Apple, Samsung Agree to End Patent Suits Outside U.S. 

Apple and Samsung Electronics are starting to wind down their global patent battle.

The companies said in a joint statement today that they have agreed to drop all suits against each other in countries outside the U.S. Claims are being abandoned in Australia, Japan, South Korea, Germany, Netherlands, the U.K., France and Italy.

The agreement shows Apple and Samsung may be nearing a conclusion to what has been a drawn-out and occasionally nasty worldwide patent fight, which has sprouted alongside the booming market for touch-screen smartphones.

There had already been signs of de-escalation prior to today’s announcement. Apple and Samsung agreed in June to drop their appeals of a patent-infringement case at the U.S.

“Apple and Samsung have agreed to drop all litigation between the two companies outside the United States,” the companies said in the statement. “This agreement does not involve any licensing arrangements, and the companies are continuing to pursue the existing cases in U.S. courts.”

The settlement comes as Samsung grapples with declining demand for its smartphones and slumping earnings. Its global market share declined 7.4 percentage points last quarter from a year earlier, and the company lost the top spots in key markets China and India.

“The whole industry paradigm is changing, Apple and Samsung have no time to waste and it’s time to get back to work” said Lee Seung Woo, an analyst at IBK Securities Co in Seoul.

 

Source: bloomberg

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