Samsung Says Apple is Free Riding on its Patents

Samsung seems to be posturing itself for a more agressive stance in its patent infringement battle with Apple. The electronics maker even went so far as to accuse Apple of free riding on its technology, according to Yahoo! Finance.

“We believe Apple is free riding [on our patents],” commented Samsung’s head of global marketing for mobile communications Lee Younghee. “We’ll be pursuing our rights for this in a more aggressive way from now on.”

Samsung says it's done being passive with AppleSamsung says it’s ready to stop being passive with Apple over patent fight

Apple spokesperson Steve Park responded to Samsung’s comments by stating “It is no coincidence that Samsung’s latest products look a lot like the iPhone and iPad, from the shape of the hardware to the user interface and even the packaging. This kind of blatant copying is wrong and we need to protect Apple’s intellectual property when companies steal our ideas.”

Apple and Samsung have been locked in a legal battle over patent infringement claims for several months. Both companies have alleged that the other’s mobile devices use patented technologies without proper licensing, and have filed lawsuits against each other in the U.S. and other countries.

A German court recently upheld an injunction blocking the sale of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet in the country, and the company filed an appeal in hopes of overturning that ruling.

Apple was also awarded a temporary injunction through a Dutch court blocking the sale of some Galaxy devices in the European Union, and Samsung has agreed to postpone sales of its Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet in Australia until the end of September.

While Apple appears to be slowly diminishing its business relationship with Samsung, the parts supplier may speed up that process.

“We’ve been quite respectful and also passive in a way” Ms. Lee said. “However, we shouldn’t be anymore.”