Apple has succeeded in having the Galaxy Tab 10.1 banned from sale in the US. And this just weeks after Apple and Samsung tried to make peace. Looks like there’s no end in sight to this squabble…
This is the biggest blow in the ongoing Apple vs Samsung patent dispute so far. The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 has been banned from sale in the US, because it was deemed too similar to the iPad. US District Judge Lucy Koh made the decision last night. Apple will have to post a $2.6m bond to enact the injunction, though the more recent Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 will remain on sale.
This comes just weeks after the two companies sat down to talk through their differences concerning patent disputes. Ah well, at least they tried.
“Although Samsung has a right to compete, it does not have a right to compete unfairly by flooding the market with infringing products,” reads Koh’s order. “While Samsung will certainly suffer lost sales from the issuance of an injunction, the hardship of Apple of having to directly compete with Samsung’s infringing products outweighs Samsung’s harm in light of the previous findings by the Court.”
Both companies issued statements following the judgement.
Apple’s reads: “It’s no coincidence that Samsung’s latest products look a lot like the iPhone and iPad, from the shape of the hardware to the user interface and even the packaging. This kind of blatant copying is wrong and, as we’ve said many times before, we need to protect Apple’s intellectual property when companies steal our ideas.”
Samsung Vs Apple: The fight comes to the UK
Samsung’s accuses Apple of having too narrow a focus: “Apple sought a preliminary injunction of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1, based on a single design patent that addressed just one aspect of the product’s overall design. Should Apple continue to make legal claims based on such a generic design patent, design innovation and progress in the industry could be restricted.”
It’s only a preliminary ruling, and Samsung is thought to be readying an appeal.
Apple’s long-running case with Motorola was thrown out recently because the judge ruled it was impossible to prove loss of earnings. With this being the biggest decision so far, it looks like there’ll be plenty more of these cases to come.
Source: AllThingsD
