Samsung confident of proving innocence in EU antitrust probe

Samsung Electronics Co. is "confident" it can convince European investigators that it has abided by fair trade rules regarding its use of mobile patents, an official said Saturday.

"Samsung is confident that the European Union will conclude it did not violate rules in its practice of licensing patents to other mobile manufacturers" said a company official in Seoul.

Last week, the European Commission opened a formal investigation into Samsung's use of the third-generation wireless patents, saying that it will investigate if the South Korean firm is licensing its standards-essential patents to rivals under "fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms."

Standards-essential patents cover areas that are crucial in order to comply with industry standards, such as third-generation (3G) wireless technology. Unlike other patents, they should be licensed under fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms, known as FRAND.

The investigation came as patent disputes between Samsung and its U.S. mobile rival Apple Inc. have escalated in Europe and other countries.

The Korean firm, which holds a vast pool of patents related to the third-generation wireless technology, accused Apple of violating intellectual property rights while Apple, argued that Samsung's Galaxy series of devices copied the look and feel of Apple's iPhone, iPad and iPod products.

Samsung unseated Apple in 2011 to become the world's biggest seller of smartphones. It retained the No. 2 position in overall mobile phone sales last year, trailing behind Nokia Corp.