS iSuppli.
Apple sold 5.2 million units of its global hit iPhone in China during the same period, ranking seventh with its market share standing at 7.5 percent.