By Kim Yoo-chul
Internet giant Google has sided with Samsung Electronics in the ongoing patent battle against iPhone maker Apple.
Florian Mueller, German-based patent expert who runs popular FossPatents blog, wrote that Google and Taiwan’s HTC filed the court brief on behalf of Samsung, Monday, urging the U.S. Federal Court of Appeals to rule against Apple’s request for an Android device sales ban in the two firm’s patent fight.
Mueller said the brief stated that companies shouldn’t be restricted because of what they see as a trivial feature that infringes on a patent.
The expert stressed the “amici curiae” isn’t a big surprise since the devices listed in Apple’s permanent injunction request all run the company’s Android OS.
“HTC’s brief is likely a pre-emptive move since it could face an injunction at some point over violating part of the licensing agreement it has with Apple,” Mueller wrote.
Taiwan’s HTC has criticized Samsung by alleging that its biggest Korean rival in smartphones used dirty advertisement tactics for an increased market share in Taiwan.
Since Apple brought Samsung to court a few years ago, Google was consistent in helping Samsung to offer modified technology and to provide legal support as Samsung is the representative in the entire Android system that fights with the Apple iOS.
But it’s surprise that Google made public its commitment against Apple in this highly-sensitive issue, according to sources at Samsung and other industry executives in Seoul, Wednesday.
Attention is being shifted whether or not the alliance will have a visible impact on the Samsung-Apple disputes.
U.S. federal judge Lucy Koh nearly halved Samsung’s payment to Apple as she believed the California verdict in August, last year, wasn’t fair and there were some errors in damage calculations.
Google’s move came a week after Google CEO Larry Page met with Samsung Vice Chairman Lee Jay-yong recently in Seoul to level up their corporate ties.
“The move is symbolic as the gravity of smartphones is moving toward Google’s android and its supporters did not side with Apple’s iOS. Also, the announcement will clear away any concerns about its partnership with Samsung,” said an Samsung source.
Google and HTC aren’t the only companies that voluntarily filed their brief to the appeals court in the United States. SAP and Red Hat, which supply Linux software and the web-hosting firm Rackspace, also sided with Samsung.