European regulators investigating the Apple and Samsung patent battles believe the rivals could be using industry-standard intellectual property to stifle competition as the cases continue to mount.
Both companies are embroiled in a patent war that involves more than 20 cases in 10 countries, but if the patents involved are deemed as standard in the industry, many of those cases may be dropped.
European Commission antitrust chief Joaquin Almunia said the agency is still waiting for Apple and Samsung to provide it with details on patents used as standards in the mobile telephone industry, and regulators are concerned the patents are being used to stifle competition.
"We need to look at this because IP rights can be used as a distortion of competition but we will need to look at the answers," Almunia said. "In particular, in the IT sector, it is obvious it is not the only case. Apple and Samsung is only one case where IP rights can be used as an instrument to restrict competition."
According to Reuters, Almunia's statements marked the first time the EU's antitrust chief publicly discussed his concern over the patent wars.
Both companies have filed competing lawsuits against each other, seeking product bans that may keep the competition's products off the shelves. Apple claims Samsung's Galaxy devices copy the iPhone and iPad too closely, while Samsung claims Apple violates several patents it owns.
Generally, courts don't ban products and the ban threat is one that companies leverage against each other to force settlements. However, Apple has rejected several settlement offers in its battle with Samsung, and Samsung products have been banned from several markets.
Samsung has already lost one crucial battle in Australia, where an injunction
banned sales of its Galaxy 10.1 Tab, considered the closest competition for the iPad. The ban was ordered until the case comes to a trial early next year, but since the courts blocked the device before it was released, Samsung lost crucial pre-Christmas sales in Australia.
The South Korean smartphone maker has also been subject to product bans in the Netherlands, but was able to get around that injunction by
retooling its devices, a strategy it may use to get around other bans in the future.
Apple is also involved in patent disputes with HTC and Motorola Mobility, both of which depend heavily on the Android OS.
The European patent cases, though, may end if officials determine the patents under dispute fall under FRAND, or free-use standards -- a decision they could reach when Apple and Samsung provide the EU Commission with the information it seeks.
