Apple vs. Samsung Patent Lawsuit Retrial: Unhappy With Verdict, AAPL Seeks Unlikely Ban of 9 Samsung Phone Models
In its bid to have some Samsung phones banned from the U.S. market, Apple Inc. is leveraging its May 2 victory against its South Korean rivals. In the previous jury verdict, Samsung Electronics Co. lost $120 million for infringing on three of Apple's user interface patents. However, despite winning the case, Apple considers it a rather small victory as they initially sought $2.2 billion. Consequently, the iPhone maker filed for another suit on May 23, seeking another trial to ban a total of 9 Samsung devices. The case was filed in San Jose, California with U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh who also presided over the first trial between the two tech companies in 2012.
According to Bloomberg News, Koh admits that it may prove difficult for Apple to win a ban after she had already rejected a couple of Apple's requests previously asking for the same thing. A law professor from Villanova University further added that Apple's cause seems like a hard sell given that they have already failed to prove their claim and achieve an injunction. On the other hand, Samsung, the maker of the Galaxy phone series, has not filed for a similar case against the iPhone or any of Apple's products. Samsung spokesman Adam Yates said in a statement that granting bans on mobile devices would limit choices of consumers and effectively stifle fair competition. No response was sent by Apple. Nonetheless, both companies have requested for the judgments to be altered in their favor.
While the two companies wage legal battle against each other, their global share dropped in the first quarter of 2014 as Chinese brands Huawei and Xiaomi rapidly emerged in the industry, offering feature-packed gadgets at a much cheaper price compared to both Apple and Samsung. So far, no proofs of patent infringement strong enough to constitute a ban are apparent.
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