In light of Apple and HTC’s licensing agreement earlier this month, Samsung took the opportunity to express its desire to never settle with the Cupertino company in such a manner. In light of a recent Dutch court’s decision, however, the Korean outfit may be forced to retract that statement, for failure to comply with a sales ban on All Galaxy devices running Android 2.2.1 and higher will leave the LCD specialist forced to pay fines of up to €100,000 ($129,000) per day.
The Dutch court ruled that “Galaxy products that infringe on an Apple patent describing a way to scroll through a photo gallery using a touchscreen” are subject to the ban, which, in effect, covers every Galaxy device currently on the market. Although the decision is only relevant in the Netherlands, it’s a loss that will leave a sour taste in light of the $1.05 billion award in Apple’s favor, following another recent court hearing in San Jose.
The two companies, both of whom account for the majority market share in the mobile market, have been embroiled in a global patent dispute for the past couple of years, and despite the recent case in which Samsung was ordered to pay that astronomical amount of compensation (a ruling the company is naturally appealing against), things show no sign of petering out.
If anything, the animosity is as raw as ever, and although Tim Cook not so long ago described the Galaxy maker as an “important manufacturing partner,” both companies have been seen to be distancing themselves from each other in a professional sense.
The gloves have been off for a long while now, but Samsung will have to settle with the Dutch court’s decision, or face the significant sanctions declared by the courts. Still, although I don’t know how much Galaxy sales in Holland are worth to Samsung, if they equate to more than the €100,000 mark, I can’t see the company taking the decision lying down.
The main United States hearing, overseen US Magistrate Judge Paul Grewal, isn’t scheduled to proceed until 2014, but already, both parties have keenly added the majority of the other’s devices to the list of infringing products.
We’ll keep you updated on this ongoing saga.
(via BGR)
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