MOSCOW, March 5 - RAPSI. Moscow's Presnenky District Court has ordered an independent expert evaluation in connection with a businessman's lawsuit against Samsung over dual-SIM mobile phone patent rights, the court told RAPSI on Monday.
Vladimir Shumilin filed a lawsuit against South Korea's top electronics producer for 300 million rubles ($9.8 million) in compensation for violating his patent rights after Samsung began selling its dual-SIM mobile phones in Russia.
Both the plaintiff and the defendant have asked the court to order an independent expert evaluation. The proceedings were suspended until the results are available.
Shumilin has been the author and the patent owner of mobile handsets with two or more SIMs since October 8, 2002, when the Russian intellectual property authority issued the relevant patent, his lawyer told RAPSI. Samsung began importing dual-SIM phones in 2007 in violation of the patent owners exclusive right to the model.
Samsung presently sells more than 24 dual-SIM models and has sold at least 1.5 million handsets, the lawyer said. The compensation amount of 334 million rubles has been calculated based on that number, but is subject to adjustment after the Korean manufacturer presents more precise sales data to the court, he added.
Shumilin believes Russian law fully protects his interests as a patent owner. He did not file his lawsuit until this year because he only recently obtained the expert conclusion regarding the violation of his rights, the lawyer said.
The lawsuit was filed against Samsung because the company accounts for the largest share of dual-SIM mobile phones in Russia.
Samsung representatives declined to comment.