Apple and Samsung have agreed to drop all legal battles waging between them in countries outside of the United States.
The two technology giants have been engaged in myriad legal battles over patent disputes in numerous countries, including the UK, Japan, Australia, France, the Netherlands, Italy and Germany.
Although one of the main legal battles is being fought in the US, litigation was started in other countries for alleged patent infringements.
The agreement to drop all legal battles follows years of fighting in court, which has cost both companies multiple millions of dollars, especially for those being fought in South Korea and Germany.
“Samsung and Apple have agreed to drop all litigation between the two companies outside the United States,” said a joint statement. “This agreement does not involve any licensing arrangements, and the companies are continuing to pursue the existing cases in US courts.”
Despite Samsung being one of the major component suppliers for Apple, the two companies have repeatedly tried to block the sale of their rival’s latest smartphones.
The Samsung vs Apple legal battles started back in 2011, when Apple sued Samsung in the US. This was because Apple believed the Samsung Galaxy smartphone and tablets copied its own iPad and iPhone range.
Samsung of course responded by taking Apple to court over alleged patent infringements, including those relating to photo synching and a method of capturing and sending video content.
Apple then filed counter claims against Samsung, leading to the multiple court battled waged in multiple countries across the globe.
The main court battle between the two companies remains ongoing in the US. Apple has already won two verdicts against Samsung.
For example, in May Samsung was ordered by a US court to pay $119.6 million (£71 million) to Apple for patent infringements, but Apple was also forced to pay $158,000 (£93,700) in damages to Samsung for a similar offense.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
