Samsung Electronics Co could face fines running to billions of US dollars from the European Commission (EC) over its attempts to use its “standard-essential” patents (SEPs) on 3G to ban sales of Apple Inc’s iPhone and iPad in Europe.
The Google-owned smartphone company Motorola Mobility may face similar penalties over its attempts to ban sales of Microsoft Corp’s Xbox 360 through its use of patents relating to Wi-Fi and the H.264 video standard.
Both companies could receive fines in the US as well, where the Federal Trade Commission weighed in earlier this month in a court case between Motorola and Apple, arguing that Motorola’s use of SEPs amounted to a “hold-up.” Samsung is also being investigated by the US Department of Justice over its use of SEPs in cases against Apple.
The European Commission’s competition arm, run by Joaquin Almunia, issued a formal statement of objections on Friday.
The potential fines can run to 10 percent of a company’s worldwide turnover, which in Samsung’s case would amount to nearly US$15 billion, based on last year’s revenues of US$148.9 billion. The commission opened its investigation into Samsung in January.
Samsung and Apple have been battling each other through the courts — and seeking sales bans on each others’ products — in dozens of countries.
Apple has been seeking bans based on what it claims are infringements of specific patents that are not part of any standard, such as the “pinch and zoom” feature on touch screen phones, as well as design patents on the appearance of its products.
Samsung, by contrast, has frequently tried to use its SEPs, which differ from the patents asserted by Apple in that they are only included in a standard such as 3G if the owner makes a formal commitment to license them to all comers on a “fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory” basis. If the licenser and licensee cannot agree on pricing, it is set by a court. The commission said Apple had offered to make a payment, but that the two sides differed on the sums involved.
Just days before Almunia’s office moved against Samsung, the company announced that it was withdrawing its demands for sales bans on the iPhone and iPad in Europe — though the lawsuits, in which it is demanding payment for Apple’s use of the technologies, continue.
“Samsung remains committed to licensing our technologies on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms, and we strongly believe it is better when companies compete fairly in the marketplace, rather than in court. In this spirit, Samsung has decided to withdraw our injunction requests against Apple on the basis of our standard essential patents pending in European courts, in the interest of protecting consumer choice,” the company said.
However, it is continuing to seek sales bans via SEPs in other parts of the world, including the US, Asia and Australia.
Almunia argued in the statement that allowing companies that hold SEPs to ban sales where companies have not agreed pricing amounted to a “hold-up,” because “access to those patents which are standard-essential is a precondition for any company to sell interoperable products in the market.”
The European Commission decided that because Apple had offered to pay a licensing fee on the patents for 3G owned by Samsung, the Korean company’s demands for a sales ban were unjustified. “Recourse to injunctions harms competition,” it said.
SEMICONDUCTORS: The German laser and plasma generator company will expand its local services as its specialized offerings support Taiwan’s semiconductor industries Trumpf SE + Co KG, a global leader in supplying laser technology and plasma generators used in chip production, is expanding its investments in Taiwan in an effort to deeply integrate into the global semiconductor supply chain in the pursuit of growth. The company, headquartered in Ditzingen, Germany, has invested significantly in a newly inaugurated regional technical center for plasma generators in Taoyuan, its latest expansion in Taiwan after being engaged in various industries for more than 25 years. The center, the first of its kind Trumpf built outside Germany, aims to serve customers from Taiwan, Japan, Southeast Asia and South Korea,
Gasoline and diesel prices at domestic fuel stations are to fall NT$0.2 per liter this week, down for a second consecutive week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) announced yesterday. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to drop to NT$26.4, NT$27.9 and NT$29.9 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, the companies said in separate statements. The price of premium diesel is to fall to NT$24.8 per liter at CPC stations and NT$24.6 at Formosa pumps, they said. The price adjustments came even as international crude oil prices rose last week, as traders
SIZE MATTERS: TSMC started phasing out 8-inch wafer production last year, while Samsung is more aggressively retiring 8-inch capacity, TrendForce said Chipmakers are expected to raise prices of 8-inch wafers by up to 20 percent this year on concern over supply constraints as major contract chipmakers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and Samsung Electronics Co gradually retire less advanced wafer capacity, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. It is the first significant across-the-board price hike since a global semiconductor correction in 2023, the Taipei-based market researcher said in a report. Global 8-inch wafer capacity slid 0.3 percent year-on-year last year, although 8-inch wafer prices still hovered at relatively stable levels throughout the year, TrendForce said. The downward trend is expected to continue this year,
POWERING UP: PSUs for AI servers made up about 50% of Delta’s total server PSU revenue during the first three quarters of last year, the company said Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) reported record-high revenue of NT$161.61 billion (US$5.11 billion) for last quarter and said it remains positive about this quarter. Last quarter’s figure was up 7.6 percent from the previous quarter and 41.51 percent higher than a year earlier, and largely in line with Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co’s (元大投顧) forecast of NT$160 billion. Delta’s annual revenue last year rose 31.76 percent year-on-year to NT$554.89 billion, also a record high for the company. Its strong performance reflected continued demand for high-performance power solutions and advanced liquid-cooling products used in artificial intelligence (AI) data centers,
RSS