U.S court toys with the idea of Samsung ban by Apple

An update to the longstanding Apple – Samsung dispute now comes in from an appeals court in the U.S that, according to reports may very well be toying with the idea of implementing a sales ban on Samsung’s smartphones and tablets, following a request by Apple. If things run well in Apple’s favour, then an immediate block on the aforementioned products may just be in the offing. Back in December, last year, when Apple had placed a similar appeal, i.e. to implement a sales ban on Samsung’s Galaxy line of smartphones and tablets before a Federal trial court, the same was rejected by the judge citing lack of evidence to support the injunction.

& the trial continues...

Now, however, at the appeals court, it is being debated upon whether the judge indeed did the right thing by rejecting Apple’s plea, back then. Now reports suggest that in a point put forward by an Apple lawyer, Michael Jacobs has set them thinking about this. The lawyer put forward a point, stating that in order to gain an injunction, “Apple does not need to show a causal link between patent infringement and a loss of customers," and that it was enough for them to just show to the court that Samsung “likely infringed on Apple patents used in products such as the iPhone, and that Apple is likely to be hurt.” The reports further suggest that while the federal trial court judge did find the aforementioned points, the only thing missing was a causal link, leading to the rejection. To this, reportedly, Judge Sharon Prost stated that providing a causal link is important and that “losing customers”, as cited by the Apple lawyer may have been triggered by reasons completely different from an infringement.

Apple is hoping for an immediate injunction, because they believe that even if it wins at the trial, a verdict cannot be expected to come through before late this year. The next hearing for the Apple – Samsung lawsuit has been scheduled for July in a federal court in California. One time friends, now Apple and Samsung are at loggerheads with each other and currently have separate lawsuits going on in several countries.

To know all about the Apple – Samsung lawsuit, click here.

Reuters