Apple may have won one trial against Samsung in its suite on infringement violations but it did not have the same luck with the trial in Tokyo, Japan. On Friday, a Japanese court issued a ruling in the bitter battle between the two technology giants in favor of Samsung, helping it bounce back from the slump its stock felt after the judgments against it in a United States court and later in South Korea too. Apple sued Samsung in Japan for 100 million Yen and has accused Samsung of stealing technology that relates to transferring music and video files.
The judge ruled in favor of Samsung because he felt that the products that are being claimed didn’t fit in with Apple’s line of devices and he found no legitimate link. The legal battle between them has high stakes around the world and reports from Bloomberg estimate the total worth of the market to be around $219billion. Apple won a lawsuit in the US for $1 billion and later in Suwon, South Korea for 25 million Won after it was ordered to pay Samsung 40 million Won for infringing on Samsung’s patents. It appears that the key patent is the bounce back effect used in screens in the iPhone and iPad.
In Japan, the lawsuit revolves around the technology that is used to synchronize videos and other media from the servers and the devices that were being targeted were the Galaxy S, SII and the Galaxy Tab. The decision came as a relief for Samsung which saw its shares drop significantly after the two prior rulings but the one in Tokyo sent them back up by 1.6% to 1.233 million Won in Seoul. On the other hand, Apple’s shares in Europe fell to 528.9 euros. It is unclear how much of a benefit this ruling is for Samsung as it doesn’t reveal sales figures for Japan. Excluding China and Korea, Samsung generates 12% of its revenue from Asia.
Prior to the ruling in Japan, a mixed judgment was handed out in Korea which resulted in the ban of both Apple and Samsung products. The iPhone 3GS, 4 and 4S and the iPad 2 were ordered off the market along with the Galaxy S, SII and Tab from Samsung. Apple is still seeking a permanent ban against Samsung’s products in the US.
