A Dutch court on Friday turned down Samsung' request for an injunction against all of Apple's mobile products that use 3G technology.
The two technology giants have been locked in legal battle in many countries involving smartphones and tablets since April.
Samsung has launched four cases against Apple in the Netherlands.
A court in The Hague on Friday dismissed Samsung's claims of patent infringement by Apple. Samsung was trying to ban the sale of iPhones and iPads in the Netherlands. It also rejected Apple's counterclaims in the case.
The court said that Samsung's 3G patents were part of essential standards which should be open to license and that the two companies should negotiate an agreement.
The ruling is a blow to Samsung, which has filed patent-infringement claims in France and Italy in order to ban the sale of the iPhone.
Apple has also filed lawsuits against Samsung in several countries, arguing that Samsung's Galaxy line of mobile phones and tablets "slavishly" copied its iPhone and iPad.
Earlier this week, Samsung unveiled that iot would upgrade three of its smartphones to get around temporary sales bans on earlier versions of products that a Dutch court said violated an Apple patent.