Serving as its lead litigation counsel, Lee & Ko continues to broaden its global representation of Samsung Electronics in its patent disputes with Apple.
The “war” between the two companies has spread into the competition law arena when Apple brought an abuse of dominance claim against Samsung Electronics before the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC). Apple alleged that Samsung Electronics’ filing of injunctive relief based upon a standard essential patent (SEP) infringement claim against Apple constituted an abuse of dominance.
Lee & Ko successfully argued that Samsung’s patent infringement injunction did not constitute an abuse of dominance, and that it was actually Apple who engaged in a “reverse hold-up”, by failing to participate in licensing negotiations with Samsung in good faith. The KFTC dismissed all charges against Samsung.