The heir apparent of South Korea’s Samsung Group will attend a memorial service for late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs despite an ongoing legal battle with the US technology giant, a source said yesterday.
Samsung Electronics chief operating officer Jay Lee, the only son of Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee, was to attend the service to be held in California yesterday at the invitation of Apple chief executive officer Tim Cook, an industry source who declined to be named said.
“Samsung, despite the legal rows, has maintained close ties with Apple as a major component supplier of panels and chips,” the source said, adding the younger Lee was close to Jobs and Cook.
A Samsung Electronics spokesman declined to comment, saying the visit was a private matter.
Samsung, the world’s second-largest maker of mobile phones, and Apple are at loggerheads in a series of patent lawsuits over the technology and design of smartphones and tablet computers. However, the South Korean firm last week delayed the launch of a new smartphone based on Google’s latest Android operating system as a gesture of respect for the legendary figure who died on Oct. 5 from cancer.
The legal disputes began in April in the US, when Apple accused Samsung of “slavishly” copying its market-leading iPhone and iPad.
Apple has since sought a ban on sales of Samsung’s Galaxy S and Galaxy Tab in Germany, Australia and other countries, prompting Samsung to file counter-suits.
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