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Thu, March 30, 2023 | 14:38
Tech
Samsung, Apple unlikely to reconcile
'삼성, 애플 요구 수용 어려워'
Posted : 2014-01-22 16:29
Updated : 2014-01-22 16:29
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By Kim Yoo-chul

Florian Mueller
Florian Mueller
A leading intellectual property expert said Wednesday that Samsung Electronics and Apple are unikely to reach a compromise at the upcoming court-requested high-level mediation talks because of an "anti-cloning provision."

"Apple's insistence on an anti-cloning provision is probably going to be a key issue. Financial terms will be another one. I don't doubt both parties' intention to work out a deal, but they may be too far apart at this point," said German-based patent expert Florian Mueller in an e-mail interview.

A recent court filing confirmed that Apple is demanding that any potential patent-litigation settlement with Samsung includes an anti-cloning provision. Samsung's mobile boss Shin Jong-kyun plans to meet Apple CEO Tim Cook within the next month for talks.

Samsung Electronics is still eager to enter a comprehensive cross-licensing deal with Apple, allowing Samsung to access all of Apple's design and non-design patents. Samsung has so far preferred to resolve intellectual property issues through licensing.

B.J. Watrous, Apple's chief intellectual property counsel, said in a filing late last week with the U.S. District Court for Northern California that such a provision would prohibit future Samsung products from copying the design of Apple's mobile devices.

Mueller said the ongoing dispute with Samsung Electronics, the world's biggest smartphone manufacturer, is of far greater strategic importance to Apple.

"And that fact doesn't make it easy to reach an agreement. If Samsung is unwilling to sign, it's probably because Apple is asking for concessions that Samsung believes aren't justified by the leverage Apple actually has in court at this stage," the leading expert answered.

Taiwan's HTC, which is also a member of "Google Alliance" in the disputes, has previously accepted the provision to end the legal battle. "HTC was a low-priority rival for Apple because of its diminishing market share," Mueller said.

Samsung is currently in the phase of "judgment as a matter of law (JMOL)" with presiding Judge Lucy H. Koh after it is ordered to pay almost $1 billion to Apple.

This coming March, the two consumer electronics titans will head back to court in California over a dispute involving a different set of patents, including some that involve Samsung's flagship Galaxy S3 smartphone. Koh will preside over that trial , too.

In a question of what could be needed for Samsung to get a favorable offer from Apple before reaching an agreement, the expert said; "There are two scenarios in which Samsung can get a favorable deal. It either needs to gain leverage over Apple from its own lawsuits or it has to keep defending itself vigorously against Apple's claims for some more time and get some key Apple patents declared invalid in major markets like the U.S. and Germany."

Mueller stressed Apple is now relying on potentially-stronger patents that are more technical and less design-oriented, which means Samsung is being strategically situated.

"If Samsung could prove that Apple infringes one or more of its non-standard-essential patents, that would be a significant breakthrough," he responded to The Korea Times.

A previous decision by Samsung for a settlement with Microsoft over patents disputes in 2011 could be a positive factor in two ways, according to the expert.

"One, Samsung does not have to fight on yet another front — Apple, Ericsson and various U.S. patent trolls are enough to keep a legal department busy. Two, it shows that Samsung is, in principle, willing to resolve intellectual property issues through licensing."

In the handset business, Samsung rose to the global top and it also added up its brand recognition by leading consultancies. But it is still facing challenges in intellectual properties, though values of patents are differed by many.

Mueller said Samsung's primary challenge is to prevail on some non-standard essential patents at some point because those are unencumbered by FRAND licensing obligations and can give Samsung more leverage.

According to his observation, Samsung has fared well in disputes.

"Samsung has proven amazing defensive strengths: it has shot down some key Apple patents, especially but not only in Germany; it has avoided infringement findings over some others; and to the extent that Apple won injunctions, Samsung has time and time again found ways to work around them without losing market share anywhere," he observed.


'삼성, 애플 요구 수용 어려워'

비표준특허 지키는데 사활 걸어야
일부 애플 특허 무효화해야 전환점 마련

“삼성전자는 애플이 특허 소송 협상 조건으로 요구하는 ‘복제 금지 조항 (anti-cloning provision)’을 받아들이기 어려울 것이다” 

22일 특허 전문 블로그 포스페이턴츠 (Foss Patents) 운영자인 플로리안 뮬러는 코리아타임스와의 이메일 인터뷰에서 이 같이 주장하며 삼성전자가 애플과 극적으로 화해할 가능성이 낮을 것으로 내다봤다.

