South Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) has started an investigation whether Samsung Electronics is exploiting its leading position in the worldwide wireless market making it disadvantageous for Apple.
The investigation could further add a hurdle for Samsung in its global legal combat with Apple over patent issues and is gaming on its pool of 3G wireless patents to win patent proceedings against its US based iPhone maker.
The South Korean firm’s argument that Apple should be banned from selling products which infringe patents has one only one case in Seoul court while lost analysis from regulators on at least two continents.
An undisclosed Fair Trade Commission official was quoted by Associated Press as saying that the agency was reviewing whether allegations in the complaint lodged by Apple are true.
"Apple filed a complaint earlier this year that Samsung is breaching fair trade laws," the official said.
Following Apple’s April 2011 allegation that Samsung has infringed its iPhone and the iPad, the South Korean firm countersued the iPhone maker that it has been using its standard-essential patents devoid of authorisation.
On 24 August 2012, a South Korean court ruled that Apple infringed Samsung’s patents and announced ban on certain iPhone and iPad devices in South Korea.
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In the ruling, the court revealed that Samsung’s hunt of a sales ban on products follows violation of patents is not a misuse of its market power.
Samsung has been ordered to pay $1.051bn to Apple following the US court’s ruling that Samsung infringed six of seven patents for mobile devices.
Further Apple has also requested the US court to ban sales of Samsung devices in the US market, ruling of which is scheduled on 06 December 2012 .
