By Kim Yoo-chul
Apple’s patent infringement litigation is “an attack on Google’s Android open source operating system,” experts said Wednesday.
This means that the long-running battle has developed into a war between the two major operating systems (OS) — Apple’s iOS and Google Android — not just devices.
The reaction came after Apple sought $2 billion in damages from Samsung in an opening argument of a second patents lawsuit in San Jose. Samsung is seeking about $7 million from Apple for infringing two of its patents.
“This is a war about Google and Apple, not Samsung and Apple,” Yoon Seon-hee, chairman of the Korea Industry Property Law Association (KIPLA), said.
“Apple’s strategy is clear. It wants to crush Google Android. From Apple’s perspective that makes sense as it was the creator of the smartphone,” said Yoon.
“But history tells us that innovation has been accelerated and powered by new market players and additional investments. Apple’s ‘my way’ strategy will result in it being isolated.”
In opening arguments, Samsung’s lawyers said it didn’t copy Apple patents and even Google Nexus was developed “independently.” Nexus was a reference phone that it manufactures but was based entirely on Google Android software with no enhancements from Samsung.
Before starting the second court case in the same battle ground as the first with the same Judge Lucy H. Koh, Samsung signed licensing deals with Google, CISCO and IBM.
Market experts say the move was a strategic appeal to the industry showing that Samsung is seeking mutual interests, according to patent attorneys in Seoul and Samsung sources contacted by The Korea Times.
Samsung claimed Apple’s patents are not nearly as broad or important as it claims in seeking $2 billion in damages, double the amount that Samsung was ordered to pay in the first case.
“Samsung is surely not asking too much from Apple. The amount of royalties is not that important. What’s more important is that Samsung plans to offer expanded consumer choices by maintaining strategic partnerships with patent holders and device manufacturers,” said an industry official, who’s been tracking the Samsung-Apple issue since the start.
An official at the Korea Intellectual Property Office said Apple wants its patents to be “overly protected.”