Japan Court Rules Samsung Not Infringing on Apple Media Patent

A Japanese court ruled against Apple’s claims that Samsung is infringing on media syncing patents it holds. Apple alleged Samsung’s Android-based smartphones and tablets violated its patent for syncing music and video with servers, although Tokyo District Judge Tamotsu Shoji wasn’t convinced, according to Bloomberg.

Japanese court rules Samsung didn't infringe on Apple syncing patentJapanese court rules Samsung didn’t infringe on Apple syncing patent

Apple claimed Samsung’s media syncing system used techniques such as checking the length of songs or videos to identify items to sync, while Samsung said its system relies on file name and size instead. Along with the Judge’s ruling that Samsung didn’t infringe on the patent, Apple was ordered to pay court costs in the case.

Taurus Investment Securities analyst Kim Hyung Sik said the Japanese court’s ruling is a big win for Samsung in its patent infringement fight with Apple. “This will likely turn the tide in favor of Samsung,” he said.

Florian Mueller of Foss Patents, however, disagrees, saying the ruling gained Samsung nothing more than a court saying it didn’t infringe on an Apple patent.

“That’s all that happened,” he said. “In one of more than 50 lawsuits these two companies filed against each other in ten countries on four continents, a ruling came down (an appealable one at any rate) according to which Samsung does not infringe on an Apple patent on a ‘synchronizing technology that allows media players to share data with personal computers’.”

This ruling follows Samsung’s big loss in the United States a week ago. Last Friday the jury in Apple and Samsung’s mobile device patent infringement trial ruled that the iPhone and iPad maker didn’t infringe on Samsung’s patents. Samsung, however, was hit with over US$1 billion in damages and the jury found that the company was infringing on all but one of the patents in Apple’s case.

Samsung plans to appeal the U.S. ruling, and Apple can appeal the ruling in Japan, too.