Korean FTC rejects Apple’s allegations of Samsung wrongly using its SEPs in patent lawsuits

The Korea Fair Trade Commission has rejected Apple’s claims of Samsung unfairly using its SEPs (Standard Essential Patents) during ongoing patent lawsuits against competitors, with Apple being one of them. The KFTC has cited that Samsung’s actions aren’t infringing Korea’s antitrust laws. Samsung is required to license its patents to interested parties under FRAND (fair, reasonable and non discriminatory) regulations. But Apple’s original complaint from 2012 alleged Samsung of leveraging its collection of 3G related SEPs against competitors. Interestingly, Samsung has been cautioned by the U.S. Department of Justice and other global antitrust watchdogs of unfairly using its patents to its advantage, so it is suspicious that the Korean FTC has sided by the home company. A KFTC official said the following with regards to the ongoing issue – “Samsung with the standard-essential patents based on the FRAND licensing terms tried to resolve the matter and the level of patent license fee was not so high. Samsung’s lawsuit is a legitimate act to protect its patent rights.” This is a major reprieve for Samsung which has had a legal tussle with Apple across various countries over the past several years. Talks of a negotiation fell through when the CEOs of the two companies met a couple of weeks ago. [Via: Apple Insider] Continue reading →

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