Samsung Lets Apple Win the Patent War in Europe

We've only just reported on the latest development involving Samsung and Apple in the United States, and how the former won a small victory.

Due to that, we did not actually expect something so hauntingly opposite in nature to happen in Europe.

It did though. Samsung has decided to drop all its patent infringement charges against Apple in Italy, the Netherlands, UK, France and Germany.

Those less idealistic will naturally speculate that the real reason has to do with the investigation by European officials, who feel that the company didn't license its standard essential patents on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms.

Samsung's tells a different story though. In a statement to The Verge, a spokesperson said that the move was done purely for altruistic reasons, “in the interest of protecting consumer choice.”

“We strongly believe it is better when companies compete fairly in the marketplace, rather than in court,” the spokesperson said.