Were you wondering where the Apple vs. Samsung patent battle would turn next? Now you know, with the news that a hardware ban is firmly within the Cupertino firm’s sights.
Fresh on the heals of winning a tasty victory in the courts on Friday, Apple has today named the eight Samsung smartphones which it hopes those same courts will ban from sale in the United States.
Following on from the decision that saw Samsung ordered to pay over one billion dollars for infringing Apple’s patents, Apple will ask the court to ban eight of the devices that were names during the initial battle. All eight were found guilty of infringing at least one patent, and as such Apple is in a strong position to get all three pulled from store shelves.
One of the reasons that just eight devices are named is a simple one – many of the smartphones that were part of last week’s legal battles are too old to be on sale currently, reducing the number that Apple needs to target.
So, which phones are at risk?
- Galaxy S 4G
- Galaxy S2 (AT&T)
- Galaxy S2 (Skyrocket)
- Galaxy S2 (T-Mobile)
- Galaxy S2 Epic 4G
- Galaxy S Showcase
- Droid Charge
- Galaxy Prevail
Assuming the judge does not decide to tinker with the standing verdict, Apple’s lawyers are already in a good position to ask for these devices to be banned, though it is worth noting that this does not mean the process will be an easy one by any stretch of the imagination.
A hearing date is scheduled for September 20th, with the situation set to be clarified by Judge Koh at that time, giving both sets of lawyers nearly a month to prepare themselves for the battle that is still to come.
Samsung’s latest wunderphone, the Galaxy S III, is not part of the current legal battle, though that does not mean Apple will not go after it at some point in the future. The same goes for the rumored Galaxy Note II, though it is a good bet that Samsung will have made sure that its most recent devices cannot fall foul of any of Apple’s patents.
(via TheVerge)
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