Appeals Court: Galaxy Nexus sales can continue during trial
updated 06:33 pm EDT, Mon July 30, 2012
Continuation allows phone to still be sold at retail
The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has continued a temporary stay of the sales injunction on the Samsing Galaxy Nexus smartphone Apple won earlier this month. The ruling allows Samsung to continue selling the smartphone model. The expedited appeal of Judge Lucy Koh's original ruling of the sales suspension is scheduled for August 20, with a decision on the appeal following in the days or weeks after the hearing.
The injunction centers around an Apple patent that covers "unified search" technology, which Samsung is accused of infringing upon with its search feature for the Galaxy Nexus. Northern District of California Judge Lucy Koh agreed that Apple had presented a "plausible theory" of irreparable harm and long-term loss of market share from the alleged infringement.
Aside from the arguments over the potential sales impact, Samsung also suggests that Siri is a "different feature than the unified search" described in the patent. Keeping with the arguments from the initial case, Samsung maintains that Apple's patent is invalid and improperly interpreted in the claims against the Galaxy Nexus.
The case is one of several legal disputes that Apple and Samsung continue to fight around the globe, including today's start of the first US smartphone patent trial between the giants to reach a jury in the United States. The separate case involving Apple's patents -- what Galaxy Nexus has been enjoined for -- isn't expected to see the inside of a courtroom until late 2013 at the earliest.
