US District Judge Lucy Koh on Monday has granted an Apple appeal seeking permanent injunction against selling 23 older model handsets and tablets in the US market. But the older models have already been largely wiped out from the market.
Those devices under ban in the US include the Admire, Galaxy Nexus, Galaxy Note, Galaxy Note 2, Galaxy S2, Galaxy S2 Epic 4G Touch, Galaxy S2 Skyrocket, Galaxy S3, and Stratosphere. The most recent device on the list, the Galaxy S3, introduced in 2012, has been replaced by a series of Samsung flagship smart phone. Most of the devices on the banning list are no longer offered for selling in the US by Samsung.
The ruling puts an end to Apple efforts, beginning in 2011, seeking court move to strike down the import and sale of some devices in the US. Those specified models have been infringed to Apple's own patents in terms of design and operations of the handsets, reports Tech 2.
However, a trade group comprising of Google, Microsoft and other tech giants, have appealed to Supreme Court to reconsider a closely watched Apple patent decision. Appearing as a 'friend of the court' in support of Samsung, under the banner of Communications Industry Association, they have filed the appeal on Friday.
The association has earlier appealed to the Supreme Court to review a court decision that compels Samsung to count fines for $339 million to Apple over the infringement issue. Despite paying $548 million to Apple over pinch to zoom and design patents, Samsung is still reported to fight on various legal fronts including the Supreme Court, reports Fortune.
Apple's injunction verdict takes back to its winning a $119 billion jury verdict against Samsung in May, 2014. The jury has found Samsung guilty of infringing on several Apple patents -- one for quick links, one for slide-to-unlock and another for automatic word correction.
At that time, Apple has appealed to the court to impose this injunction alongside financial penalty. But Judge Koh has ruled out in August, 2014 that monetary damages are sufficient in the harm done to Apple. However, US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has disagreed observing that Samsung should have been banned from using certain patented Apple features in its devices.
Judge Koh has finally pronounced the injunction order on Friday in light of the appeal verdict. The court has observed in its verdict that Apple will suffer irreparable harm if Samsung continues to use the infringed features, reports CNET quoting Judge Koh's filing.
Both Apple and Samsung haven't immediately responded to requests for comments. However the ruling may have wide-ranging effects on the patent landscape. This is due to the fact that the matter directly relates to devices like smart phone which have a complex variety of patents and features. Industry insiders suggest for resolving such matters in the negotiation table instead of imposing trade ban with the help of the court.
Samsung now faces court injunction on older Samsung handsets following Apple's appeal in this regard. Though the models are out of market since long, but the verdict has a potential impact on smart phone industry. Since smart phones frequently absorb rival competitors' features on payment, so industry insiders prefer table negotiations instead of court interventions.
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