Apple Inc. (AAPL) (AAPL) won a court order blocking U.S. sales of Samsung Electronics Co. (005930)s Nexus smartphone, garnering a second important U.S. ruling this week in the companies global patent dispute.
Todays ruling by U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, California, follows her June 26 order blocking U.S. sales of Samsungs Galaxy Tab 10.1 computer in the patent and trademark- infringement lawsuit over smartphones and tablets. On June 7, Koh expedited evidence sharing for Apples bid to block sales of Samsungs newest Galaxy smartphone, the Galaxy S III.
Although Samsung will necessarily be harmed by being forced to withdraw its product from the market before the merits can be determined after a full trial, the harm faced by Apple absent an injunction is greater, Koh said in the ruling. Apples interest in enforcing its patent rights is particularly strong because it has presented a strong case on the merits.
The worlds two biggest makers of high-end phones have accused each other of copying designs and technology for mobile devices and are fighting patent battles on four continents to retain their dominance in the $219 billion global smartphone market. After rejecting Apples repeated requests for injunctions blocking sales of Samsung products, Koh, following an appeals court ruling in Apples favor, has granted Apple two important injunctions this week.
Big Deal
Its a big deal, said Carl Howe, an analyst with Yankee Group, a Boston-based technology research firm. Samsung is perhaps the best and most successful challenge to Apple in the smartphone business, so to win an injunction against your biggest competitor is pretty profound.
