By Kim Yoo-chul, Cho Mu-hyun
The ongoing battle between Samsung Electronics and Apple over patents is heading toward a critical phase after both companies withdrew some infringement claims.
Samsung is still officially saying it has no plan to sign a cross-licensing agreement with the California-based company, while Apple spokesman in Korea declined to give any updates on the situation. Samsung said it has trimmed its number of claims in a broad intellectual-property lawsuit about smartphones and tablets after an order from U.S. district court judge Lucy Koh.