Samsung wins patent dispute against Apple, will seek compensation

The Netherlands' District Court of The Hague has ruled in favor of Samsung in a patent dispute with Apple. Samsung claimed that Apple infringed upon patent EP1188269 which relates to a 3G technology used in the iPhone 3G, 3GS, 4 and iPad 1 and 2.

In a statement to CNET, Samsung said they were pleased with the court’s ruling that reaffirms the fact that Apple has been “free-riding” their technological innovation. The company will seek adequate compensation for damages, although an exact monetary figure hasn’t been released yet.

This isn’t the first time Samsung has sued Apple over patent disputes in the region. Earlier this year they attempted to ban the iPhone and iPad from being sold based on alleged infringement of four patents but because Samsung is governed by FRAND (fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory) licensing rules, they must first try to negotiate a licensing deal with Apple for use of the patents.

This latest ruling confirms infringement on one of the four patents from the previous case; Apple was cleared of infringement charges on the other three patents.

FOSS Patents described the ruling as having some symbolic significance because it’s the first offensive case that Samsung has won after more than a year of litigation. They say the impact is very minimal and it’s extremely likely that Samsung won’t bring in enough money from the ruling to offset what they owe Apple in legal fees for losing the three other disputes.