A Samsung Electronics patent the company has declared essential to the implementation of 3G mobile standards is likely to be invalid, the Regional Court of Mannheim in Germany said Friday.
Because the patent is likely to be invalid, the court postponed a decision in a lawsuit Samsung brought against Apple, court spokesman Joachim Bock said in an email. A decision will have to wait until the Federal Patent Court has decided on the validity of the patent, he added.
"The suspension of the proceeding requires a high probability that the patent is invalid. In these cases the court has to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of a suspension," Bock said. If the patent is declared valid, Mannheim court is likely to rule that Apple infringes on it, he said. Samsung is seeking damages from Apple for the alleged infringement.
The patent in suit is titled "Method for configuring gain factors for uplink service in radio telecommunication system" and relates to a Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) telecommunication system, a standard used in 3G networks.
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