Asia Stocks to Watch: Apple, Samsung tie in Korea verdict

By Chris Oliver, MarketWatch

Comparisons between the Samsung Tablet and Apple's iPad are presented in evidence at the two tech majors? patents trial in San Jose, Calif.

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) ? A South Korean court hearing mutual patent lawsuits between Samsung Electronics Co. and Apple Inc. delivered a split decision Friday which analysts said offered little advantage for either company.

The three judge panel ruled that Apple had violated two Samsung patents, while Samsung violated one of Apple?s.

The Seoul Central District Court ordered both companies to halt sales of electronic products that infringe patents in South Korea.

It also ordered Apple to pay a nominal 20 million won ($17,650) for each of its patent violations, while Samsung was ordered to compensate Apple with 25 million won.

Apple v. Samsung jury deliberates

After a long trial, the jury in the Apple-Samsung trial receives lengthy instructions and starts its deliberations. Photo: Getty Images.

Analysts said they were surprised by the scale of the sales ban.

Although the patent infringement issues don?t apply to either Samsung or Apple?s latest products, they affect several devices launched in the last two to three years, such as Apple?s iPhone 4, according to Sanford Bernstein analyst Mark Newman in Hong Kong.

Newman said there was no clear winner from the court?s ruling, calling it a ?mixed bag? that would penalize both companies in certain respects.

He said attention will now shift to the more closely watched jury decision in the pair?s U.S. lawsuits that could have major implications for smartphone and tablet sales in the world?s largest economy.

?Any kind of ban in the U.S. is a much bigger deal for both companies,? Newman said.

Newman said there was likely to be little if any impact on the share prices of either Samsung /quotes/zigman/189555/quotes/nls/ssngy SSNGY 0.00% /quotes/zigman/189458/quotes/nls/ssnlf SSNLF +5.36% ?or Apple /quotes/zigman/68270/quotes/nls/aapl AAPL -0.93% ? arising from Friday?s decision.

?Longer-term, this whole war is to come to nothing. ? The only outcome is in huge legal fees and in hurting each other?s brand,? he said.

Newman said Apple might have more at stake in the U.S. decision, possibly to be announced later in the day, calling it the iPhone-maker?s ?last chance to get a favorable [patent] ruling.?

Samsung?s Seoul-listed shares KR:005930 +1.82% traded lower Friday, easing 0.9%, but outperforming a 1.3% drop in the benchmark Kospi /quotes/zigman/1652118 KR:SEU -1.17% ?.?

/quotes/zigman/189555/quotes/nls/ssngy

US : U.S.: OTCBB

/quotes/zigman/189458/quotes/nls/ssnlf

US : U.S.: OTCBB

Volume: 5.00

Aug. 13, 2012 12:00a

Market Cap

$178.23 billion

/quotes/zigman/68270/quotes/nls/aapl

US : U.S.: Nasdaq

Volume: 15.00M

Aug. 23, 2012 4:00p

Market Cap

$627.00 billion

KR : South Korea

Volume: 270,743

Aug. 23, 2012 12:00a

Market Cap

?203540.00 billion

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KR : South Korea

Volume: 615.57M

Aug. 24, 2012 3:01p

Chris Oliver is MarketWatch's Asia bureau chief, based in Hong Kong.

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Source: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B4E785316-EDA9-11E1-B810-002128049AD6%7D&siteid=rss

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