As 2013 draws to a close, what better way to remind us that life marches on despite the numbers on the calendar than a new development in the never-ending story of Apple versus Samsung. Apple has yet again filed a request in Federal District Court with Judge Lucy Koh asking for a sales injunction on more than 20 smartphone and tablet devices produced by Samsung. More accurately, they were produced by Samsung a few short years ago, but currently none of the products are on the market.
The devices are those that were the subject of Apple's patent case against Samsung that resulted in a win for Apple and damages in the neighborhood of $1 Billion. When that case went to the U.S. Court of Appeals, one of the rulings was that Apple could ask for relief for devices that violate patents for smartphone features, but not for design infringements.
Apple took the liberty granted by the appellate court and indicates in their new filing that “Samsung's claim that it has discontinued selling the particular models found to infringe or design around Apple's patents in no way diminishes Apple's need for injunctive relief.” There is a theory that if Apple is successful in obtaining a sales ban on products that are no longer sold, they can somehow improve their legal position in future cases in arguing that newer phones are the same products just with new names. This theory works if one assumes Apple thinks all other smartphone manufacturers employ the same product development strategy that they themselves use.
source: Bloomberg
