Apple v. Samsung re: antitrust issues on SEPs in Korea Fair Trade Commission

Apple filed a complaint against Samsung to the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) which is the South Korea’s antitrust authority on April 3, 2012 alleging that Samsung abused standard-essential patents (SEPs). Apple asserted that Samsung’s lawsuit to seek injunction based on standard-essential patents during ongoing negotiations between two parties violated the Korean Antitrust Law. In particular, Apple contended in their complaint that Samsung misused SEPs for 3G wireless technology to gain an unfair advantage over the competition because these SEPs were supposed to be licensed under fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms to Apple.

On February 25, 2014, however, KFTC rejected Apple’s complaint. KFTC pointed out that Apple was first to file a patent lawsuit against Samsung and was responsible for following litigations in some aspects; and that Samsung tried to resolve disputes with the standard-essential patents based on the FRAND licensing terms. KFTC concluded that Samsung's lawsuit was a legitimate act to protect its patent rights.