PAVEL GANIN, PARTNER AT A.T.LEGAL FOR RBC
Yandex and the National Payment Card System (NPCS) decided to support Samsung in the dispute with the Swiss Sqwin SA. They filed an application for revocation of its patent on the payment system, due to which the court may prohibit the operation of Samsung Pay in Russia. According to experts, in this way companies are trying to protect their own systems from a dangerous precedent - if the patent is not challenged, Sqwin SA may bring claims against Yandex, NSPC and other companies with similar technology.
Pavel Ganin gives his legal assessment - why can Yandex and NSPC themselves benefit from the cancellation of the said patent? Does Samsung and Sqwin SA's trial create risks for their payment systems?
"Samsung, being a partner of the National Payment Card System (NPCS) for about 5 years now, provides an opportunity to connect Mir cards to the Samsung Pay service. If Samsung Pay is blocked, further cooperation with the Mir system will be suspended indefinitely, which will have a negative impact on the further technological development of this system.
The risk for the payment service Yandex Pay is that in connection with the use of a similar electronic payment system, Yandex may find itself in the role of a defendant in a dispute with Sqwin SA.
Obviously, for these reasons, Yandex and the NSPC are interested in satisfying Samsung's lawsuit and annulling the disputed patent.
What other companies might face similar risks?
"Patent No. 2686003, which is the cause of the litigation, is "a method for making an online payment using a purchaser's mobile device and a merchant's cash register system that are linked wirelessly using any known standards and protocols."
This dispute could lead to a ban on the use of such technology in principle. Electronics manufacturers such as Google and Apple are also at risk of similar lawsuits because Google Pay and Apple Pay systems match the description contained in the Sqwin SA patent," - said the attorney.
You can read more about the background of the case and the expert opinion in the publication of Kommersant
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