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S. Korea court finds cure for Apple-Samsung patent war: Ban both

The big takeaway here is not the ruling as much as it is an avenue to end the patent madness.
Written by Larry Dignan, Contributor

A South Korean court may have found a novel way to nix the endless Apple and Samsung patent sniping: Ban sales of smartphones and tablets from both companies.

Our Kevin Kwang in Singapore rounded up the basics via a bevy of reports (Bloomberg, Yonhap, WSJ). The Seoul Central District Court found that Apple's iPhone violated two Samsung patents. Samsung violated one Apple patent. The sales bans don't cover the latest products from Samsung and Apple.

Apple reportedly has to stop selling the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 and the first and second iPads in South Korea. Samsung needs to stop selling 12 products---Galaxy S, Galaxy S II and Galaxy Tab.

Even assuming home court advantage for Samsung, the ruling is notable given the patent battles going on with Apple vs. Samsung in the U.S. and Australia.

The big takeaway here is not the ruling as much as it is an avenue to end the patent madness. If both parties suffer somehow it's likely that the patent lawsuits will at least slow down. Both Apple and Samsung are going for the mutually assured patent destruction route. Be careful what you ask for.

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