Apple Joins Samsung in Telling EU to Cut Patent Trolls’ Power

Apple and Samsung Electronics, which have sued each other around the globe over patents, joined together to tell the European Union to cut down on the ability of companies that license patents to win court rulings limiting product sales.

Apple and Samsung are among 19 companies and associations that told the EU in a letter that a new court should limit the ability of companies that license technology to win court injunctions when the validity of the underlying patent is in dispute. The proposal would bring the EU closer to the US, where it’s almost impossible for patent owners who don’t make products to block the sales based on a finding of infringement. Even direct competitors like Apple and Samsung have been stymied in their efforts to halt sales of infringing devices in the US.