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Apple scored another victory in the fight for patent domination with Samsung in Japan. Tokyo District Court Judge Koji Hasegawa ruled in favor of Apple and denied Samsung’s claims that the iPhone 4, 4s, and iPad 2 infringe on data patents.
Bloomberg.com reported on the decision earlier today and published the official Samsung reaction.
“We are disappointed by the court’s decision,” Samsung said in an e-mailed statement earlier today. “Upon a thorough review of the ruling, we will determine which measures to take, including an appeal.”
Each side continues to fight using patent litigation in a global game of legal chess with no end in sight. The relationship between Apple and Samsung is certainly complicated because Samsung has long been a supplier for Apple while at the same time being a competitor and adversary.
It isn’t clear if Samsung will have a legitimate appeal but that isn’t likely to stop them from trying. Recent history has seen both tech giants mud flinging as many claims as possible with the hopes that the courts will take their sides on at least some of them. It also seems that a large portion of the strategy is filing in courts that are known for leaning one way or the other.
As a bystander this process is frustrating and the need for patent reform is more obvious than ever. A global system would change the entire game but then companies like Apple and Samsung would have so much less to do and would have to spend all of the extra time working on new products and more innovative technology. Okay, that isn’t exactly how it works, but it certainly seems like a lot of energy is expended in the patent litigation process.
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