The Hague: A Dutch court today rejected a
bid by Samsung to ban sales of rival Apple's 3G phones and
tablet devices, the latest round in a worldwide legal battle
over alleged patent infringements.
The judges in District Court of The Hague rejected
Samsung's request in a decision published online.
Samsung had argued that Apple had infringed patents on
several aspects of its 3G, or third-generation, telephone
technology.
The court acknowledged that the South Korean company did
hold the patents in question, but said they met the criteria
of technology that could be used by other companies.
The ruling noted that Samsung had in 1998 signed a
declaration saying it was willing to grant such FRAND --
"fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory" -- licences.
"Samsung is thus obliged to grant a licence to Apple
according to the terms of FRAND for the patents concerned in
this affair," the judges concluded.
On August 24 the same court, acting on a complaint filed
by Apple, banned three Samsung models in several European
countries.
The Federal Court of Australia yesterday granted Apple a
temporary ban on Samsung sales its Galaxy Tab 10.1 in
Australia, the latest in a series of legal victories for the
US giant.
Apple won a similar ban on the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Germany
earlier this month.
PTI
First Published: Monday, November 14, 2011, 09:03