뮬러는 삼성이 애플 주장을 요구할 수 없는 이유로 크게 두 가지를 들었다. 세계 1위 스마트폰 제조업체로써의 자존심이 허락하지 않는 다는 것과 애플의 현재 스마트폰 시장 점유율이 법정 다툼에서의 승리를 담보하기 어렵다는 것이다. 

시장조사업체기관에 따르면 삼성전자의 전 세계 스마트폰 점유율은 30% 안팎, 애플은 20%에 미치지 못한다.

뮬러는 “만약 삼성전자가 애플과 특허분쟁을 끝낼 준비가 되어 있지 않다면 그것은 애플의 현재 시장에서의 위치가 몇몇 국가들에서 거둔 법적 승리를 충분히 뒷받침 하지 못하기 때문”이라며 “대만의 스마트폰 제조업체인 HTC의 경우 ‘복제 금지 조항’을 받아들여 애플과의 분쟁이 종결됐지만, 삼성전자의 경우 애플과의 싸움이 전략적으로 매우 중요한 의미를 가지고 있기 때문에 양 사가 합의에 도달하기 쉽지 않을 것”이라고 말했다.

삼성전자와 애플의 최고 경영자는 내달 만나 특허분쟁 해결 방안을 논의한다. 삼성전자 입장에서는 애플의 이 같은 요구를 수용할 경우 ‘애플을 베꼈다’고 스스로 인정하는 꼴이 되기 때문에 절대 받아들일 수 없다는 것이 관계자들의 전언이다.

뮬러는 “복제 금지 조항이 양사 최고 경영자들간의 회동에서 주요 이슈가 될 것으로 본다”며 “배상 금액 여부는 다른 차원이며 양 사가 분쟁을 끝내려는 의도가 있다는 데에서는 의심의 여지가 없지만 그러기엔 너무 멀리 왔다”고 덧붙였다.

삼성전자가 협상에서 우위를 점하기 위해 필요한 조건에 대해서 뮬러는 “현재 진행중인 분쟁에서 물러설 수 없다는 더 강경한 입장을 취함과 동시에 미국과 독일 같은 몇몇 주요 국가들에서 애플이 주장하는 일부 핵심 특허를 무효화 시키는 노력이 필요하다”고 답했다.

올 3월부터 시작되는 2차 본안소송 전망에 대해 그는 “양 사가 매우 전략적인 상황에 처해 있음은 예전과 다르지 않지만 한 가지 짚고 넘어가야 할 부분은 애플이 디자인 특허 비중을 줄이고 기술 특허 포트폴리오를 강화하고 있다는 점”이라며 “삼성전자가 애플이 비 표준필수특허를 침해했다고 입증하게 되면 이는 매우 의미있는 전환점이 될 것으로 본다”고 내다봤다.

지난 2011년 마이크로소프트와 특허 분쟁을 종결한 점은 삼성전자에 유리하게 작용할 수 있을 것으로 내다봤다. 애플 이외에 삼성전자와 크게 특허 분쟁을 벌이고 있는 벌이고 있는 회사가 없다는 것이 그 이유다.

뮬러는 “마이크로소프트와 특허 분쟁을 종결한 것은 두 가지 측면에서 삼성전자에 고무적인데 첫번째는 삼성전자는 애플에만 집중할 수 있다는 점이며 두번째는 원칙적으로 삼성전자가 크로스라이센싱을 통해 지적재산권 분쟁을 종결할 의지가 있음을 보여주는 것”이라고 분석했다.

애플과 스웨덴의 통신장비 거물인 에릭슨 등은 현재 크고 작은 법적 분쟁에 시달리고 있다.

뮬러는 삼성전자 비표준특허와 관련한 공세를 강화해야 할 것이라고 조언했다. 비표준특허는 표준특허와 달리 특허권자가 가치를 충분히 요구할 수 있기 때문에 이 분야에 대한 전략적인 접근이 필요하다는 것이다.

그는 “애플이 독일 법원에서 유틸리티 기술 특허 관련해 승리를 거두지 못했기 때문에 항소 법원에서 기술 특허 비침해 입증을 위해 사력을 다 할것으로 예상돼 삼성전자는 이에 대한 대비를 철저히 해야 한다”며 “그동안 삼성전자가 애플의 공세를 잘 견뎌왔다는 점은 훌륭히 평가할 만 하며 특허 분쟁에도 시장점유율을 꾸준히 높이고 있고 몇몇 애플 특허를 무효화 시키는 등 자신들의 특허를 지킬 수 있다는 점을 확실하게 입증하고 있다”고 평했다.
Emailyckim@koreatimes.co.kr Article ListMore articles by this reporter
 
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