As a step into wrapping up their global patent battle, Apple and Samsung on Tuesday announced that they have decided to dismiss all patent lawsuits against each other outside the US.
The duo in a joint statement announced that they have agreed to drop all litigations between them outside the United States and that the agreement does not involve any licensing arrangements. Both the companies will however continue to pursue the existing cases in US courts.
The latest agreement will see patent disputes between the two ending in 9 countries including Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, South Korea, Spain and the United Kingdom.
The legal battle between Samsung and Apple started way back in 2011 when the Cupertino first sued Samsung in the US, claiming that the South Korean firm’s Galaxy range of phones and tablets infringed some of its iPhone and iPad features. Samsung has since sued Apple accusing it of infringing its patents in South Korea, Japan, Australia, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Italy and the UK. For its part, Apple filed counter claims in 5 of those countries.
With this agreement, the duo will dismiss all claims, except those in the US. However, the main dispute between the two companies is being fought in the US courts. The iPad maker has already won two verdicts in the US against Samsung in recent years.
Back in May, a US court ordered Samsung to pay $119.6 million to Apple for infringing two of its patents. While the same court also ruled that Apple infringed Samsung’s patents and ordered to pay $158,000 in damages.
