In tech news, Apple has just filed another lawsuit against rival company Samsung, requesting that their old phones be "banned" because their platforms violate patents filed by Apple.

The Verge reports that Apple's previous lawsuit was rejected by the Federal courts -- the claim by Apple was that the Galaxy Tab and AT&T's Galaxy S II, which have since been discontinued, were the ones in violation -- they were given another chance to file this year, and they certainly took it. Even though the devices in question have been discontinued, Apple doesn't want Samsung to sell them, or other similar devices, in the future, hence the follow-up lawsuit. "This time around, Apple will have a better chance at winning the injunction too. Though Apple won't be able to argue for a sales ban on the grounds of design patent infringement, it will have a lower bar to reach when arguing for an injunction over utility patents. Apple will now only have to show that Samsung's use of a patent it infringed on led to some demand for a device, rather than actually driving the device's sales as it did before. With none of the products currently on sale from Samsung -- or particularly likely to go back on sale as they grow more outdated -- the ruling likely won't have an immediate impact on consumers either way. But come this spring, when Apple and Samsung begin a second patent infringement trial, expect to see this new standard pop up again," reports The Verge.

"The underlying issue -- what the proper standard for a 'causal nexus' between a proven infringement and an alleged irreparable harm to the prevailing right holder should be -- is and remains extremely important, and Apple made some headway in this regard." FOSS Patents' Florian Mueller wrote for Yahoo! Business News. "This matters, but mostly with a view to a future Apple request for an injunction over whatever patents it may prevail on at the trial in its second California litigation with Samsung (scheduled to begin on March 31, 2014), where some more impactful patents are at issue."