Dutch court lets Samsung off the hook in Apple multi-touch gesture patent suit

Samsung has dodged another legal bullet, this time in a Dutch court. Reuters reports that the South Korean electronics maker was found not to have infringed on an Apple patent related to multi-touch gestures.

“With these products Samsung does not infringe the claims that Apple has made,” the court documents read.

Florian Mueller of FOSS Patents notes that the decision is in line with similar court rulings on the same patent in Germany and the UK.

The ruling follows another court decision in Samsung’s favor in Holland from earlier this year. In June, a Netherlands court found Apple to have infringed on a 3G patent owned by its rival.

Clearly pleased with the outcome, Samsung released this statement:

“We welcome today’s ruling, which affirms our position that our products do not infringe Apple’s intellectual property. For decades, we have heavily invested in pioneering the development of technological and design innovations in the mobile industry, which have been constantly reflected in our products. We will continue to further develop and introduce products that enhance the lives of Dutch consumers.”

After a devastating $1.05 billion loss over the summer, it’s been a good few weeks for Samsung in its legal battle against Apple. For one, it’s got a public apology coming its way from Apple after a UK court ruled that Samsung’s Galaxy tablet didn’t infringe on the iPad. An initial ruling by the US Patent and Trademark Office has also invalidated the rubber-banding patent that Apple was leveraging against it.

But, you win some and lose some, of course. For instance, Samsung had an offensive action against Apple struck down in Japan recently.

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