Apple Scores Two Important Victories Against Samsung in Patent Case

Ahead of the forthcoming March trial, US District Judge Lucy Koh has issued two summary judgements that favour Apple and may influence the negotiation talks scheduled for February: she has invalidated one Samsung patent and found that the South Korean manufacturer’s products infringe an Apple patent (via WSJ).

In a court document, Judge Lucy Koh ruled that Samsung’s patent on multimedia synchronization, which describes a system that allows users to access movies and music across devices in different locations, is invalid.

The second victory for Apple is that the court found that Samsung’s Android devices infringe its patent for “word recommendations” or auto-correct – another blow for Samsung. The company, however, remained positive and is looking forward to the March trial – it seems like the negotiation talks are going to be fruitless.

“We are disappointed by the court’s decision, and look forward to the jury trial (in March), when the jury is expected to consider the claims related to the remaining summary judgment requests that were denied,” a Samsung spokesman said. “We remain confident that our products do not infringe Apple’s intellectual property, and we will continue to take all appropriate measures to protect our intellectual property rights.”

The ruling comes at a time when the two companies are making preparations for the March trial, which involves a different set of patents used on newer Samsung devices. Apple has already scored a major victory over Samsung when it was awarded $930 million in damages, but industry experts say there is a possibility for an even larger damages award.

Before the March trial kicks off, the two parties have a series of negotiation talks scheduled for February 19, but the chances seem high that history will repeat itself.