BANNED : Samsung Galaxy 10.1 By U.S. Court!

Image via: TechLease.com 

Sweet and sour news today from the emmerging world of tablets. Sweet if your Apple that is, but bitterly sour if you happen to be Samsung. That's because U.S. District Court Judge Lucy Koh has granted Apple a preliminary injunction against the Galaxy 10.1, effectively banning  the Korean tablet from the U.S. market.

In record breaking time, however, a mere five hours after receiving the ban, Samsung quickly filed for an appeal after the judge ruled:

"Although Samsung has a right to compete, it does not have a right to compete unfairly, by flooding the market with infringing products,"

Samsung, of course, had no choice but to appeal, as a strategic  win here helps paves the way for Apple to win even more injunctions based on its design features down-the-road. Personally, I've mistaken Samsung phones and tablets for iPhones and iPads on several, and, quite frankly, numerous occasions, so I can easily understand the judge's position on this one.  


As German patent expert, Florian Mueller, wrote, this is important because:

"The decision strengthens Apple's "copycat" allegations against Samsung. The ruling notes that Judge Koh's court "previously found the Galaxy Tab 10.1 to be substantially similar 'in the eyes of the ordinary observer' to the D'889" and that "the Galaxy Tab 10.1 is 'virtually indistinguishable' from Apple's iPad and iPad 2". In fact, Samsung's counsel couldn't distinguish those products when Judge Koh showed them in the courtroom at a limited distance.

If Apple also prevails on this infringement issue at the upcoming trial (which is scheduled to begin on July 30), Samsung may be liable for a substantial amount of damages. Design patent infringement can be very costly."

As AppleInsider also noted, the importance of this ruling by writing:

"Tuesday's injunction represents a significant win for Apple at home. The iPad maker had previously successfully argued for temporary injunctions in Australia and Germany. Samsung dodged the German injunction by releasing a slightly-redesigned Galaxy Tab 10.1N. Meanwhile, the Australian ban was overturned last November."

In conclusion, I don't know where this is all going to end, but considering just how much money is involved, this thing is definitely going to be fiercely fought over and neither party is going to back down so easily. In other words:  this thing could get a lot uglier than it is now, so let the fire-works begin!

And that's my 2 cents 4 this icky Wednesday, June 27, 2012