Samsung loses another patent case against Apple in Germany

Samsung has lost yet another of its long running legal battles against Apple after a German court rejected its claim that its patents are being infringed by the iPhone manufacturer.

The two firms have been fighting it out in courts across Europe and the globe over a number of patents, relating to both design and technology areas. According to reports, the latest loss came in relation to a patent covering 3G technology standards.

V3 contacted Apple and Samsung for comment but had received no reply at the time of publication.

Patent analyst Florian Mueller wrote in a blog post that while the judge had not made it clear why the case had been dismissed it was likely it was based on one of two possible decisions.

"Either Apple's products weren't deemed to infringe on the patent in a technical sense or the court believes Samsung's rights are exhausted and Apple has, by extension, a license," he said.

Mueller added that the success of four other cases being brought by Samsung against Apple would depend on which of these reasons accounted for the judge's decision.

"If the reason for the rejection was technical non-infringement, Samsung's other assertions of 3G/UMTS patents in Germany could still succeed," he said.

"However, if the reason was patent exhaustion, all but one of the four remaining Samsung lawsuits in Germany (one over two patents unrelated to 3G, including a smiley input patent) would likely be thrown out as well."

Despite yet another disappointment for Samsung, Mueller said he thought it unlikely either firm would change their tactics as both have the resources to push one another through the legal system for the long-term.

"Apple and Samsung are currently the most profitable wireless device makers in the world. Neither legal fees nor the distraction that these lawsuits create pose a serious problem to their business," he said.

"There's too much at stake, and as long as neither party has leverage, there's no pressure to settle."

Samsung has had little success in the legal world against Apple, with attempts at banning sales of the iPhone 4S in both France and Italy failing.