Samsung contests court ban to sell 61 smartphone models in Russia

MOSCOW, Nov 8 (PRIME) -- South Korean electronics giant Samsung has contested a court ban to import and sell in Russia 61 models of its smartphones, including new Galaxy Z Flip, according to the court documents seen by PRIME on November 4.

The complaint was filed by Samsung Electronics Rus Company and the lawsuit was handed over to a court of appeal.

The Moscow Arbitration Court imposed the ban under a lawsuit by Swiss company Sqwin SA that sought to forbid the use of payment service Samsung Pay in Russia as it violates its rights to invention Electronic Payments System protected by a Russian patent.

The court forbade defendants Samsung Electronics Rus Company and Samsung Electronics from using the products with Samsung Pay, including its imports in Russia, offer to sale and other commercialization.

An additional decision as of October 19 contains a closed list of 61 smartphones from the 2017 Galaxy J5 to the new Galaxy Z Flip and Samsung Galaxy Fold.

Samsung Pay was launched in 2015 and appeared in Russia a year later. It is the country’s third most popular contactless payment system exploited by 17% of the population after Google Pay with 32% and Apple Pay with 30%.

Experts said that Google Pay and Apple Pay could also become subjects to lawsuits as they match the description of Sqwin SA’s patent.

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