Apple drops patent claim against Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini
iPhone maker withdraws infringement allegations in exchange for assurances that Samsung will not market the smartphone in the U.S.
Apple has agreed to withdraw patent infringement allegations against Samsung's new Galaxy S3 Mini in exchange for assurances that the South Korean electronics giant will not market the smartphone in the U.S.
Apple disclosed the agreement today in a filing with the U.S. District Court for Northern California. The iPhone maker requested last month that the new smartphone and other Samsung products be added to the ongoing patent dispute between the two companies. Samsung countered that the S3 Mini was unavailable for purchase in the United States, however Apple noted that the new smartphone was listed on Amazon's U.S. storefront and had been purchased and delivered to multiple U.S. addresses.
"Apple will agree to withdraw without prejudice its request to include the Galaxy S III Mini in this case given Samsung's representation that it is not making, using, selling, offering to sell, or importing that product into the United States," Apple said in its filing.
The unlocked phone quietly appeared on Amazon last month, running Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and featuring a 4-inch Super AMOLED display, a dual-core 1-gigahertz processor, 1 gigabyte of RAM, and 8GB of internal storage. While the new phone supports either T-Mobile USA or AT&T, it lacks support for any 4G LTE connectivity.
Apple had previously argued that the device infringed on the same patents included in its $1.5 billion verdict against Samsung. However, Apple has been unsuccessful in securing sales bans.
Representatives for Apple and Samsung declined to comment.