Dutch court rejects Samsung's bid to get Apple products banned

Samsung has failed it its Dutch court bid to get an injunction slapped onto Apple products that use 3G technology.

The injunction, if successful, would have applied to both the iPhone and iPad because of their use of 3G technology.

A court in The Hague rejected Samsung's patent infringement allegations against Apple, while at the same time rejecting Apple's counterclaims in the case. Both companies have been ordered to pay each other's legal costs.

Samsung accused Apple of not paying licensing fees for a number of its patents before it began selling the iPhone in 2007. Apple argues that Samsung didn't ask for a fee until 2010.

This follows another ruling by the Dutch court that came earlier this month which forced Samsung to upgrade three of its smartphones in order to get around a temporary ban imposed by the courts after the company was deemed to be in violation of an Apple patent.

Florian Mueller, intellectual property activist, said on Twitter that it is now unlikely that Samsung will get the iPhone 4S shut down anywhere in Europe based on the Dutch ruling.

Speaking to Reuters, Mueller said:

"Apple will be taking French and Italian translations of the Dutch ruling with it. This makes it a long shot for Samsung that it could win an injunction in the EU based on its 3G patents."