Michael Harper for RedOrbit.com
Proview may not be the only company seeking to ban the sale of another company’s tablets. Just as the two companies have been told to pare down their complaints against one another, Apple has been granted another chance to have the Samsung Galaxy Tab banned in the United States.
A US Federal Appeals Court said that Judge Lucy Koh of the lower district court in California made a mistake by saying Apple’s patent violation claims wouldn’t hold up in court. The Appeals Court is also suggesting a ban on the Galaxy Tabs should be imposed until a trial can be held.
“The district court has not determined the extent to which Samsung would be harmed if the sales of Galaxy Tab 10.1 were [banned], and how the potential harm to Samsung resulting from entering an injunction compares to the potential harm to Apple should the district court deny interim relief,” reads the court’s decision.
“Nor has the district court evaluated the public interest at stake with respect to the sales of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1.”
As for why the Appeals Court didn’t make this decision themselves the first time, “It is normally not appropriate for this court to make such highly factual inquiries for the first time on appeal,” it said.
California district Judge Koh ruled against Apple’s preliminary injunction against the Galaxy Tab 10.1, as well as three other products, back in December. most recently, Judge Koh has told both Apple and Samsung to slim down their charges against one another before they enter into her courtroom.
Judge Koh has also asked the CEOs of the two tech giants to meet with one another in an attempt to settle as much as they can between themselves before going into court.
Apple started this fight last year when they claimed Samsung had “slavishly” copied Apple’s designs, particularly that of the iPad. Returning fire, Samsung then countersued Apple for infringing on networking patents. Now, the two companies have been fighting for over a year about more than 50 patent issues in 10 different countries, according to CNET.
In a statement acquired by PCMag.com, Samsung continues to claim Apple’s demands for an injunction “lack merit.”
“Samsung intends to oppose vigorously any further effort by Apple to obtain a preliminary injunction in the US District Court for the Northern District of California,” a Samsung spokeswoman said. “We look forward to a full trial on the merits of Apple’s claims in July before the District Court for the Northern District of California.”
“Samsung will continue to actively defend and protect our intellectual property to ensure our continued innovation and growth in the mobile communication business,” Samsung continued. “We continue to serve our customers and sales of Samsung products will proceed as usual.”
Apple has once succeeded in banning the sales of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Germany last year. in order to get around this ban, Samsung released a new version of the tablet, the Galaxy Tab 10.1N, which featured a larger bezel on the front of the device.
Should Apple succeed in having the Galaxy Tab 10.1 banned stateside, it’s likely Samsung could pull a similar move to get around the court’s decision.
Apple Gets Another Chance To Ban Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1
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