Looks like the companies are back where they started

Mar 2, 2012 10:51 GMT  ·  By

You'd think that all the judicial back and forth that Apple and Samsung have gotten into would at least lead to a sort of settlement if not a winner, but that does not seem to be what happened.

The two companies are going after one another in courts all around the world, but the conflict in Germany is probably the most intense.

Or at least that is what could be said about the whole battle there, until just a short time ago.

As FOSS Patents reported, the court in Mannheim reached a decision on lawsuits filed by both Apple and Samsung.

Long story short, two actions were tossed out, much to the companies' chagrin.

Apple's suit claimed that Samsung infringed its slide-to-unlock technology, while Samsung had its own misgivings to vent about.

Now, both of them are back to where they started. There are other battles going on, but these two have been quelled.

Or not. Apple and Samsung can still file appeals after all, and they probably will.

The two corporations used to be something akin to friends until late last year (2011), when the former got attacked by the latter over the Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet.

We've chronicled their disputes quite closely, despite our total lack of enthusiasm when it comes to things that include the term “patent infringement.”

In the end, it all boils down to one or both parties trying to mow down their competition by any means available.

In the interest of staying at least mostly impartial, we will just direct you here, where you can see how it all went down ever since Apple won that swift, albeit fleeting, victory in Australia. There are other patent wars going on, but this is the highest-profile one at the moment, not that it is anything to gush over.