ITC rules Apple doesn't infringe Samsung patents

THE UNITED STATES International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled on Friday that the Apple Iphone and Ipad do not infringe Samsung's patents, marking another victory for Apple in the rivals' global patent war.

ITC Judge James Gildea said in a preliminary ruling on Friday that Apple did not infringe the four patents involved in Samsung's complaint.

Samsung told The INQUIRER that it is confident the ruling will be overturned when the case is heard in full in January 2013.

"We remain confident that the full Commission will ultimately reach a final determination that affirms our position that Apple must be held accountable for free-riding on our technological innovations," read Samsung's statement.

"We are proud of our long history of innovation in the mobile industry and will continue to defend our intellectual property rights."

The decision is another win for Apple in its ongoing global patent war. Apple previously won a $1bn jury verdict against Samsung in a US lawsuit.

Apple and Samsung's legal battle began in the US in 2011 after Apple accused Samsung of "slavishly copying" Apple's Ipad designs with its Galaxy tablets.

Samsung subsequently responded to the accusation with its own patent infringement claims.

Samsung and Apple's patent war has since escalated and gone global, with the two companies embroiled in approximately 50 patent lawsuits across 10 countries.

Despite the rulings, sales of Samsung's products have remained strong, with its flagship Galaxy S3 smartphone breaking the 20 million sales milestone earlier in September.

Apple was unavailable for comment at the time of publication. µ

This article was originally published on V3.