San Jose, Calif. is not the only battleground of the ongoing Apple Inc. vs. Samsung Electronics Co. patent infringement trial as the Cupertino-based company secured a win in Japan.

The Tokyo District Court ruled Apple did not violate Samsung's patents, and as a result, does not have to pay the South Korean-based company any damages. The patent lawsuit in Japan saw Samsung allege the iPhone 4, iPhone 4s, and iPad 2 infringed on data communication patents. Tokyo District Court Judge Koji Hasegawa, however, disagreed on March 25.

Despite the legal victory, a Tokyo-based Apple spokesman did not immediately comment on the ruling. Samsung, however, expressed their disappointment.

"We are disappointed by the court's decision," said Samsung in a statement to Bloomberg. "Upon a thorough review of the ruling, we will determine which measures to take, including an appeal."

"Samsung and Apple, the world's two biggest smartphone makers, have each scored victories in patent disputes fought over four continents since the maker of the iPhone accused Asia's biggest electronics maker of 'slavishly copying' its devices," reported Bloomberg's Takashi Amano. "The companies are competing for dominance of a global mobile market that shipped more than 1 billion devices last year."

Samsung originally filed the lawsuit in Japan in April 2011.

The ruling came ahead the second patent infringement trial scheduled in San Jose on March 31. The latest trial will include new devices such as Apple's iPhone 5 and Samsung's Galaxy S3 smartphones. Due to the upcoming trial including newer products that have sold well in various markets, the Wall Street Journal reported that "industry experts" forecast the possibility of a "larger damages award" for Apple if Samsung is found guilty of infringement.

Apple has also filed a demand for Samsung to pay $40 for each device found guilty of infringing their patents. Apple claimed Samsung infringed five patents: autocomplete, data synchronization, phone-number tapping, slide to unlock, and search functions. U.S. District Court Judge Lucy Koh, who has presided over the first Apple vs. Samsung patent infringement trial, has moved forward with Apple's request.

In August 2012, a jury found Samsung guilty of infringing Apple patents, according to a jury. As a result, Apple was award more than $1 billion dollars in damages. The financial damages were later reduced to $929.8 million.

As Latin Post reported, Apple CEO Tim Cook met with Samsung CEO JK Shin for a mediation session with the hope to avoid the March trial. The mediation session, reportedly held in early February, went nowhere.

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For the latest updates, follow Latin Post's Michael Oleaga on Twitter: @EditorMikeO

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