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Samsung appeals IPAB to revoke dual-SIM patent
By siliconindia
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Friday, 10 April 2009, 22:20 IST
Mumbai: The court orders restricting mobile phone manufacturers from building and selling dual-SIM mobile phones has forced Indian arm of South Korean electronics firm Samsung to file a petition to revoke an existing patent. In the petition to the Intellectual Property Appellate Board, or IPAB, the company has sought for the cancellation of the patent held by Madurai-based Somasundaram Ramkumar, which was registered with Indian customs earlier this year.
Earlier in the previous month, Indian phone maker Spice Mobiles had filed a similar appeal which questions the seizure of dual-SIM mobile phones by the custom officials. The Members of the Indian Cellular Association (ICA), which comprise of 50 members, plans to file petitions challenging the validity of the patent, a spokesperson for the organization told Mint. "The ground for the appeal is that the technology claimed by Ramkumar for the patent lacks novelty, and thus it is not patentable," said a person familiar with the case who didn't want to be identified.
The frustration of the companies' gained ground in the wake of the recent seizures of several consignments of imported mobile phones by the customs officials in India. The seizure of the phones occurred after Ramkumar filed an appeal, according to which some of the mobile handset manufacturers are infringing his patent rights. The 36-year-old electronics engineer, Ramkumar holds the Indian patent (No.214388) for plurality of SIM cards in a single mobile handset as well as plurality of bluetooth devices in headphone and earphone jacks.
