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South Korean court bans some products in Apple-Samsung patent case

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A verdict has been reached in the patent-infringement battle between Apple and Samsung, but not in the United States.

Instead, as part of a multibillion-dollar global patent fight between the two technology heavyweights, a South Korean court ruled Friday that both companies had infringed on each others patents and banned the sale of some Apple and Samsung products in the country. Both sides will have to pay limited damages.

The split decision was handed down by a three-judge panel in Seoul Central District Court, which ruled that Apple had infringed two Samsung technology patents and Samsung had violated one of Apple’s, according to the Wall Street Journal.

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The product ban does not affect the companies’ recently released gadgets. However, Apple has been ordered to remove the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, the original iPad and the iPad 2 from store shelves, the Associated Press reported. Meanwhile sales of the Galaxy S2 and other products have also been banned.

As part of the decision, South Korea-based Samsung must pay Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple 25 million won ($22,000) while Apple must pay its rival 40 million won (roughly $35,200), the Associated Press said.

Meanwhile, in the United States, a nine-member jury has been deliberating many of the same issues after a four-week trial in federal court in San Jose. Closing arguments in that case occurred Tuesday; jury deliberations began the next day.

So far, according to media reports from the courthouse, the jury has yet to send out a question, leading to speculation that a decision is still a ways away. In the U.S. piece of the global battle between the two companies, Apple has accused its rival of copying the look and feel of many of its mobile products, including the iPhone and iPad, and is seeking $2.5 billion in damages.

All told, the companies have brought more than 50 lawsuits against each other in 10 countries on four continents. Technology experts expect a drawn-out legal fight and say the overall resolution could reshape how tech gadgets are made.

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