Just when we thought that Apple and Samsung would come to an understanding, the two are in court again, once again continuing the feud over the Galaxy Tab 10.1 slates. Sammy seems far from defeat for now, as US District Judge Lucy Koh refuses to grant a preliminary injunction, banning the devices.
The two big companies are passing through legal proceedings to decide if the Galaxy Tab 10.1 infringes design patents related to the iPad or not. Koh’s fresh ruling mentions that the request for a ban from Apple is too early, since the appeals court hasn’t issued a mandate for the judge to reconsider. Apple registered a small victory on May 14, when the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled that Judge Koh’s analysis on the design patents wasn’t accurate. The problem they had was exactly what you see in the picture above: the idea of a tablet prototype from 1994 that challenges the originality of the iPad.
While Koh agreed with this point, the Court of Appeals didn’t… The same Court ruled that the Judge should have taken into account public interest and the “balance of hardships” before turning down Apple’s demand for injunction. Thus, the case was sent back to Koh for a repeat and now she’s delaying it, probably for a few more months… Samsung gets more time to display its product on the market and sell it, so if they do take it hit, it won’t matter anymore in 3-4 months.
