Samsung loses patent suit against Apple in South Korea

Samsung Electronics, the world’s top smartphone maker, lost a patent lawsuit in South Korea against its arch-rival Apple after a Seoul court ruled that the iPhone maker did not violate Samsung’s patents.

The Seoul Central District Court ruled on Thursday that among three patents Samsung claimed Apple infringed on, two patents cannot be accepted as Samsung’s unique, leading-edge technology and the other cannot be viewed as the same technology between Samsung and Apple, reported Xinhua.

The three technologies under the legal dispute included those related with multi-tasking service while writing text messages.

Samsung and Apple, the world’s top two smartphone makers, have been embroiled in a legal battle called “patent war of the century”, in more than 10 countries across the globe.

In November, a US jury issued a verdict that ordered Samsung to pay Apple $290 million in damages for copying key features of its iPhone and iPad devices.

The figure was lower than the $1.05 billion damages, imposed by the previous jury in August 2012, but higher than $52.7 million Samsung sought to pay. Apple requested $379.8 million in damages from Samsung.

In a separate lawsuit in August 2012, Samsung won Apple after another Seoul court ruled that the Cupertino-based iPhone maker infringed on Samsung’s two standard patents for data transmission technology.