Apple’s Complaint to the KFTC Concerning Samsung’s Request for Injunctive Relief

Published: 2/26/14

In March 2012, Apple submitted a complaint to the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) contending that Samsung’s request for an injunction for FRAND-committed patents violated the MRFTA. (See Judicial – Korea page for a summary of the litigation over injunctive relief.) In February 2014, the KFTC concluded that Samsung had not violated the MRFTA because it found that Apple had not engaged in good faith licensing negotiations.[1] This decision was the KFTC’s first case on the issue of whether seeking an injunction for a FRAND-committed patent is an abuse of rights. Apple brought a proceeding for the annulment of the KFTC’s decision before the Constitutional Court of Korea in May 2014, which was withdrawn after Apple and Samsung agreed in August 2014 to settle all of their disputes outside the United States.

[1]http://www.ftc.go.kr/news/ftc/reportboView.jsp?report_data_no=5542&tribu_type_cd=&report_data_div_cd=&currpage=50&searchKey=&searchVal=&stdate=&enddate= (press release by KFTC available in Korean only)