Samsung replaces smartphone feature to bypass Dutch ban

SEOUL, Oct. 12 (Yonhap) -- Samsung Electronics Co., the world's No. 2 mobile phone maker, said Wednesday that it has replaced a feature in its Galaxy smartphones to avoid a sales ban in the Netherlands.
The company, which is locked in a series of legal battles with Apple Inc. over mobile patents and design, faced a sales ban in the European country after Apple accused Samsung of violating 10 patent rights.
A Dutch court ruled in August that Samsung infringed on only one of Apple's features, which is related to browsing photos. The court issued a sales injunction on three mobile devices -- the Galaxy S, Galaxy S2 and Galaxy Ace -- effective as of this Thursday.
Samsung said it decided to use a different method of browsing pictures on smartphones and removed the feature that Dutch judges deemed as a violation of Apple's patent.
"It is regretful that (the Dutch court) accepted the injunction request but we will try our best to deliver products to customers in the Netherlands," said Samsung spokesman Kevin Jeong.
Samsung declined to say when the three devices will be launched in the Netherlands.
Samsung and Apple are entangled in lawsuits in Asia, Europe and North America, even though Samsung is Apple's key semiconductor supplier.
They are awaiting another court ruling in Australia scheduled to be announced to the public on Thursday, which will determine if Samsung can start sales of its tablet computers there.
In September, a German court ruled in favor of Apple, imposing a sales ban on the Galaxy Tab. Samsung appealed the ruling with a higher court.
The intense legal fight comes as Samsung is trying to quintuple this year's tablet PC sales from last year and narrow its gap with Apple.
Samsung has mounted the most viable challenge to Apple among global mobile phone makers, rising as the world's second-largest maker of smartphones in the second-quarter.
ylee@yna.co.kr
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