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Judge Lucy Koh Rejects Apple's Quest For Anti-Samsung Injunction

Posted by timothy on from the sound-reasoning dept.

The Associated Press, in a story carried by The Financial Express, reports that Federal Judge Lucy Koh has has rejected Apple's attempt to block the sale of several older Samsung smartphones that copied features in the iPhone. Wednesday's rebuff comes nearly four months after a jury awarded Apple Inc. $119 million in damages for Samsung's infringements on technology used in the trend-setting iPhone. The amount was well below the $2.2 billion in damages that Apple had been seeking in the latest round of legal wrangling between the world's two leading smartphone makers since the tussle began four years ago. The Register also carries the story, and notes Perhaps because the ongoing battle was turning the two companies into law firms rather than tech titans, the two agreed to abandon all patent lawsuits outside the USA earlier this month. However, Apple still wanted the infringing features extirpated from American stores, and was seeking to have phones nobody bought banned as ammo for future battles.

6 of 30 comments (clear)

  1. Apple's Quest by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 3, Funny

    I wasn't aware that you could take a quest in a court of law. The judge must have rolled the dice before making that ruling.

  2. I don't understand the injunction by Sonny+Yatsen · · Score: 3, Informative

    I don't understand the request for injunction against the Samsung phones in question. At this point, the Samsung phones are several years old and absolutely nobody short of a few ebay sellers are still selling them. What do they get out of asking for an injunction? They're spending millions of dollars in attorney fees and, for what, a meaningless "moral victory"?

    --
    My postings are informational and does not constitute legal advice. Act on it at your risk.
    1. Re:I don't understand the injunction by oji-sama · · Score: 2

      "Apple still wanted the infringing features extirpated from American stores, and was seeking to have phones nobody bought banned as ammo for future battles."

      --
      It is what it is.
    2. Re:I don't understand the injunction by Sonny+Yatsen · · Score: 2

      Specifically, the term "colorably different" means:

      "The phrase “colorable differ-ences” refers to alterations that do not essentially change the nature of the device, and are made only to evade the permanent injunction.17 Language enjoining adjudged infringers from producing products that are “only colorably different” from the infringing devices is typical in patent injunctions."

      Nathan Ingham, Recording over Old Standards: TiVo’s “More Than Colorably Different” Standard for Patent Injunction Contempt Proceedings, 53 B.C.L. Rev. E. Supp. 47 (2012), http://lawdigitalcommons.bc.ed...

      So, the injunction is very narrow. Basically for the phones specifically listed and minor variants that doesn't change the nature of the device and only made to evade a permanent injunction (i.e. a slightly modified model with a minor workaround).

      --
      My postings are informational and does not constitute legal advice. Act on it at your risk.
  3. Patents cited in article by Vapula · · Score: 4, Informative

    The linked article cite the following patents :
    - Auto-correction/completion on keyboard entry...
    Il looks quite similar to the autocompletion that you find in some Japanese IME under Linux... which sometimes allow both conversion to kanjis and completion. Auto-correction is quite old on the wordprocessor scene
    - transformation of email & phone numbers to link
    AFAIK, most forums and webmails already convert email to link for a long long time. As for Phone number, the extension is quite trivial
    - slide to unlock
    it's mimicking a physical (door) lock... so nothing real new...

    Maybe judge Koh has enough of these bogus patents claims and other similar tactics from Apple...

    1. Re:Patents cited in article by SternisheFan · · Score: 4, Funny

      Maybe judge Koh has enough of these bogus patents claims and other similar tactics from Apple...

      I liked her the moment I heard she said this...

      The Honorable Judge Lucy Koh Accuses Apple’s Lawyer Of Smoking Crack

      She’s an Alpha, and not without a touch of humor, either.The best part of the entire Apple-Samsung patent war has been Federal Judge Lucy Koh. She’s a smaller woman with straight, silk black hair, but she manages to make some of the wealthiest lawyers and highest level executives bow down.

      In fact, today she asked Apple’s attorney if he was smoking crack. At least, that’s what this tweet from NYT writer Nick Wingfield says.

      Apple’s attorney responded with, “Your Honor, I’m not smoking crack.”

      http://techcrunch.com/2012/08/...