Samsung asked federal circuit judges to review a 2-1 appeals court ruling that may likely stop it from using specific features in its devices. However, the company says it will not stop selling its flagships to customers.
Considered as Apple's biggest rival, Samsung might be forced to modify its products following court decision on Thursday. The South Korean-based manufacturer was accused of copying the iPhone and infringing Apple-patented features. The court ruling prevents Samsung from using such features in their devices, says Bloomberg in a report.
Some of the patents being questioned for infringement in Samsung devices are the iPhone's slide-to-unlock mechanism, quick linking, and autocorrect. Apple says that Samsung's use of its patents robs Apple products of their exclusiveness and forces it "to compete against its own innovation usurped by its largest and fiercest competitor".
However, the court ruling might not have too much impact on Samsung, says law professor Michael Risch of Villanova University School of Law. The Korean company might have already figured out a way around those features or ultimately discontinued them already in its products. Samsung tells customers that its flagship devices will still be on sale and available for customer service support according to a report by CRN.
Backing Samsung in its claims are Google, HTC, LG Electronics, and Rackspace. They say that Apple could be followed by other patent holders to unjustly use patents to gain profit. Yet, Apple refutes that its main goal is to protect Apple product differentiation by barring Samsung from earning off its patents.
According to Wireless Week, Federal Circuit Judge Kimberly Moore wrote: "Though the fact that the infringing features are not the only cause of the lost sales may well lessen the weight of any alleged irreparable harm, it does not eliminate it entirely... The right to exclude competitors from using one's property rights is important. And the right to maintain exclusivity-a hallmark and crucial guarantee of patent rights deriving from the Constitution itself-is likewise important."
This is just an example of one of the many feuds between the two leading phone manufacturers. Even though Apple has won every single court face-off with Samsung, the Korean giant's growth has not been impeded according to Risch.
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