Another Court Victory for Samsung in Japan vs Apple Over Music Synchronising and Video on Galaxy Devices (VIDEOS)
It definitely is a bad hair week for Cupertino-based Apple as the company suffered one setback after another as its share prices tumbled down below $400, continues to lose market share to main rival Samsung, and on Tuesday, again lose to the South Korean tech giant in one of its court battles in Japan.
Bloomberg reports that Apple lost its appeal on June 25 to a ruling by a Japan court that Samsung did not infringe on its patent for synchronising music and video on its Galaxy smartphones and tablets.
The Intellectual Property High Court in Tokyo upheld the August decision by the Tokyo District Court, which led the Cupertino-based tech firm to appeal in October the lower court's decision.
Following the court verdict, Samsung said in a statement, "We welcome the court's decision, which reaffirmed out long-held position that out products do not infringe Apple's intellectual property. For decades, we have heavily invested in pioneering the development of technological innovations in the mobile industry which have been constantly reflected in our products. We will continue to take all necessary measures to ensure the availability of our highly innovative products to consumers in Japan."
The Tuesday decision evens the court score between the two tech rivals after Apple won over Samsung in 2012 and the court ordered the South Korean company to pay Apple $1 billion damage for patent infringement. But in June, the U.S. International Trade Commission ruled that it was Apple that breached Samsung's patent related to cellular technology.
Last week, in another court case, the Tokyo District Court favoured Apple's claim that Samsung violated its patent on the way an iPad or iPhone screen seems to bounce when a user scrolls to the bottom of the page.
Apple holds a substantial share of the Japanese market at 53 per cent while Samsung holds a paltry 4.3 per cent share. In the bourses, despite the rivals both suffering share price declines, Apple is the bigger loser since its share price has tumbled down 23 per cent in 2013, while Samsung shares went down only by 1.4 per cent in the Tuesday trading in Seoul and shed 15 per cent since January.