The latest battle in the Apple vs. Samsung war has been won by Cupertino.
The two have been fighting in courtrooms across the world over the last few years, and now a Japanese court has ruled that Apple can still sell its popular iPads and iPhones in the island nation.
When filing the lawsuit, Samsung claimed that Apple's iPad and iPhone designs violated the South Korean company's data-sending patents and requested that the products be removed from the Japanese marketplace.
The Tokyo District Court rejected that request, however. Judge Ichiro Otaka said that Samsung did not negotiate with Apple in good faith over the licensing of the patents, ruling that Apple's products can still be sold. He also ruled that Samsung could not pursue damages against Apple.
Unsurprisingly, Samsung wasn't pleased with the court's ruling.
"We are disappointed by today's court decision. Following a thorough review of the ruling, we will take the measures necessary to protect our intellectual property rights," said Samsung spokesman Nam Ki-yung in an email statement.
If the Tokyo District Court did rule in favor of Samsung on this issue, it would have dealt a severe blow to Apple, whose iPads and iPhones are extremely popular in Japan. Although Samsung and Android-based devices have basically conquered the world in terms of popularity, Japan remains one of the few countries where the iPhone is the clear winner.
In August of 2012, though, the same court ruled on a different issue, that time in favor of Samsung. Apple filed a lawsuit claiming that the Galaxy S, Galaxy S2 and Galaxy Tab all infringed on the company's patents concerning music and video synchronization. Cupertino asked for $1.1 million in damages from Samsung, but the courts ruled against patent infringement and Samsung slid away from Apple's cash collectors.
Generally speaking, it's been tough for either company to score a victory when it comes to removing a competitor's product, or even seeking damages. The biggest development has been a U.S. court ruling that granted Apple a little more than $1 billion in damages, though that number can potentially be lowered via a pending ruling.
