Judge denies Apple request to stop Galaxy sales in U.S.
Apple"s arguments to block sales of certain Samsung Galaxy products in the U.S. failed, delivering a critical blow as the iPad maker"s leverage slips slightly in global patent dispute.In a late Friday ruling it was announced that Apple"s request for a preliminary U.S. injunction against certain Samsung mobile devices was shot down by District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, reports Reuters.
Koh denied Apple"s bid to ban three Galaxy handsets and the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the U.S.
"It is not clear that an injunction on Samsung"s accused devices would prevent Apple from being irreparably harmed," Koh wrote.
Apple is seen to have lost a crucial battle in its worldwide struggle to ban Galaxy device sales on the grounds that the products infringe on the company"s patents.
The ruling is not the end of the lawsuit, and Koh noted that Apple was likely to prove that Samsung infringed on at least one tablet patent. She goes on to say, however, that the Cupertino, Calif. tech giant still needs to prove the patent"s validity, something it had not shown thus far.
The news is the latest development in the ongoing legal war between the rival handset and tablet makers, which now spans across 10 countries and includes over 20 separate cases. Apple initially sued Samsung in April, claiming that the Galaxy line of mobile products copied the look and feel of the iPhone and the iPad.
Most recently, a preliminary injunction against Samsung"s Galaxy Tab 10.1 was overturned in Australia, though Apple won a week-long extension on the ban to file an appeal. The iPhone maker is waiting to see if its application will be granted by the High Court.