Seoul (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Samsung and Apple have reached an agreement to end an ongoing legal battle between the two smartphone giants. However, the deal only relates to pending cases outside the United States, while litigation in U.S. will push ahead. In a joint statement, the Korean and Cupertino based companies have confirmed the withdrawal of the cases opened in many countries including France, South Korea, Germany, Japan, Italy, the Netherlands, Great Britain and Australia.
The "patent war" between Samsung and Apple - the two leaders in the smartphone, tablet and computer industry - has dragged on for years to the tune of millions. Apple filed an initial complaint against its main rivals in 2011, giving the way to a legal battle of unprecedented proportions.
In an official statement Samsung also states that the agreement "does not include any authorization relating to the licenses" and the companies will continue "to follow the cases pending in the United States courts".
The controversy regards some patents, in particular, how to synchronize photos, music files, videos between various devices as well as those that cover filming and posting videos online. Now all attention will be focused on the challenge in U.S. courts, where Apple has already won several bans on the models of its South Korean smartphone rival and received millions in compensation. Samsung has always roundly rejected all charges and blamed Apple of technological and commercial rights violations.