District Judge sides with Apple in patent dispute against Samsung.
Apple has triumphed in one of its numerous patent disputes with Samsung over the design of the two companies’ tablets. A US District Court Judge of California has issued a preliminary injunction against the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, which will ban its sale and import in the US.
Apple and Samsung have been mired in patent wars for quite some time, with Samsung suffering bans of its products around the globe. The gist of Apple’s argument is that the physical design and appearance of Samsung’s tablet both infringes on Apple’s patents and confuses consumers. Apple even submitted side-by-side images of the iPad and the Galaxy Tab to German courts to show how similar they looked, although the validity of those shots has since been called into question. Samsung both sells its own hardware and manufactures hardware for other companies, including Apple, making the legal disputes between the companies even stickier.
Lucy Koh, the district judge who had previously denied the injunction in December, reversed her decision a few days before a hearing on the injunction was scheduled. Koh further elaborated in her decision that, “Apple’s interest in enforcing its patent rights is particularly strong because it has presented a strong case on the merits,” an assertion that doesn’t look good for Samsung.
Before the ban can take effect, Apple must put down a $2.6 million bond, which is more than doable for the technology juggernaut. If the injunction is later reversed, Samsung will receive the bond from Apple as compensation for its losses. The Galaxy Tab 2, which was released after the injunction request, will not be affected.
Source: Geekosystem, AllThingsD
