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Seoul - South Korean regulators are investigating complaints
filed by Apple that Samsung Electronics is abusing its dominant position in
wireless technology, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said on Thursday.
Rivals Apple and Samsung are locked in patent disputes in 10
countries, as they vie for market share in the booming mobile industry.
Apple won a landmark victory last month after a US jury
found the South Korean firm had copied key features of Apple’s iPhone, awarding
Apple $1.05bn in damages. The jury decided Apple had not violated any of
Samsung’s patents.
The FTC is investigating whether Samsung is unfairly
competing in the market by abusing its dominance in wireless technology
patents. Apple filed its complaints earlier this year, said an FTC official,
who is not authorised to talk to the media.
European Union regulators have also been investigating
Samsung for possible breaches of antitrust rules by accusing rivals of
infringing its technology patents.
Samsung pledged in
1998 to license its 3G patents to the European Telecommunications Standards
Institute on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms. Samsung said it has
at all times met its obligations to the fair licensing of its telecoms
standards-related patents.
Apple was not immediately available to comment.
