Samsung's devices won't face a temporary ban in the U.S., a federal judge ruled, but its Galaxy line remains on hold in Australia as the company's worldwide battles with Apple continue.
In the U.S., federal judge Lucy Koh ruled that keeping Samsung's Galaxy S 4G, the Galaxy Tab 10.1, Infuse 4G and Droid Charge on the market while a trial is pending wouldn't harm Apple much, but it would benefit other gadget makers at Samsung's expense.
Meanwhile, in Australia, a temporary ban set to expire on Friday, will run through December 9 so the High Court can hear Apple's appeal against a court decision to overturn a ban in place since July on the Galaxy 10.1 tablet.
Samsung had hoped to release the tablet, considered the main competition against Apple's iPad 2, before Christmas, but the continued court action may keep the devices off the market until the holiday season is over.
The U.S. win, which likely will be appealed, may be Samsung's largest victory to date. The Australian ruling is a setback, but the country's market is nowhere near as large as in U.S. The actions in the U.S. concern far more devices, and a ban would not only have hurt Samsung, but all major cellular providers as well.
The lawsuits, which have reached around the world to Germany, the Netherlands, Asia, France and Italy, were initiated by Apple, which complains Samsung's products infringe on design patents, copying the iPhone and iPad.
Meanwhile, Samsung says Apple's devices violate its patents, and have filed suits seeking bans on the Cupertino, Calif.-based company's products, creating a complex web of litigation.
Koh, in her ruling, said she did not agree with Apple's design complaints. In respect to smartphones, she noted "a size that can be handheld, a screen that encompasses a large portion of the front face of the smartphone, and a speaker on the upper portion of the front face of the product" are not really proprietary design functions owned by Apple.
Instead, she said, those are features on all mobile devices, and should be allowed on Samsung's devices.
Apple hasn't issued a statement on Koh's ruling and may still win the overall lawsuit despite the setback. It could also, like in Australia, appeal the ruling to a higher court, eventually resulting in a ban.
For now, though, the ruling is seen as a win for Samsung, and the company's stock is climbing after Apple's ban plans were blocked.
In the U.S., federal judge Lucy Koh ruled that keeping Samsung's Galaxy S 4G, the Galaxy Tab 10.1, Infuse 4G and Droid Charge on the market while a trial is pending wouldn't harm Apple much, but it would benefit other gadget makers at Samsung's expense.
Meanwhile, in Australia, a temporary ban set to expire on Friday, will run through December 9 so the High Court can hear Apple's appeal against a court decision to overturn a ban in place since July on the Galaxy 10.1 tablet.
Samsung had hoped to release the tablet, considered the main competition against Apple's iPad 2, before Christmas, but the continued court action may keep the devices off the market until the holiday season is over.
The U.S. win, which likely will be appealed, may be Samsung's largest victory to date. The Australian ruling is a setback, but the country's market is nowhere near as large as in U.S. The actions in the U.S. concern far more devices, and a ban would not only have hurt Samsung, but all major cellular providers as well.
The lawsuits, which have reached around the world to Germany, the Netherlands, Asia, France and Italy, were initiated by Apple, which complains Samsung's products infringe on design patents, copying the iPhone and iPad.
Meanwhile, Samsung says Apple's devices violate its patents, and have filed suits seeking bans on the Cupertino, Calif.-based company's products, creating a complex web of litigation.
Koh, in her ruling, said she did not agree with Apple's design complaints. In respect to smartphones, she noted "a size that can be handheld, a screen that encompasses a large portion of the front face of the smartphone, and a speaker on the upper portion of the front face of the product" are not really proprietary design functions owned by Apple.
Instead, she said, those are features on all mobile devices, and should be allowed on Samsung's devices.
Apple hasn't issued a statement on Koh's ruling and may still win the overall lawsuit despite the setback. It could also, like in Australia, appeal the ruling to a higher court, eventually resulting in a ban.
For now, though, the ruling is seen as a win for Samsung, and the company's stock is climbing after Apple's ban plans were blocked.
No comments:
Post a Comment