Apple has petitioned a U.S. court to formally request internal South Korean Samsung documents as part of discovery in the Department of Justice’s ongoing antitrust lawsuit against the company.
The DoJ originally filed suit against Apple back in March 2024, claiming Apple holds an illegal monopoly on the smartphone market, thanks to the popularity of the iPhone and its walled garden iOS ecosystem.
The complaint was filed in a U.S. District Court in New Jersey by the Justice Department and 16 other U.S. state and district attorneys general. The complaint accuses Apple of violating multiple U.S. federal and state antitrust laws, including the Sherman Act.
The Justice Department claims Apple’s anticompetitive conduct also affects “web browsers, video communication, news subscriptions, entertainment, automotive services, advertising, location services, and more.”
After Apple’s bid to have the case dismissed failed, the case moved into discovery.
Samsung is central to the case, as all four complaints name Samsung as Apple’s “closest smartphone competitor,” and the DoJ alleges that Samsung stopped making smartwatches that connect to iPhones in 2021.
While Apple subpoenaed Samsung’s U.S. subsidiary, Samsung Electronics America, for documents, it declined to produce any records, arguing the materials are held solely by its South Korean parent.
Apple is asking the court to issue a formal letter of request for the documents, which includes market research, financial statements, sales data, and consumer switching analyses from Samsung’s smartphone and wearables divisions.
Even if the court grants the motion, South Korean authorities may decide not to comply, while Samsung Electronics could raise objections to the subpoena under Korean law.
