Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics have been fighting a bitter patent-based battle on a global scale for quite some time now.
Apple managed to get some significant victories in its way in foreign shores too, with the Galaxy Tab 7.7 getting banned in Germany, and the Tab 10.1 getting banned down under in Australia.
Now, Samsung faces a sales ban of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in U.S. territories as well.
US District Judge Lucy Koh had been notable in her steadfast refusal to grant Apple’s many attempts at filing injunctions against Samsung tablets and smartphones in the recent past.
However, with a federal appeals court instructing her otherwise, Koh has accepted that Samsung has been competing ‘unfairly, by flooding the market with infringing products’.
So far, Samsung has managed to circumvent patent bans in both Germany and Australia by launching newer versions of their banned Galaxy Tabs, albeit with slightly modified designs.
What should be noted about this US ban is that it comes at a post mature phase in the Tab 10.1’s lifecycle. The Galaxy Tab 10.1 will probably have a successor in a couple of months anyway, making this legal victory a tad hollow for the Cupertino company.
But with Apple planning to bring the flagship Android Ice Cream Sandwich smartphone, Samsung Galaxy Nexus, in its legal crosshairs next, Samsung (and Google) have a more important battle right around the corner.
[via Reuters]
