Samsung to appeal China's ruling on handset patent: source

SEOUL, Dec. 23 (Yonhap) -- Samsung Electronics Co., the world's second-largest handset maker, may appeal a Chinese court ruling that it has violated a patent owned by a Chinese wireless communications company, a Samsung official said Tuesday.

China's state-run Xinhua news agency reported earlier in the day that the
Intermediate People's Court of Hangzhou has ordered Samsung to pay Hangzhou-based
Holley Communications about US$7.3 million for infringing on the latter's patent
on the dual-mode system for cell phones.
"We have not yet been officially notified of the ruling," a Samsung official
said, requesting anonymity. "If the report turns out to be true, we will
immediately prepare to appeal the decision as we believe the (Chinese company's)
patent does not apply to our products."
In April last year, Holley Communications filed a lawsuit against Samsung,
alleging that cell phones made by Sumsung violated its patent, which allows cell
phones to operate on both CDMA and GSM networks.
CDMA and GSM are the standards for mobile phones, but work on different frequency
bands. Usually different mobile phones are developed for each technology.
The Hangzhou company claimed that the South Korean company has sold more than
700,000 cellphones containing Holley's patented technology, according to Xinhua.
Earlier this year, China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) rejected
Samsung's request that Holley Communications' patent be invalidated.
ygkim@yna.co.kr
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