When it comes to impending court cases that center around multiple alleged technology patent infringements, I am not sure that momentum actually accounts for anything, but if there is a slight chance that fortune favors those currently on top then Apple should be heading into next month’s trial feeling pretty confident about their chances. After leaving some local court houses in the United States with an interim sales ban on certain Samsung devices, Apple dealt with a relatively small blow in the U.K. when they were told to publicly retract any claim that Samsung had copied the design of the iPad.
The ruling, made earlier this month in the United Kingdom, basically meant that Apple would need to update their British facing website to include a section that made customers aware that the Korean electronics company had not actually copied the design of the record breaking iPad in productions of their own products. As well as the requirement of updating the website, the ruling went one step further by insisting the company had to also purchase space in local newspapers to convey the message.
As is always the case with these kind of rulings, the Apple legal team have decided that they aren’t overjoyed with the decision and have made an appeal. Due to the fact that the main trial for the infringement case is set to begin in the next few days, it seems a little bizarre to order Apple to make this public statement when the exact opposite could be ruled as part of the outcome of the trial. The Cupertino based company is obviously confident that they have a strong case against Samsung and with that in mind a London judge has ordered a stay on the previous ruling until after the trial has ended this fall.
It may not be a permanent decision, but it is another small slap on Samsung’s face that won’t do anything to boost their confidence when the two companies actually have their day in court. We have already heard that Samsung is planning to go down the route of attempting to convince the judge that Apple wouldn’t be in a position to sell any iPhones at all if it wasn’t for their expertise and developments in the mobile field over the last twenty years. Apple on the other hand is hoping that their legal team can show that Samsung have even gone as far as destroying email evidence that was to be used in the case, as well as hinging part of the trial on the fact that Google and other industry players warned Samsung that their original Galaxy Tab and Tab 10.1 was too similar to the design of the iPad. Whatever happens, this is lining up to be a very intriguing stand off.
(via Bloomberg)
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