South Korea ends investigation into Apple patent infringement and reaches settlement with plaintiff

According to South Korean media BusinessKorea, the Korea Trade Commission (KTC) has ended its investigation into Apple's patent infringement allegations because the Korean owner of the patent has reached a settlement with Apple. The investigation was launched in December 2017 when KIP, the intellectual property management subsidiary of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), submitted an application for an investigation to the KTC.

KIP said at the time that Apple's iPhone infringed KAIST's FinFET-related patents, which can increase the integration of semiconductors on chips to improve performance while reducing power consumption.

In response, Apple Korea subsequently filed an application with the Korean Intellectual Property Court to cancel KAIST's patent. In addition, Apple's foundry TSMC also filed civil lawsuits against KAIST in courts in South Korea and Taiwan.

On March 29 this year, KIP submitted an application to KTC to withdraw the investigation request on the grounds that the company had reached a settlement with Apple. Although the two parties did not disclose the specific terms of the settlement, KTC speculated that the settlement agreement included Apple paying patent licensing fees to KIP.