As Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Samsung continue to fight their legal battles, Apple has long said that they block Samsung’s planned launch of the Galaxy S III on June 21st. Apple may have put too much faith in Judge Lucy Koh to ban the planned launch of the phone. Apple had requested that the new Galaxy smart phone be placed on a “preliminary injunction” Samslist that would prevent Samsung from launching more Galaxy phones until the court cases were completed.
Interestingly enough, in a report from Reuters, Judge Koh made a ruling this week that determined Apple’s requested conditions of the Galaxy phones would “overload her calendar” as the hearing for the Galaxy smartphones already has a trial date of July 30th.
The good news for Apple is they still have a chance to block the launch, if they wanted. However, the timing is against them as the new device is scheduled to be released next Thursday. Apple could try to request a separate hearing date for the launch but the likelihood of affecting the launch is minimal. Here is what the Reuters report had to say on the matter in more detail:
“U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, California, effectively dashed Apple’s hopes of stopping the launch of Samsung Electronics Co Ltd’s new Galaxy S III smartphone, which also runs on Android. Koh had said Apple’s push to get a court order blocking the June 21 launch would overload her calendar… Koh last week said Apple could ask for a temporary restraining order against the Galaxy S III phone, but that would likely delay the trial over a Galaxy tablet and other smartphones. In her order on Monday, the judge said Apple would have to request a new hearing date if it wanted to stop sales of the Galaxy S III phone. That likely would not take place before the phone’s scheduled launch. Apple has not said what its next move will be”, reports Reuters
Apple recently unveiled newly updated Mac line which will include the company’s retina display. Still, investors were disappointed with no news on an iPhone 5, rumored iPad mini or any other surprised rumor. However, we do expect that Apple will release more details on the proposed “mystery” product sometime in the second half of the year. The bottom line here is that while it may be too late for Apple to block the launch of the Galaxy S III, the company still has a few tricks up its sleeve for later in the year.
