According to in Dutch-language Nu.nl, Samsung is stepping up its legal response to Apple’s copycat accusations in courts around the world and Samsung is seeking in the Netherlands to ban Apple’s mobile products which sport 3G capabilities, which includes iPhones and 3G iPads. The patents held by Samsung in this case are considered essential, which means that they must be provided to a rival given reasonable terms under European regulations and the patents are considered essential provides Apple a relatively easy out if it can negotiate reasonable licensing terms with Samsung……………..
Samsung made comments early Friday about going on the offensive with its ongoing patent dispute with Apple and now the Korean company just filed a complaint with The Hague, seeking a ban on all sales of Apple’s smartphones and tablets due to alleged infringement of four of its wireless mobile technology patents. Samsung has backed up claims that it would react to Apple’s patent claims aggressively by filing four cases in The Netherlands accusing the Cupertino-based company of infringing patents with its iPhone and iPad products that utilise 3G technology. News of the new lawsuit comes from Webwereld.nl, which details Samsung’s summary proceedings in The Hague, where the electronics giant has appealed for a Dutch trade and import ban on sales of all Apple’s smartphones and tablets. The ban is said to apply to Apple but also five other companies that are affiliated with Apple’s sales and distribution. The infringement and trade ban encompasses “in particular but not exclusively for the latest products from Apple iPhone 3G, iPhone 4, iPhone 1 and iPhone 2″ writes Samsung in its indictment. It also claims one million euros for each violation of the ban on sales and imports. Samsung’s lawyer noted that Samsung’s patents have been licensed by other mobile manufacturers but Apple has yet to do so, despite the fee for them being reasonable. Apple has sought to discuss terms on the licensing of the essential patents, which are required by law to be awarded to a rival on reasonable terms and this part of the case is set to be discussed next Monday, providing a way for Apple to settle over the patents before a ban is placed upon its smartphones and tablets. According to the Dutch news site, the patents included in the suit are:
European Patent (EP) 1114528 Samsung “the device for controlling a demultiplexer and a multiplexer for the matching of data rates (rate matching) in a mobile communication system, so the data according to the 3G standard wireless can be established between a mobile station, such as a mobile or tablet, and a base station. ”
EP 1478136 provides a method for controlling the speed of the uplink from mobile to base station, through which great strides to increase or decrease, which improves throughput.
EP 1097516 is for the data signal from a 3G device. And EP 1188269 relates to finally TFCI (Transport Format Combination Indicator) field that informs receiver on the data rate of the data that is transmitted by a mobile or tablet.
Samsung brings also other similar patents in contention against Apple in the courts including the United States, Britain, Germany, France, Japan and South Korea.
Samsung’s patents are so-called standard essential patents, they are actually part of the 3G and UMTS standards as laid down in the late nineties by various standardization organizations such as ETSI.
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