BY
ANDREW CHUNG
A U.S. appeals court on Thursday said Apple (AAPL.O) should have been awarded an
injunction barring Samsung (005930.KS) from selling products that
infringe its patents, handing Apple another victory in its ongoing smartphone
fight with its biggest rival.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C. said
the lower court abused its discretion when it denied Apple Inc an injunction
after a jury ordered Samsung Electronics Co Ltd to pay $120 million in May,
2014 for infringing three of Apple's patents.
The case involved Apple patents covering the iPhone's slide-to-unlock,
autocorrect and data detection features.
The 2-1 appeals court ruling said that Apple's proposed injunction is
narrow because it does not want to ban Samsung's devices from the marketplace,
and that Samsung can remove the patented features without recalling its
products.
"Apple does not seek to enjoin the sale of lifesaving drugs, but to
prevent Samsung from profiting from the unauthorized use of infringing features
in its cellphones and tablets," the court said.
The case was sent back to a federal district court in San Jose, California,
to reconsider the injunction.
After the jury verdict last year, U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in August,
2014 refused Apple's request for a permanent injunction to stop Samsung from
selling the infringing features on its smartphones.
In a statement, Samsung sought to reassure its customers that all of its
flagship smartphones will remain available for sale and customer service
support.
Calling Apple's injunction request "unfounded," a spokeswoman
said Samsung will ask the full slate of Federal Circuit judges to review
Thursday's decision.
Apple reiterated its previous comments about the case, saying "Samsung
willfully stole our ideas and copied our products."
In a separate, blockbuster case, the Federal Circuit in May stripped about
$382 million from a $930 million judgment against Samsung stemming from a 2012
verdict for infringing Apple's patents and copying the look of the iPhone. Both
companies are now sparring in Koh's court over a final damages figure in that
case.
The impact of Thursday's decision on Samsung could be limited because the
company has been bracing for a possible injunction, said Michael Risch, a
professor of law at Villanova University School of Law. Samsung has probably
designed around the features or abandoned them already, he said.
In the Apple-Samsung patent wars, "Apple has won every round," he
said. "But the reality is it hasn't actually slowed Samsung down."
The case is Apple Inc v. Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, in the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the Federal Circuit, No. 14-1802.
(Reporting by Andrew Chung; Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Alan Crosby)
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