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| Apple and Samsung agree to drop cases outside the US | Apple and Samsung agree to drop cases outside the US |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Apple and Samsung have agreed to withdraw all legal cases against each other outside the United States. | Apple and Samsung have agreed to withdraw all legal cases against each other outside the United States. |
| The two rivals have sued each other over a range of patent disputes in nine countries outside the US, including the UK, South Korea, Japan and Germany. | The two rivals have sued each other over a range of patent disputes in nine countries outside the US, including the UK, South Korea, Japan and Germany. |
| Samsung said the agreement "does not involve any licensing arrangements", and the firms will continue "to pursue the existing cases in US courts". | Samsung said the agreement "does not involve any licensing arrangements", and the firms will continue "to pursue the existing cases in US courts". |
| The two firms are the biggest players in the smartphone and tablet PC market. | The two firms are the biggest players in the smartphone and tablet PC market. |
| But they have been involved in a bitter legal battle, spread across various countries, which has escalated in recent years. | |
| Multiple disputes | |
| The legal wrangling between the two companies began in 2011 after Apple sued Samsung in the US. | |
| It claimed that the South Korean firm's Galaxy range of phones and tablets "slavishly" copied its iPhone and iPad. | |
| The South Korean firm has since taken Apple to court in various countries, accusing it of infringing its patents. | |
| These included patents on a way to synchronise photos, music and video files across several devices, and a method to capture and send video over the internet. | |
| For its part, Apple filed counter claims in some of those countries - disputes which the two firms have now agreed to withdraw. | |
| Focus on US | |
| However, the main legal battle between the two companies is being fought in the US courts. | |
| Apple has won two verdicts in the US against Samsung in recent years. | |
| In May, a US court ordered Samsung to pay $119.6m (£71m) to Apple for infringing two of its patents. The amount was way less than the $2.2bn that Apple had sought. | |
| But the court also ruled that Apple infringed Samsung's patents and awarded $158,000 in damages. | |
| However, Samsung denied any wrongdoing and sought $6m after arguing Apple infringed two of its smartphone patents related to camera use and video transmission. | |
| Two years ago, a separate jury ordered Samsung to pay Apple $1.05bn in damages for infringing intellectual property. | |
| The jury decided several Samsung devices had infringed iPhone-maker Apple's software and design patents, but rejected counter-claims by Samsung. | |
| That verdict is still being challenged by Samsung. |