Samsung V Apple – The Next Chapter

Last week we reported on the recent English Court of Appeal decision in one of the many on-going patent disputes between Samsung and Apple.  To recap briefly, two of Samsung's patents had been held invalid by the High Court, and Samsung was in the process of appealing that decision to the Court of Appeal.  In the meantime Samsung had applied at the European Patent Office (EPO) for central amendment of both patents, and the question arose what should happen to the appeal case pending the outcome of the EPO central amendment process: Samsung argued that the appeal should be stayed in the interim; Apple argued that Samsung's actions were an abuse of process and if the central amendment proceedings continued,  the appeal should be struck out.  Samsung's argument prevailed.