Samsung finally wins one in patent war vs. Apple
Samsung Electronics has won its first legal battle against Apple in a patent lawsuit in Australia.
The Korean company had lost to Apple in Germany and the Netherlands due to court injunctions on the sales of Samsung products. The ruling by an Australian court, however, could mean a Samsung turnaround.
An Australian federal court Wednesday unanimously overturned the first ruling imposing a temporary block on the sale of the Samsung tablet PC Galaxy Tab 10.1. The ruling said Apple`s suit lacks logic in its claim of patent infringement and allowed Samsung to sell the Tab from Friday, lifting the ban on Samsung marketing the Tab in Australia.
A Samsung source said, "We will prepare for sales and marketing strategies to rush for sales from mid-December for the Christmas season."
Though the Korean electronics giant won this time, it remains to be seen if Samsung can sell products in Australia. Apple is expected to appeal to Australia`s highest court immediately to extend the ban.
The first win has given Samsung hope in its ensuing 30 lawsuits against Apple around the world. Apple had the initial advantage thanks to its clever lawsuit strategies, winning in Germany with its design rights leading to an injunction on basically all Galaxy Tab products, including the Galaxy Tab 10.1, 7.7 and 8.9.
A Dutch court banned the sales of the Galaxy S and Galaxy S II smartphones for their photo flicking patent, and an Australian court blocked the sale of the Tab 10.1 for its multi-touch and heuristics technologies.
The Australian federal court ruled in favor of Samsung, which has begun selling in Netherlands the Galaxy S II, which did not use Apple technologies. The Korean company has also started to sell Galaxy Tab 10.1N in Germany with a different design.
"Apple is continuing a legal dispute after being slapped with a sales ban in a lawsuit against Motorola, and a Spanish court didn`t recognize the design right in Apple`s lawsuit against a Spanish company," a source from the electronics industry said. "Things are changing favorably for Samsung."
Apple is not sitting idly by, however. The company filed for an injunction Tuesday against the new Galaxy Tab 10.1N with a court in Dusseldorf, Germany, and is also trying to expand the patent battle into an anti-trust war.
(Source: donga.com)
