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Samsung requests dismissal of Apple appeal in Japanese court

Embroiled in yet another courtroom battle, Samsung has asked a Japanese court to dismiss an Apple appeal over a ruling made in August.
Written by Charlie Osborne, Contributing Writer

Samsung has asked a Japanese court to finalize a patent-infringement suit with Apple and dismiss the rival firm's bid for appeal against its favourable ruling in August.

samsung-apple court case judge japan
(Credit: Samsung)

The South Korean firm wants the Tokyo-based court to conclude the case without hearing any appeal from Apple, and the request is being tendered by Judge Shuhei Shiotsuki of the Intellectual Property High Court (ICPH). Founded in 2006, the ICPH specializes in patent disputes between firms.

The first oral arguments were made this week, and the next round will be held on March 21, reported Bloomberg.

Within the original ruling, the Japanese court decided that Samsung's Galaxy S, Galaxy Tab, and Galaxy S II do not infringe on Apple-held patents which relate to the synchronization of music and video files with servers. Apple originally sought 100 million yen (roughly $1.1 million) in damages and the ban of such products in Japan when the suit was filed in 2011.

The scrap in Japan is simply one of many patent litigation disputes the two rival tablet and smartphone makers are embroiled within worldwide. In one landmark case overseen by US Judge Lucy Koh, Apple was awarded over $1 billion in damages after a California-based court found that Samsung had violated a number of function and design patents owned by its rival. Samsung is currently attempting to have this ruling overturned, arguing that a number of the iPad and iPhone maker's patents should never have been awarded in the first place.

The International Trade Commission (ITC) announced last week that it will be reviewing a preliminary decision, which ruled in October that a number of Samsung products infringe on Apple-owned patents in the US. Within this particular courtroom spat, Judge Thomas Pender discarded two patent allegations but agreed with two others--and as a result, the judge recommended that the ITC order a ban on American imports of patent-violating Samsung products.

Samsung and Apple are fighting over shares in the mobile device market, which, according to research firm IDC, continues to grow. Samsung and Apple claim first and second spot, respectively, as the two market leaders, whereas Research In Motion (RIM) and HTC continue to struggle.

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