The ongoing patent battle between Apple and Samsung has really come a long way and has slipped thoroughly into the wilderness. It wasn’t that long ago when both companies found themselves in the news in an ongoing dispute over individual registered patents, with judges in certain European countries ruling on whether or not those patents had been infringed upon.
Although, quiet for some time now, the ongoing patent war recently reared its head into the United States with District Judge Lucy Koh ruling in favor of Apple, deciding that there was enough evidence to ban Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet and Galaxy Nexus smartphone in the U.S. As you might expect, the aforementioned decisions represent a huge blow for Samsung as they look to carry on competing against Apple in one of their most lucrative markets.
As we have seen in the past, an initial ruling from a district or county judge isn’t the be all and end all, with the Korean electronics giant choosing to act in a positive manner by appealing the injunctions placed on both devices. The appeals court have reacted in the first instance in a manner that will definitely bring a smile to the faces of Apple’s legal team. The Californian court has ruled that Samsung’s appeal against the injunction on their Galaxy Tab 10.1 is fruitless, with enough evidence existing to uphold the ban until the case goes on trial.
The second decision by the court is one that will allow Samsung’s legal team to submit their invoice with some sense of achievement, although in real-world circumstances it may not actually mean much to either of the companies. The judge in charge has ruled that Samsung has provided satisfactory evidence for the initial injunction to be lifted on the Galaxy Nexus smartphone. In accordance with how these things work, the ban is lifted immediately while the courts await Apple’s response some time in the next week.
The decisions shouldn’t really come as a great shock to anyone who is familiar with the ongoing patent war. Both companies have a history of having initial injunctions applied that have been over-turned on appeal, but with Samsung likely to push out a delta software update in the next few weeks to rectify the Galaxy Nexus situation, today’s ruling really won’t make that much of a difference.
(via FOSSPatents)
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