Apple Wins Three Consecutive Lawsuits, Still Fails to Secure Final Victory in Patent Wars

Beijing, August 11 - According to foreign media reports, despite Apple winning three patent lawsuits within a week, it is still uncertain whether the company has become the winner of the global patent war.

On Friday, the US International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled that Samsung's electronic mobile devices infringed on two patents held by Apple, and related Samsung products will be banned from being imported into the United States and sold in the US market. A week prior, US President Obama also overturned the ITC's ruling from June this year, which prohibited Apple from selling certain products in the US market that were found to infringe on Samsung’s patents. On Wednesday, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, located in Washington, ruled that Apple could re-file a lawsuit with the ITC, accusing Google's Motorola Mobility of infringing on two key patents regarding smartphone touchscreens.

Patent litigation lawyer Jeff Lewis from the New York-based law firm Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler pointed out: "This is a global patent war. I believe no single company can emerge as the clear winner. We have seen many conflicting rulings in global markets before."

According to Bloomberg's compiled statistics, the annual revenue of the global smartphone market is currently estimated to reach $293.9 billion, with a year-over-year growth of 34% last year. All smartphone manufacturers are vying for a larger share of this market. South Korea's Samsung has already become the world's largest smartphone manufacturer but aims to surpass Apple to become the largest smartphone maker in the US market.

Samsung spokesperson Adam Yates stated: "The focus in the smartphone market should not be on global patent lawsuits but rather on fair competition. Samsung will continue to launch a wide range of innovative products, and we have taken multiple measures to ensure all our products will continue to be sold in the US market."

Apple can inform US customs officials about how Samsung's new devices copy their inventions. However, during the period when these patent litigation rulings are submitted to President Obama for review, Samsung can still import all its phone products into the US market.

At a hearing held on Friday at the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, Apple's attorney William Li pointed out that Samsung had changed product models in some markets, but in reality, they were selling the same products.

Patent litigation lawyer Lewis from Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler noted that the patent litigation battle between Apple and Samsung has lasted for over three years but has not affected product innovation in the smartphone market.

Lewis said: "Consumers and the patent system become the ultimate winners because they receive products that combine original innovation with additional innovation. This is precisely the role of the patent system: to encourage companies to innovate."