Apple has agreed to withdraw patent claims against Samsung’s Galaxy S III Mini smartphone, after the Korean manufacturer revealed that it has no plans to launch the phone in the US market.
Earlier, Apple has filed a motion to add Galaxy S III Mini as well as other Samsung products to the ongoing patent dispute, but Samsung claimed that Galaxy S III Mini was not available for sale in the United States and should not be included in the case.
This action from Apple is in no way final, as it can always re-file the motion to include the smartphone in the patent lawsuit in case Samsung decides to launch the devices stateside.
Reuters adds:
Apple won a $1.05 billion verdict against Samsung earlier this year but has failed to secure a permanent sales ban against several, mostly older Samsung models. The patents Apple is asserting against the Galaxy S III Mini are separate from those that went to trial.
Samsung started selling the Mini in Europe in October to compete with Apple’s iPhone 5. In its filing on Friday in U.S. District Court, for the Northern District of California, Apple said its lawyers were able to purchase “multiple units” of the Mini from Amazon.com Inc’s U.S. retail site and have them delivered in the United States.
