A Tokyo court has ruled that Samsung Electronics did not violate an Apple (AAPL) patent involved in synching smartphones and tablets with media devices, Bloomberg News reported this morning.
“It’s hard to believe the products belong to the range of technologies of the claimant,” Tokyo District Judge Tamotsu Shoji said in dismissing Apple’s 100 million yen ($1.27 million) case, filed by the US company in August last year.
Samsung, the world’s largest maker of mobile phones, curretnly holding about 35% of the market, welcomed today’s verdict that said its products did not infringe on Apple’s technological scope.
“We welcome the court’s decision, which confirmed our long-held position that our products do not infringe Apple’s intellectual property…The verdict recognizes the lawfulness of our company. We think it is very appropriate,” Samsung said in a statement following the ruling from the Tokyo court.
Apple has 30 days to file an appeal.
Samsung and Apple are currently embroiled in similar patent disputes being litigated on four continents with Apple claiming Samsung smartphones, that use Google (GOOG)’s Android mobile operating system, illegally used Apple designs, ideas or technology.
In one such case, a federal jury in California ruled last week heavily in Apple’s favor on a number of patents, ordering Samsung to pay the Cupertino, Calif.-based maker of the hit iPhone and iPad $1.05 billion, an amount that could still increase for deliberate violations of intellectual property.
While this is a legal victory for Samsung, which is already facing the prospect of a US ban on its smartphones and computer tablets in the US market, it is only a small part in the ongoing legal wars between the two tech giants fighting for supremacy in the smartphone market, estimated to be worth $219 billion.
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