US Judge rules that Samsung has infringed Apple patents
The long lasting legal battle between Apple and Samsung is right at its most heated point as a US court judge in California ruled that Samsung has indeed violated Apple's patterns, but at the same time Apple itself had a problem proving the patents valid.
The ruling was announced yesterday by US Judge Lucy Koh, but we're yet to hear the final word about injunction on sales for some Samsung Galaxy devices. Judge Koh however did say that she felt "tentative" for Apple's toughest claims for injunction based on "utility" patterns. There are three other claims based on design which the judge is yet to give a decision on.
Earlier, in Australia, Samsung faced a temporary ban on selling its latest Galaxy Tab tablet – a win for Apple.
Back to the ruling, Judge Koh reportedly pointed out the striking similarity between the iPad and Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1. Apple attorney Harold McElhinny mentioned that before the iPad, tablets had a radically different design.
At some point during the hearing Koh raised both tablets in her hand and asked Samsung attorney Kathleen Sullivan whether she could identify which was the iPad and which was the Galaxy Tab.
Not the best thing to say when you're defending your company is it?
Luckily, Koh extended the same question to the rest of Samsung attorneys in the court room and one of them could tell both apart and save Samsung from a huge embarassment.
Apple accused Samsung of “slavishly copying” its iPhone and iPad in Samsung's own phone and tablet lines. After the hearing, Apple's spokeswoman Kristen Huguet said: "It's no coincidence that Samsung's latest products look a lot like the iPhone and iPad ... This kind of blatant copying is wrong, and we need to protect Apple's intellectual property when companies steal our ideas."
Samsung's spokesperson Kim Titus, on the other hand, found the injunction request by Apple “groundless.”
source: Reuters
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