The series of ongoing lawsuits between Samsung Electronics Co (OTCMKTS:SSNLF), and Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) is not a secret to anybody. The lawsuits surround the design of tablets and smartphones – Apple sued Samsung Electronics for patent infringement two years ago, thus giving birth to what is known as the “Smartphone patent war”, an ongoing battle where Apple hopes to prevent Samsung from selling electronics which are said to copy features and design elements of their products.
The legal disputes between the two electronics manufacturers has spread across ten countries, holding no less than 50 lawsuits all around the world. Apple did win a ruling in its favor back in the United States, but earlier this year Samsung won a partial ban on the sales of some Apple products, after the court has decided that Apple Inc. has violated one of Samsung’s patents. At the time being, Apple is again seeking to restrict sales of US Samsung electronics in the United States.
Apple claims that the smartphones and tablets are to violate the patent of the iPhone maker – the design of these products was debated during the first patent trial that took place in California. In 2012, the jury decided that Samsung has infringed the Apple Patents when designing over 20 models of tablets and smartphones, including the well-known Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and a few days ago, Apple Inc. has asked Judge Lucy Koh from California to ban the sales of these particular products in the United States.
What truly bothers the iPhone manufacturer is the fact that even though Samsung has discontinued selling the models that infringe the Apple design patent, it still released new products on the market. Having said that, Apple Inc., tries to prevent future infringement by Samsung Electronics Co. and it claims that the only difference between the new products and those found to infringe the pattern is in terms of color.
The United States Court of Appeals claimed that Apple Inc. should modify its request by including the features and functions that fall under the infringement of patents. The company is unable to prevent Samsung from selling its products due to infringed patented designs, this is why Apple is advised to tailor its request and to focus on banning the use of certain patented smartphone functions like the multi-touch technology.
Throughout this year-long legal battle, both manufacturers have spent hundreds of millions of dollars on trials, trying to dominate the electronics market. The legal fight was initiated back in 2011, and a few months ago Apple won more than a quarter billion dollars from Samsung. It is estimated that at the moment, Samsung Electronics owns Apple damages worth of almost one billion dollars.
Nonetheless, the legal fight between these two electronics giants is far from being over, as Apple Inc. is expected to go on another trial against Samsung at the beginning of 2014, a trial targeted at the newer smartphone models released by the electronics manufacturer, such as the popular Galaxy S III. Apple claims that these models are nothing but a newer version of the older products, who are known to have infringed its design patent.
