SEOUL—A Seoul court ruled that Apple Inc. didn't violate some of Samsung Electronics Co. 's patents, dealing a setback for the South Korean smartphone maker on its home turf.

The ruling in South Korea, although not as high profile as a patent case in the U.S., highlights the challenges the company faces in building its case over patents that cover the designs and functionalities of smartphones. Samsung was seeking to also ban the sale of some of Apple's older smartphones in South Korea through its case.

The South Korean company, which has been engaged in a series of legal fights globally with Apple, had claimed in Seoul that some Apple products had infringed on three of its patents related to the messaging technology used on mobile devices. Samsung said Apple's iPhone 4S and iPhone 5 smartphones had violated two of the three patents.

The Seoul Central District Court rejected all of Samsung's claims against Apple, including a request to pay 100 million won (about US$95,000) in damages. It noted that the two patents are invalid because they can be easily developed using existing technologies.

"We are disappointed by the court's decision," Samsung said in a statement Thursday, after the ruling. "We will continue to take the measures necessary to protect our intellectual property rights."