In a major blow to Samsung’s Galaxy touch screen tablets, a U.S. judge on Tuesday backed Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s request to stop Samsung selling its Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet in the United States.
The same U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, California, had previously denied Apple’s bid for an injunction on the tablet and multiple Galaxy Smartphones. But the requests from the federal appeals court ordered an injunction. “Although Samsung has a right to compete, it does not have a right to compete unfairly, by flooding the market with infringing products,” Koh wrote on Tuesday. The order becomes effective once Apple posts a $2.6 million bond to protect against damages suffered by Samsung if the injunction is later found to have been wrong.
Considering Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s powered operating system a possible threat, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) has been trying for an injunction since 2010: as it will strengthen its clout when negotiating cross-licensing deals, where firms agree to let each other use their patented technologies. Samsung’s Galaxy touch screen tablets are powered by Google’s Android operating system.
In a similar case less than a week ago, Apple suffered a serious setback when a federal judge in Chicago dismissed its patent claims against Google’s Motorola Mobility unit on the grounds that injunction will harm consumers.
The South Korean firm, Samsung said in a statement ,”Should Apple continue to make legal claims based on such a generic design patent, design innovation and progress in the industry could be restricted.” As per Samsung officials, the injunction may not have a serious impact on the sales of Samsung as it has a broad range of products, and it just unveiled three tablet models last year alone. The company further stated that the U.S. ruling does not affect the updated Tab 10.1 II, and retailers are allowed to clear their existing Tab 10.1 inventories.
Samsung is expected to appeal in federal appeals court in Washington, DC, which has exclusive jurisdiction over intellectual property disputes.
