Samsung and Apple have both agreed to drop some patents from their upcoming mobile device infringement trial, including two of Samsung's standard-essential patents. Samsung dropped a third patent from the case, too, bringing the number of claims it'll pursue in the trial down to two.
Samsung agrees to drop SEP-related infringement claims from upcoming case with Apple
Samsung dropped its SEP '087 and '596 patents, along with its non-essential '239 patents. The company chose to keep its '449 and '239 patent claims, according to Florian Mueller of FOSS Patents.
"There's nothing in the stipulation that indicates why Samsung made this decision, but whatever the reasons may be, it's a good thing in my view," Mr. Mueller said. "It makes sense for Samsung to focus on non-SEPs at the upcoming trial, and especially on its proven defensive strength."
Apple dropped all of its Samsung-related SEP and FRAND counterclaims, which will help make the overall trial far less complex.
Apple and Samsung are scheduled to start their second mobile device patent infringement trial at the end of the month in U.S. Federal Court. Both are claiming the other is using its technologies without proper licensing.
This is the second trial for the two companies. A similar case, but involving different products, played out poorly for Samsung in 2012 when a Jury awarded Apple over US$1 billion in damages. That amount was later dropped to something over $900 million during a damages retrial after it was discovered that the original amount had been improperly calculated.
Samsung's decision to drop the patents from this trial will help keep the proceedings less complex than they'd otherwise be, but doesn't necessarily mean Apple won't have to worry about dealing with them at a later date. Samsung dropped the claims without prejudice, which means it could file a new case includes those and get a third infringement trial in the system.