Korean court hits both Apple and Samsung with product ban

A court in South Korea has ruled today that both Samsung Electronics and Apple Inc have infringed on each others patents. Both companies are now facing a ‘partial' ban of products in South Korea.

The court didn't accept accusations from Apple that Samsung copied the look and feel of their iPhone and iPad products. They instead ordered Apple to remove the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPad 1 and iPad 2 from shelves in the country claiming that the products infringed on two of Samsung's five disputed patents.

The court said in a ruling “Based on the similarity in these features, it is not possible to assert that the two designs are similar.”

Samsung didn't escape the court's wrath however as they ruled against them claiming an infringement on one of Apple's patents which is related to the screen's bounce back feature. This feature is programmed to cause the screen to bounce back when the end user scrolls to the end image. Subsequently the court banned sales of Samsung items using this feature, including the Galaxy S2.

The iPhone 4S and Galaxy S3 smartphones were not affected in the ruling issued by the court.

The ruling comes into affect immediately. Samsung spokesman Nam Ki Young said that he wasn't sure what the company had planned legally at this point. Apple have not yet responded to press questions regarding their next move.

The court also ruled that they have to pay money to the other company. Samsung have to pay Apple 25 million won and Apple have to pay Samsung 40 million won.

Analysts say that the ruling is in favour of Samsung, since the company won rare recognition from a court. Their wireless patent claims have been ignored by courts in Europe.

Kitguru says: The legal battle in America between the companies still rages.

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