Samsung in deal over lawsuits

• Company inks plan with German lighting group, Osram, to settle all their global patent suits

SEOUL, Friday

South Korea’s Samsung Electronics said on Friday it has reached a deal with German lighting group, Osram, to settle all their global patent lawsuits, as it continues a high-stakes US court battle with Apple.

The two firms will dismiss all the suits as quickly as possible and a settlement is expected to be finalised by the end of this month, Samsung said in a statement following the out-of-court agreement.

As part of the deal, the companies had reached licensing agreements for each other’s LED (light-emitting diode) patents, it noted.

They had also signed a memorandum of understanding on possible joint development of future LED-based products.

The suits had been filed in Germany, South Korea, the US and other countries. “We are glad to enter with Samsung in a new area of partnership-based competition,” the statement quoted Osram CEO Wolfgang Dehen as saying.

Samsung said it looked forward to building a strategic relationship with Osram, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Germany’s Siemens.

Osram announced in August last year that it had filed a complaint in South Korea against LG and Samsung for patent violations, a move it had already taken in four other countries.

It said the two South Korean companies had violated patents on LED lighting, commonly used in television sets and computer display screens.

The announcement comes as Samsung is embroiled in an international legal battle with US giant, Apple, over patents for its smartphones and tablet computers.

In a key case being heard in the US city of San Jose, the judge on Wednesday urged the chiefs of Apple and Samsung to negotiate a truce in the trial. (AFP)