California U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh has denied Apple a permanent injunction against Samsung that would have made 26 smartphone and tablet devices restricted from sale in the U.S. She asserted that Apple had not supplied sufficient evidence that the violated patents were the main reason for the iPhone’s success.
“The phones at issue in this case contain a broad range of features, only a small fraction of which are covered by Apple’s patents,” Koh wrote in a statement. “Though Apple does have some interest in retaining certain features as exclusive to Apple… It does not follow that entire products must be forever banned from the market because they incorporate, among their myriad features, a few narrow protected functions.”
Apple won a major victory when a jury said Samsung violated five Apple patents in August, awarding them more than $1 billion in damages. Apple sought a permanent injunction against a large number of Samsung devices because of the ruling, including the popular Galaxy S III.
Source: Reuters
