Samsung Loses Galaxy Tab Injunction Appeal

Samsung has lost its bid to lift an injunction on the sales of its Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet, issued by the US District Court for the District of Northern California.

The failure is the fourth setback for the Korean manufacturer in the space of the week, and it could face further disappointment later today when its appeal against a ban on the sales of its Galaxy Nexus smartphone is heard by the same court.

Significant injunction

US District Judge Lucy Koh refused to lift the injunction she granted last week and the two companies could be heading to court later this week. Apple and Samsung are currently engaged in legal disputes in a number of countries over allegations that the latter copied the design of the iPhone and iPad.

Samsung disputes these claims and has counter sued accordingly, winning its first offensive patent litigation last week when a Dutch Court ordered Apple to pay damages for infringing Samsung patents in its mobile devices.

The injunction is unlikely to have a major impact on Samsung’s revenues as it has since released the Galaxy Tab 2, but it has been noted that injunctions are significant as they are rarely granted. Samsung has one more route of appeal, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, but analyst Florian Mueller said it was unlikely to be successful as by Samsung’s own admission, it isn’t seriously harmed by the injunction.

Galaxy Tab appeal unlikely

“Even assuming that the Court should have reopened the record to consider evidence and arguments that were not a part of the Federal Circuit’s Order, such new evidence is not likely to persuade the Federal Circuit that the preliminary injunction was improperly entered,” said the court in its decision

Mueller said that it was clear throughout the hearing that Koh was unlikely to stay her injunction, adding that Samsung’s appeal against the ban on sales of the Galaxy Nexus is more important.

“The amount of the bond required in that case is 35 times higher than in the case of the Galaxy Tab 10.1. The Nexus is more popular and it’s at an earlier stage of its lifecycle,” said Mueller. “Apple has not yet posted the $95.6 million bond for the Nexus injunction but will presumably do so as soon as Judge Koh has adjudicated the motion to stay, if not before. While Judge Koh’s decision may ultimately be the same one – a denial – the issues are very case-specific.”

“In the Nexus case, Samsung’s arguments for a stay are even weaker with one exception: there is significant economic harm,” he added.

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