Verizon asks US court to abandon Apple patent case

Verizon, the largest wireless carrier in North America, has asked the US courts to end Apple's patent litigation against Samsung, saying that it would be contrary to public interest to continue the case.

Apple is suing Samsung over alleged patent infringement incurred by four products: the Galaxy S 4G, Infuse 4G, and Droid Charge smartphones, and the Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet, Foss Patents reports.

Verizon has lodged an amicus curiae brief, a legal action which allows third parties with a vested interest in the outcome of a case to present its views to the court. In that filing the network claims that Apple's request for a preliminary injuction to ban the sale of the Samsung devices: "would hinder Verizon Wireless in developing and deploying its next generation high-speed LTE network, the job growth dependant on that network, and will undercut key public policy goals, including expansion of Americans' access to broadband networks and faster communication with emergency personnel."

The move is an escalation which could have wide-ranging repercussions for the tech market. Verizon is generally perceived as being pro-Android already, and receives several market benefits from Google in return for its affiliation. Although the company has attempted to intervene legally on behalf of both Apple and Google before, this move is likely to be interpreted as intentionally contradictory to Apple's business interests.