Apple & Samsung drop non-US cases

Apple and Samsung have agreed to withdraw all legal cases against each other outside the United States.

The two rivals have sued each other over a range of patent disputes in nine countries outside the US, including the UK, South Korea, Japan and Germany.

A joint statement said the agreement "does not involve any licensing arrangements", and they would continue to pursue existing cases in US courts.

The two firms are the biggest players in the smartphone and tablet PC market.

But they have been involved in a bitter legal battle, spread across various countries, which has escalated in recent years.

The legal wrangling between the two companies began in 2011 after Apple sued Samsung in the US.

It claimed that the South Korean firm's Galaxy range of phones and tablets "slavishly" copied its iPhone and iPad.

The South Korean firm has since taken Apple to court in various countries, accusing it of infringing its patents.

These included patents on a way to synchronise photos, music and video files across several devices, and a method to capture and send video over the internet.

For its part, Apple filed counter claims in some of those countries - disputes which the two firms have now agreed to withdraw.