The judge ruled on Friday that the South Korean technology giant had not violated Apple patents by copying a feature of the US group’s iPhone and iPad mobile devices that allows them to synchronise music and video files with computers.
Samsung welcomed the Japanese ruling, saying it confirmed its position that its products do not infringe Apple’s intellectual property. Samsung shares closed up 1.5 per cent, erasing earlier losses, as investors took comfort from the latest court decision.
The suit was part of a web of patent claims launched by both companies in courts across the world. Last week, a California jury awarded Apple $1bn damages after it found that Samsung had unfairly copied a number of its design and user-interface innovations.
Apple had also sued Samsung in Samsung’s home country, with less success. A South Korean court dismissed Apple’s claim that Samsung had copied the iPhone’s design, though it ruled that both companies had infringed patents in other areas. Sales of more than a dozen Apple and Samsung tablets and smartphone models have been banned.
The Japanese suit was more narrowly focused, targeting only the synchronisation feature, but the potential impact was significant. The iPhone has been the top-selling smartphone in Japan for most of the period since its introduction but Samsung’s Galaxy devices have been making inroads. The Galaxy SIII displaced the iPhone 4S at the top of the sales rankings immediately after its launch in late June.
Apple had been asking for just Y100m ($1.3m) in damages, a reflection in part of the small compensation awards typically granted by Japanese courts.
It is not clear how important Japan is for Samsung as a single market, as Samsung does not provide sales figures for the country. But analysts estimate that Asia excluding China accounts for about one-fifth of Samsung’s mobile phone shipments.
Analysts cautioned against reading too much into the latest court ruling. “There are dozens of court cases around the world involving their patent disputes,” said Park Young-joo, analyst at Woori Investment & Securities. “The rulings made in the three countries so far are unlikely to affect the other pending cases.” Mr Park predicted that it would take three to four years for all the cases to be resolved.
He added that the court cases probably would not affect Samsung’s future earnings a great deal because Apple’s lawsuits target old models and the Korean group is already designing its new products and working round the problematic features.
Samsung on Wednesday unveiled the world’s first smartphone running on the Windows 8 operating system at the IFA trade fair in Berlin. It also launched a new version of its popular Galaxy Note smartphone, running Google’s Android platform.
