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Apple Wins Court Order Banning Sale of Samsung Tablets in the USA
Published on:
Apple has secured a ban on sales of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 within the USA as part of the ongoing tit-for-tat patent disputes between the two companies.
In the ruling, Judge Lucy H. Koh of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California prohibited Samsung and its local subsidiaries from importing or selling the tablet, or any other device which infringes on Apple's design patent, D504,889.
The patent refers to the ornamental design of the device, which is itself a controversial issue as it theoretically affects most tablets on the market today.
The court had found that Samsung's tablet looked similar to Apple's tablet, when seen by the "ordinary observer". The Judge added that the Galaxy Tab 10.1 was "virtually indistinguishable" from Apple's iPad and iPad 2.
Although the court had found that Samsung breached the design patent last year, it had withheld an order banning sales due to concerns that the patent might be invalid due to previous tablet devices having been shown, or even sold.
The court has now decided that in the absence of substantial arguments from Samsung, that the patent can be upheld for now.
Apple has been launching lawsuits against Samsung in a number of countries claiming that the tablets are copies of its iPad devices.
Apple is required to post a US$2.6 million deposit with the court to cover costs if the decision is later overturned. Once the bond is posted, then the ban on sales comes into effect.
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