Samsung had been considering the ban application in countries including Britain, France, Germany and Italy after contending that Apple had infringed its patents, reports the New York Times.

Consumer choice

After dropping the idea, Samsung said it had acted ‘in the interest of protecting consumer choice’. However, industry analysts have suggested other factors might have been in play, including a possible nudge from the European Commission.
‘The scope of what was withdrawn precisely matches the area in which the European Commission has been investigating,’ said Florian Müller, a German patent consultant. ‘It’s not just that the plot is thickening; in my view, there can be no other plausible view than that there is pressure from Brussels.’
In a statement, the Korean company said: ‘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.’
Apple declined to comment.

Best shot

In the US case, District Judge Lucy Koh rejected Apple's plea to ban the sale of Samsung smartphones that violate its patents as Apple could not show a direct link between any losses it suffered and Samsung’s infringements. Ryan Koppelman, the partner at Atlanta-based law firm Alston & Bird, who represented Nokia in its recent patent litigation against Apple, said the Californian’s main objective was never a financial one, but to disrupt Samsung by blocking the sale of its products. He told The Recorder newspaper: ‘Apple took its best shot and lost… This case was never about money. It was about market share and market disruption.’
However, the copyright war between the two companies is not set to end anytime soon, as Samsung is expected to launch lawsuits seeking damages from Apple for alleged patent infringement.