Samsung is currently drafting up a crafty plan to get Apple’s new iPhone 4S banned from Australia, and to help its case it is requesting “the source code for the iPhone 4S firmware” and details of the company’s subsidy agreements with carriers Down Under.
According to a report from SmartOffice, Samsung counsel Cynthia Cochrane told the court that the Korean company not only wants the source code for the fifth-generation iPhone’s firmware, but also the details of agreements Apple holds with Optus, Telstra, and Vodafone in Australia, specifically the subsidies these carriers pay for the device:
It goes to show that since the iPhone 3G was made available in Australia in July 2008, the impact on the market for every iPhone product has been significant, and has lead to a substantial increase … in market share by revenue. If subsidies are given for the iPhone 4S, there are less to go around for my client’s products.
Samsung believes Apple’s iPhone source code will reveal whether or not the Cupertino company has infringed three of the its wireless 3G patents. However, in typical fashion, Apple won’t back down easily. Apple claims it has licensed the wireless patents from Samsung under the FRAND standard, which requires the patents to be offered at a fair and reasonable price because they are necessary for many companies to provide wireless products.
Apple also claims a third-party license owned by Qualcomm, which develops the chip found in the iPhone 4S, automatically covers the company, and that it will “have to wait for advice” before handing over the information that Samsung is requesting.
However, Samsung claims the agreement doesn’t cover Apple Down Under, and that Apple has denied previous attempts to extend the license internationally.
The legal battles between Apple and Samsung show no signs of settling any time soon. The latest case is scheduled to continue on November 4.
[via 9to5Mac]
