Japanese Court Gives Samsung Apple Patent Victory

Samsung has been given a boost this morning after a Japanese court ruled that it did not infringe one of arch-rival Apple’s patents in its mobile devices, a week after the Korean firm lost to Apple in the US, in the previous round of the worldwide Samsung Apple patent wars.

Apple claimed that Samsung had not violated a patent that allowed users to synchronise music and video files with a computer, but a judge said that the Korean manufacturer had not copied the feature and rejected Apple’s bid to receive 100m Yen (£805,000)  in compensation. The figure reflected the typically low amounts of compensation awarded by Japanese courts.

Samsung Apple Patent

According to the Financial Times, Samsung has welcomed the decision, parading it as proof that its products do not infringe Apple’s intellectual property.

Last week, the company was delivered a substantial blow when a US court ruled that several Samsung smartphones infringed Apple’s design and software patents. The US District Court for the Northern District of California ordered Samsung to pay just over $1 billion (£664m) in compensation.

The Galaxy S III manufacturer’s share price slumped by 12.5 percent following the decision, but recovered slightly after Apple’s bid to have eight Samsung smartphones banned in the US was scuppered.

Apple wanted the Samsung  Galaxy S 4G, Galaxy S2 AT&T model, Galaxy S2 Skyrocket, Galaxy S2 T-Mobile model, Galaxy S2 Epic 4G, Galaxy S Showcase, Droid Charge and Galaxy Prevail to be taken off shelves, but its case will not be held until 6 December.

The Japanese court’s decision has improved Samsung’s share price slightly, further aiding its recovery after it slumped by 12.5 percent after the US ruling, wiping $12 billion off the company’s value.

What do you know about Samsung? Find out with our quiz!