Samsung has since responded:

"Based on our internal investigation, we confirmed that the boxes were not discarded by Samsung Electronics or by one of Samsung’s recycling partners. Furthermore, the semiconductor components contained in the boxes were manufactured in 2004 and had been shipped to a customer overseas. In the case of components – unlike finished products – all rights and ownership are transferred to the customer after a sales transaction has been completed."

The full response: http://www.techinasia.com/samsung-denies-dumping-ewaste-chin...

> "unlike finished products – all rights and ownership are transferred"

Does this make sense to anyone? What kind of rights / ownership would they preserve when they sell a finished product?

It just a fancy PR way of saying: "When someone buys it, it is theirs"

I think s/he meant that in the statement, they used the wording "unlike finished products", meaning that if it actually was finished products, some rights and ownerships would've been retained by the seller. In which case, what rights and what kind of ownership rights would be retained?

In some jurisdictions the manufacture is partially responsible for the disposal of finished goods (ie, they have to offer recycling programs).

This doesn't apply to components.