No Apple-Samsung Patent Dispute Yet in China

Despite the recent $1-billion jury verdict in favor of Apple in its US suit against Samsung, the two companies haven’t yet tangled in a patent dispute in China which is on its way to becoming the world’s biggest market for both companies.

The Ministry of Commerce hasn’t yet received any request from Apple or Samsung seeking a probe of products involved in any alleged patent infringement case in China, said Chong Quan, the Ministry’s deputy China international trade representative.

“The impact of the patent fight on Chinese phone makers and consumers has yet to be evaluated,” Chong told the official Xinhua News Agency.

Last week a jury in the federal district court in San Jose found in favor of Apple on six of its patent infringement claims and awarded the Cupertino-based company $1.05 billion. On September 20 district court judge Lucy Koh is scheduled to decide Apple’s request for a ban on sales of eight Samsung devices that were found to infringe on Apple’s design and utility patents.

So far the world’s two largest consumer electronics giants have filed 30 different patent infringement suits in nine nations. The outcomes have varied widely depending on the jurisdiction.

While the San Jose jury was deliberating, a S. Korean court awarded damages of about $33,350 and $22,000, respectively, to Apple and Samsung on their claims against each other. The court also prohibited the sales of various, mostly older-model phones and tablets made by both sides.

Earlier this year a court in Mannheim, Germany rejected three infringement suits by Samsung and two by Apple. Both sides have more infringement suits pending in Germany.