News & Analysis
Court halts U.S. sales of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1
Junko Yoshida
6/27/2012 5:14 AM EDT
PARIS - A U.S. judge on Tuesday backed Apple Inc's request to stop Samsung Electronics selling its Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet in the United States, Reuters reported.
The decision issued by U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, California gives Apple a significant win in the global smartphone and tablet patent wars.
Samsung's Galaxy touchscreen tablets, based on Google's Android operating system, have been going head to head against the iPad especially in Asia, although Android made little dent on the U.S. tablet market. Meanwhile, Microsoft and Google are also preparing tablet offerings.
The Tuesday decision, however, is by no means the last word on Google’s Android vs. Apple case. The latest injunction against Samsung comes less than a week after a federal judge in Chicago dismissed Apple's patent claims against Google's Motorola Mobility unit.
Expect further scuttlebutt in different territories in months to come.
Judge Koh in San Jose, California, had previously denied Apple's bid for an injunction on the tablet and multiple Galaxy smartphones. However, a federal appeals court instructed Koh to reconsider Apple's request on the tablet.
The court’s order to halt Galxy Tab sales should become effective, according to Reuters, once Apple posts a $2.6 million bond to protect against damages suffered by Samsung if the injunction is later found to have been wrong.
It’s widely reported that Samsung is likely seek to appeal Koh's ruling to a federal appeals court in Washington, DC, which has exclusive jurisdiction over intellectual property disputes.
"Apple sought a preliminary injunction of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1, based on a single design patent that addressed just one aspect of the product's overall design," Samsung said in a statement. "Should Apple continue to make legal claims based on such a generic design patent, design innovation and progress in the industry could be restricted."
An Apple spokeswoman reiterated a prior statement from the company, saying Samsung's "blatant copying" is wrong, according to Reuters.
Related story:
-Survival Guide to the Mobile Patent Wars
The decision issued by U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, California gives Apple a significant win in the global smartphone and tablet patent wars.
Samsung's Galaxy touchscreen tablets, based on Google's Android operating system, have been going head to head against the iPad especially in Asia, although Android made little dent on the U.S. tablet market. Meanwhile, Microsoft and Google are also preparing tablet offerings.
The Tuesday decision, however, is by no means the last word on Google’s Android vs. Apple case. The latest injunction against Samsung comes less than a week after a federal judge in Chicago dismissed Apple's patent claims against Google's Motorola Mobility unit.
Expect further scuttlebutt in different territories in months to come.
Judge Koh in San Jose, California, had previously denied Apple's bid for an injunction on the tablet and multiple Galaxy smartphones. However, a federal appeals court instructed Koh to reconsider Apple's request on the tablet.
The court’s order to halt Galxy Tab sales should become effective, according to Reuters, once Apple posts a $2.6 million bond to protect against damages suffered by Samsung if the injunction is later found to have been wrong.
Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1
It’s widely reported that Samsung is likely seek to appeal Koh's ruling to a federal appeals court in Washington, DC, which has exclusive jurisdiction over intellectual property disputes.
"Apple sought a preliminary injunction of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1, based on a single design patent that addressed just one aspect of the product's overall design," Samsung said in a statement. "Should Apple continue to make legal claims based on such a generic design patent, design innovation and progress in the industry could be restricted."
An Apple spokeswoman reiterated a prior statement from the company, saying Samsung's "blatant copying" is wrong, according to Reuters.
Related story:
-Survival Guide to the Mobile Patent Wars
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chanj
6/27/2012 11:28 AM EDT
What are Apple's grounds that drive the ruling of US court?
Patents are double edge sword. It protects company asset. It slows down innovation. In this particular case, depending on the ground, it might actually help innovation.
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eewiz
6/27/2012 1:46 PM EDT
"once Apple posts a $2.6 million bond to protect against damages suffered by Samsung if the injunction is later found to have been wrong."
2.6m$! That gives a good understanding of how many of these samsung tablets are selling in the US anyways!
Google is rumored to announce a 199$ Android tablet with quad core processor and 1GB RAM. This literally ends the story for all Android tablet vendors. No one other than Google/Amazon can sell a tablet for 199 and still make some money out of it. Google/Amazon can make money selling content and showing ads.
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dylan.mcgrath
6/27/2012 11:04 PM EDT
This rumor turned out to be true:
http://www.eetimes.com/electronics-news/4376164/Google-launches-7-inch---199-Android-tablet
I think Google and Amazon may have the advantage of having the content to sell, but I am not sure I agree that nobody else could do this.
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eewiz
6/28/2012 12:41 AM EDT
The BOM alone of this kind of a tablet(almost topend specs) will be ~150+. So the monetisation has to come from the content/advertisement route. Who else have content/ad business? Sony has the content! But Sony is so lethargic these days, cant count them as competition. Samsung could do something similar with some collaborative efforts with other vendors. However they havent done it yet.
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