Samsung-Apple dispute takes new turn
Shin Jong-kyun Samsung Electronics co-CEO
iPhone 5, Galaxy S3 at center of future patent battle
By Kim Yoo-chul
The legal dispute between Samsung Electronics and Apple is expected to deepen this year as the Korean electronics giant has no intention to seek a truce after both sides failed to find middle ground.
Samsung is expected to beef up its partnership with major technology firms, including Google, and to strengthen its patent portfolio to tip the balance of the dispute in its favor.
Mediation talks between Samsung and Apple CEOs organized by U.S. District Court Judge Lucy H. Koh, who has been presiding over the highly publicized legal battle between the two tech giants over the past two years, failed to produce any breakthrough.
The two firms are scheduled to meet in the San Jose district court again from March 31, according to officials at Samsung Electronics.
This time, the companies are awaiting judgment from a new U.S. jury about patent infringement suits they filed against each other regarding their newer products such as Apple’s iPhone 5, iPad 4, iPad Mini, iPod Touch and MacBook Pro, and Samsung’s Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note 2.
“It’s unlikely that our legal battle with Apple will end in the foreseeable future,” Samsung Electronics’ mobile chief and one of the company’s three CEOs Shin Jong-kyun told reporters at a news conference Tuesday at this year’s Mobile World Congress exhibition in the Spanish city of Barcelona, Monday.
While the top Samsung executive is usually outspoken about pending issues, he declined to provide specific details on this one.
Judge Koh is expected to issue her final ruling in the first round of the Samsung-Apple battle this month. Samsung is expected to pay Apple some 1 trillion won in damages. The judge will decide the payment amount, which Samsung officials said they will take their fight to the U.S. Court of Appeals.
“Samsung Electronics has had a principle that it seeks to end legal battles by signing comprehensive cross-licensing deals if our corporate pride is respected. In the Apple case, Apple is demanding too much, which is intolerable,” said a Samsung official by telephone.
The two parties failed to reach a truce, according to Samsung, mainly because Apple wants Samsung to pay so much in return for using some of Apple’s design-related patents.
According to legal documents that Apple filed with the San Jose district court, Apple wants Samsung to pay $30 per Samsung device that uses Google’s Android software. Meanwhile, Apple wants to pay less than $1 per Apple device that uses Samsung wireless patents.
“Apple believes the use of standard essential patents should be more open by paying cheaper royalties. Samsung said its wireless patents, a result of long-time investments, should be respected with higher royalty payments. The fight is like a race between two fast trains without a crossing point,” said an official at the Korea Patent Attorneys Association by telephone.
Samsung has refused to sign Apple’s “anti-cloning agreement” and will try to show a new jury that the first round of the legal battle was partly tainted by nationalism and protectionism by biased jurors, according to the KPAA official.
Florian Mueller, a global patent expert who runs the software patent blog Foss Patents, said anti-cloning and money were the top concerns of the companies during the first round of the legal battle and the corporate reputation of Samsung hasn’t been tarnished by what happened.
“I’m sure Samsung can live with this outcome. So can its lawyers. I absolutely support Samsung with respect to the ‘915 pinch-to-zoom patent. The United States Patent and Trademark Office believes by now that the ‘915 patent is invalid. It would not be fair to enforce an injunction over it,” Mueller said in an e-mail to The Korea Times.
Patent experts in Seoul said attorneys from Samsung and Apple will also clash over patent values in the second round of the legal battle in the U.S. Court of Appeals. However, they cautiously said Samsung is forming a united front with major technology companies to better respond to its issues with Apple.
“Samsung’s latest moves involve ending legal issues with Google, Ericsson and Cisco and signing licensing deals with them, which will make the Korean company more ready to address its ongoing troubles with Apple ,” said another Samsung official.
Samsung is also strengthening its patent portfolios. The Korea Intellectual Property Office said Samsung has the second-highest number of patent registrations in the United States. “IFI Claims Patent Services data shows that Samsung filed 4,646 patents in the United States last year, while IBM filed 6,478 patents,” said a KIPO official.
Samsung expects to win in the U.S. Court of Appeals as the court will review only the patent infringements and will not consider the results from the San Jose district court.
Meanwhile, Samsung mobile chief Shin said Samsung, already the world’s biggest smartphone vendor, will also significantly grow its tablet business, an area currently led by Apple. Samsung officials say this is a strategic decision to create an “axis of smart devices” and help the company better position itself for a new round of talks with Apple.