Apple withdraws patent claim against Samsung phone

The Samsung Galaxy S III mini

On Friday, Apple withdrew a patent claim against a new Samsung phone with a hi-resolution screen. In a filing with the U.S. Federal Court in San Jose, Apple disclosed that it would not continue the patent claim since the device will not be offered in the U.S. The phone in question could be the Samsung Galaxy S III mini. Last month, Apple asked the court to add that model, along with some other Samsung phones and tablets, to its seemingly non-stop patent battle against Korean rival Samsung. The latter responded that since the Samsung Galaxy S III mini will not be offered in the U.S., it should not be part of the litigation.

Samsung launched the smaller sized version of the flagship Samsung Galaxy S III on October 5th in Europe. In its filing with the court, Apple noted that although the phone isn't sold in the U.S., it was able to order multiple units of the device from Amazon and have them shipped to the U.S. Despite this, Samsung said that it was not "making, using, selling, offering to sell or importing the Galaxy S III mini in the United States." And on the basis of that statement, Apple withdrew its claim against the phone, "so long as the current withdrawal will not prejudice Apple's ability later to accuse the Galaxy S III mini if the factual circumstances change."