The latest court rulings might be disappointing for both Apple and Samsung in their legal battle but it appears that the South Korean manufacturer might be facing a multi-billion fine in the European Union. The reason for such a measure might be Samsung’s trying to use SEPs (standard-essential-patents) for trying to ban Apple products.

The SEPs in mentioned refer to 3G technology and the amount of the fine — imposed by the European Commission — could run as high as 10% from the company’s worldwide turnover. Opposed to Apple, who tried to ban Samsung’s products based on alleged infringements of patents not part of any standards, Samsung tried to do the same, however, employing SEPs which are “only included in a standard such as 3G if the owner makes a formal commitment to license them to allcomers on a “fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory” basis,” noted The Guardian.

Apple offered to pay licensing fees but the two parties did not agree on the amounts; “access to those patents which are standard-essential is a precondition for any company to sell interoperable products in the market”. After the failure of licensing negotiations, Samsung tried to ban Apple’s products, which, according to the Commission, was not justified in the context in which the American phone-maker already made an offer for license.

The amount of the fine, based on Samsung’s $148.9bn revenues for 2011, could go as high as $15bn.

Source: The Guardian

Via: PhoneArena