Galaxy Tab 10.1 ban should be reconsidered: US appeals court

In a patent battle with Samsung, Apple had been successful in getting a ban on the sale of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the US. Samsung was also told to cough up damages to the tune of a staggering $1 billion. Now, a lower court in the US has been told by a US appeals court to reconsider its decision to ban the sale of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. The jury in its verdict had affirmed that Samsung had not violated the patent, which formed the basis of the injunction leading to the sales ban, and Samsung had asked for the ban to be lifted. Judge Lucy Koh stated that she could not act, since Samsung had already appealed. However, Koh can now consider the matter at hand, as stated by the Federal US Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, in its ruling. 

In July this year, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit had refused to lift the existing preliminary injunction on the sale of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the US. As per the website Foss Patents, Samsung was denied two motions pertaining to the preliminary injunction on the sale. In its latest ruling, the court also denied Samsung's request to expedite its appeal on the matter.

Court told to reconsider decision to ban

A report on the lawsuit proceedings published by Bloomberg stated that Apple had been ordered by Judge Colin Birss to publish a notice on its UK website, and in British newspapers, informing consumers to the effect that the Galaxy Tab's design has not been copied from the iPad. Essentially, the notice that Apple had been asked to publish had to highlight the court's July 9 decision, wherein it affirmed that Samsung’s Galaxy tablets do not infringe upon Apple’s patented designs. "The order means Apple will have to publish “an advertisement” for Samsung", Richard Hacon, a lawyer for Apple told the court. “No company likes to refer to a rival on its website."

It had been reported that Samsung Electronics will sue Apple over the release of the iPhone 5, for it finds the latter to be infringing on its fourth-generation (4G) long-term evolution (LTE) connectivity patents. Quoting an industry source, the report added, “It's true that Samsung Electronics has decided to take immediate legal action against the Cupertino-based Apple. Countries in Europe and even the United States - Apple's home-turf - are our primary targets”.