A South Korean court yesterday ordered a partial ban on products of technology rivals Apple and Samsung Electronics in the country after ruling that both companies have infringed on each other's patents.

The court in Seoul ruled that Apple's iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPad and the iPad 2 have infringed on two of Samsung's mobile-data transfer technology patents and ordered that these devices be removed from the shelves in South Korea. The sales bans do not cover Apple's latest iPhone 4S or its newest iPad.

The Seoul Central District Court also ordered the California-based Apple to pay Samsung 40 million won ($35,400) as damages.

The three-judge panel also ruled that Samsung has infringed on one of Apple's patent related to the bounce-back feature when scrolling on touch screens, and banned sales of the Galaxy S2 smartphone and 9 other products excluding the Galaxy S3, in South Korea.

Samsung was ordered to pay Apple 22 million won ($22,000) in damages.

Both companies had asked for small compensation due to the small size of the South Korean market.

But most importantly, the court ruled that Samsung has not violated Apple's design of the iPhone, which may impact the outcome of the $2.5 billion in damages that Apple is currently seeking in an US court.

The court ruled that Samsung had not copied its design, since the big rectangular screens and rounded corners are similar, but these designs have existed in other products before the launch of the iPhone and the iPad. It also said that the icons used in Samsung devices do not appear similar to the icons in the iPhone.

"There are lots of external design similarities between the iPhone and Galaxy S, such as rounded corners and large screens ... but these similarities had been documented in previous products," the court said.

"Given that it's very limited to make big design changes in touch-screen based mobile products in general ... and the defendant (Samsung) differentiated its products with three buttons in the front and adopted different designs in camera and on the side, the two products have a different look," Reuters quoted a judge as saying.

The judges said that it would not be difficult for consumers to get confused with the iPhone with the Galaxy since both companies have their distinctive logos on the back of the devices and consumers would be fully aware of the different operating systems, brand, applications, price, and services.

Both companies are currently fighting a historic and costly patent infringement battle in a US federal court in San Jose, California, where Apple has laid claim to $2.5 billion in damages against Samsung for allegedly infringing on its designs, while Samsung is seeking as much as $421.8 million in royalties over Apple infringing on two of its patents covering mobile-technology standards and three utility patents. (See: Apple, Samsung to face off in patent battle in US court)