(Our Tech Blog) Samsung Electronics has hit Apple with four patent cases in the District Court of The Hague, Netherlands, demanding a ban on retail sales and a recall of all Apple products that use 3G. The first hearing of the case is scheduled for Monday. Samsung in the Netherlands requires a preliminary injunction against all Apple's mobile products, "specifically iPhone 3G, iPhone 4, 1 and 2 iPad iPad".
All of these devices to infringe four of the Samsung 3G essential patents, the demands of Korea-based technology giant in the complaints, which Webwereld, a publication of IDG Dutch considered.
Samsung is seeking a ban in the Netherlands in the importation, marketing and sales of Apple and Apple's five subsidiaries. In addition, Samsung wants Apple to remove all the devices in action infringement of their "professional clients", including electronics stores like Media Markt, where Apple has launched a store in a trade shop.
Samsung has filed separate cases for each of the four patents that invoked against Apple in The Hague. The patents are related to management methods and data connection speed between a mobile station, such as a smartphone or tablet, and a network base station.
Samsung is also invoking similar patents in other cases against Apple in the U.S., the UK, France, Germany, Japan and South Korea.
The patents at issue are so-called essential rules, which means that have been incorporated in internationally accepted technological standards - in this case, the UMTS 3G standard has been endorsed by organizations such as ETSI.
Samsung this can actually become a liability, because as solid or crucial that such patents may be, Samsung can not deny a license from Apple. This is due to holders of patents essential rules come are required to provide all third parties with a license on fair, reasonable and non discriminatory, RAND call or reasonable and nondiscriminatory terms.
Apple's lawyers have requested a new hearing to address these issues of reasonable and nondiscriminatory licensing, before considering any other legal or technical issue. The district judge granted the request, ie Monday's hearing will focus only on these issues reasonable and non discriminatory, a court official confirmed to Webwereld.
Patent consultant and activist Florian Müller applauded this decision.
"I think the tribunal in The Hague is right to assess reasonable and non discriminatory issues first," said Müller. "This can simplify the whole case as it can reduce the question of whether Apple should Samsung money, and if so, how much, without speaking a precautionary measure."
Müller is critical of the offensive Apple patent world, but is even more critical of the response of Samsung, which he equates to "litigation dispersed throughout the world with light artillery and questionable" with the hope of creating a degree of legal uncertainty that could force Apple into an agreement favorable to Samsung.
"If you turn that Apple introduced in the market without a license to essential patents, then that is indefensible and Apple should pay," said Müller. "However, it does not justify the abuse of patents essential rules. Asking a court order is an abuse unless the application for the order is limited to the situation in which the defendant does not agree to pay reasonable royalties and non-discriminatory."
Apple and Samsung and their attorneys declined to comment, citing ongoing litigation.