Nov. 28, 2001 – Tokyo, Japan – A unit of Fujitsu is suing Samsung for allegedly infringing its cell phone component patents.

Fujitsu Media Devices is seeking damages and an injunction against the import and sale of the components by Samsung Electro-Mechanics in the US, where it holds its patents, reported the Financial Times.

“We have been negotiating with Samsung for about two years but have not been able to agree on licensing terms so we decided to take legal action,” the company said.

Japanese companies have been relatively relaxed about potential infringement of IP rights and few electronics manufacturers fully exploit their patents, the Times reported. According to Yoshiharu Izumi, analyst at UBS Warburg in Tokyo, many Japanese companies also have patents that go unused and are dormant in their labs.

Conversely, many Japanese companies acquiesce quickly when charged with patent infringement by US companies in particular, said Izumi. Toshiba, for example, paid an $806 million fine in the US when it was sued over potentially faulty hard disc drives, without contesting the claims.