Apple Scores Twice Over Samsung in Dutch Court

Notch another victory for Apple in its ongoing legal battle with Samsung — two, actually.

The Hague District Court in the Netherlands today ruled that Samsung cannot seek an injunction against iPhone sales in the country as long as Apple is willing to negotiate a license agreement for the patents the Korean firm claims Apple infringed.

The 3G/UMTS wireless patents at issue here are standards-essential and, as the court reminded Samsung, it is obligated to license them under FRAND terms — fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory.

More significantly, the court also ruled that Samsung cannot assert these patents against the iPhone 4S. At all. Why? The 4S uses a Qualcomm baseband chip, and Qualcomm has a license to use Samsung’s 3G/UMTS essential patents. There’s no double-dipping on patent licensing fees.

Samsung is, of course, free to dog Apple for fees on earlier iPhones that used baseband chips from other manufacturers. But the iPhone 4S is the crown jewel here, which is why it was targeted in the first place.

So, a heavy blow to Samsung in this seemingly interminable battle. But with more than 30 lawsuits still pending between the two companies, plenty of opportunity to strike back.