• MOST READ

• LATEST NEWS

Samsung has abandoned all attempts to play nice with Apple, its legal antagonist (though still one of its largest customers). It has gone on the offensive in a Dutch lawsuit, claiming the iPhone maker infringes its patents "structurally" - and it has enlisted Verizon Wireless to its cause, highlighting cellcos' concern that Apple is becoming too powerful.

Although Samsung has countersued Apple in three continents, its legal response to the string of patent and design infringement suits has been relatively low-key, given that the Korean firm is one of the world's largest IPR holders. Apple's weakness, in patent terms, is in areas of fundamental cellular and chip technology, as shown by its climbdown compromise with Nokia earlier this year. This is where Samsung is strong, and its relative reticence in deploying its heavy ammunition has been assumed to be an attempt to keep Apple on board as a customer for memory, processors and displays.

"Apple just entered the market in 2008 without taking care of the licences," said Bas Berghuis van Woortman, a lawyer for Simmons & Simmons, which is representing Samsung. He told the court in The Hague: "Apple is consciously, structurally infringing the 3G patents." This echoes the claims made by Nokia, which also argued, before the two companies' settlement, that Apple had ignored the need to licence fundamental wireless IPR, which is widely paid-for by other handset makers.

Samsung has four lawsuits against Apple in The Netherlands, and the first hearing was held this week. The firm is seeking an injunction against the iPhone and iPad. Apple responded, saying the patent licences concerned are covered by its use of Intel chipsets in iPhones.

"When we entered the market we did have patent licences," said Rutger Kleemans, a lawyer for Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, representing Apple in the Netherlands. Samsung wants to get 2.4% of the chip price for the patents in question, which he argued was "excessive". He also revealed that the two companies are in negotiations over 3G licences, making an injunction premature - and suggesting that Apple sees a need to come to a settlement in a legal field where it is more exposed than in its familiar strongholds of user experience and software.

Samsung insists its can still hit its tablet sales target for this year despite Apple's injunction attempts. It aims to increase slate sales fivefold compared to 2010 and the firm's mobile chief, JK Shin, says that is still on track. Samsung is thought to have sold about 1.6m Galaxy Tabs last year. Shin said it is also on course to sell over 300m handsets this year, including over 10m Galaxy S II models.

Meanwhile, Samsung can count Verizon Wireless as an ally, even though the US carrier is now an iPhone vendor. The cellco has submitted a formal request to a Californian court to file a 'friend of the court' submission in defence of Samsung. It claims an injunction against Samsung products in the US would reduce the range of LTE devices Verizon could offer and so restrict its 4G freedom of movement. According to FOSS Patents, the filing, if accepted, would allow Verizon to intervene as a third party in the US case.

Pages: 1 | 2

Related Stories

COMMENTS

No comments yet. Be the first to add a comment!

Carrier Broadband Performance: Africa & Middle East
Carriers are using mobile broadband as their weapon of choice in the fight against the commoditization of voice and falling ARPU. This...

Voice over LTE: Market Analysis and Forecasts
VoLTE offer unique advantages in lowering a carrier's voice infrastructure economics and promises to improve voice quality, device...