14 DAY TRIAL // Despite being fierce rivals in the smartphone world, Apple and Samsung are now fighting for a common goal: to win a legal dispute that would eventually end up with a ban of their products.
Specifically, Apple itself is involved in a legal dispute in Korea against the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), as the organization claims that several iPhone models infringe on one of its patents.
KAIST is seeking an import ban on a series of Apple devices, including iPhone X and iPhone 8, as it claims that they use its FinFET patent without authorization. Unless it pays for bundling the tech, Apple shouldn’t be allowed to use it on products sold in Korea, the organization claims.
Somewhat surprisingly, Samsung has a similar battle, also against KAIST but this time in the United States, and is struggling to prove that it’s not using the patent without approval.
What both companies are hoping to do is convince authorities that the patent which KAIST holds and which they are accused of violating is invalid.
Authorities closely keeping an eye on investigations
The decision in any of the two disputes could change the outcome of the other, and the Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy says that it’s closely watching what’s happening in the Samsung battle against KAIST in the United States.
“We are currently looking into whether Apple infringed on the patent of KIP, a subsidiary company of the KAIST,” said the Korea Trade Commission was quoted as saying by Business Korea. “The targets include iPhone 8, iPhone 8+, iPhone X, iPad 9.7, and 9.7-, 10.5-, and 12.9-inch iPad Pro imported from China and Hong Kong.”
“We cannot but pay attention to the litigation in the U.S. and South Korea involving Samsung Electronics although our current investigation is targeting Appl. This is because Samsung Electronics submitted evidence to refute the novelty of the patent, which is required for the patent to be regarded as being valid.”
A decision in two cases may take a long time to be made, but the patent violation claims are indeed accepted, Samsung and Apple products could end up being banned in each other’s home market.