Samsung faces antitrust inquiry

@ 2012/09/07
Apple has reported its rival Samsung to South Korean anti-trust regulators in an attempt to stop the company competing against it.

Reuters reports how the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) has received a complaint from Jobs' Mob claiming that Samsung Electronics Co is abusing its dominant position in wireless technology.

Apple filed its complaints earlier this year, said an FTC official.

The wireless patents were part of Samsung's defence against Apple's bizarre "we own the rounded rectangle" patent case. Samsung told Apple that if it had to pay for that, then it should have to come up with some readies to pay for some of Samsung's wireless technology.

The only problem was that Apple refused to give a licence on its rounded rectangle, so Samsung was a bit iffy about giving away its wireless patents.

Now a tame US jury has decided to ignore prior art and ruled that Apple really does own the rounded rectangle, it looks like Samsung is being all anti-trusty over its wireless patents.

European Union regulators have also been investigating Samsung for possible breaches of antitrust rules by accusing "rivals" of infringing its technology patents.

At the centre of the arguments is whether Samsung pledged in 1998 to license its 3G patents to the European Telecommunications Standards Institute on fair, reasonable and terms.

Samsung said it has at all times met its obligations to the fair licensing of its telecoms standards-related patents.

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