Apple and Samsung both took hits in their patent infringement lawsuits against one another in a German court on Friday. The judge threw out a 3G/UMTS related Samsung filed suit, while Apple lost out on one of its “swipe-to-unlock” patent cases.
Apple still has a second swipe-to-unlock patent infringement case pending, which should get some kind of ruling on March 16. That case has a good chance of moving forward, especially since it relies on Germany’s utility model intellectual property rights model.
“Since utility models don’t undergo much scrutiny (it’s a formal rather than substantive examination), there’s no presumption of validity when they are used in litigation,” said Florian Mueller of Foss Patents. “In other words, the holder of a utility model can sue over it, but he has to prove that it’s valid, while German regional courts only stay patent infringement cases if there’s a high probability of invalidity.”
While Apple seems to be tallying at least a few wins, Samsung is really taking it on the chin in Germany. Mr. Mueller said, “Samsung still hasn’t been able to enforce any intellectual property right anywhere on this planet against Apple, while Apple has had some successes (though only preliminary ones so far, most of which were subsequently lifted). It lost all three cases that it brought in Mannheim last April in response to Apple’s first U.S. lawsuit against its Korean rival.”
Apple and Samsung have been involved in legal battles over patent infringement claims for several months. Both companies are alleging the other’s devices use their patented technologies without proper licensing.
Samsung says it will appeal today’s ruling, and Apple is expected to do the same with its rejected “swipe-to-unlock” claims.