Apple wins preliminary injunction against Samsung tablet

Apple Inc. won a court order immediately blocking U.S. sales of Samsung Electronics Co.’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet computer while the companies litigate Apple’s patent-infringement claims.

U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, California, issued the order today after rejecting a similar request in December. Apple’s request, part of a broader patent dispute over smartphones and tablets, was based on an appeals court finding that it will probably win its patent-infringement claim relating to the Tab 10.1 tablet.

A Samsung Electronics Co. Galaxy Tab 10. 1 tablet computer is displayed at the company's flagship store in Seoul. (Bloomberg)

In this case, although Samsung will necessarily be harmed by being forced to withdraw its product from the market before the merits can be determined after a full trial, the harm faced by Apple absent an injunction on the Galaxy Tab 10.1 is greater,” Koh said in Monday’s ruling.

The world’s two biggest makers of high-end phones have accused each other of copying designs and technology for mobile devices and are fighting patent battles on four continents to retain their dominance in the $219 billion global smartphone market. Koh said a June 29 hearing to address Apple’s third request to block Samsung’s tablet computer wasn’t needed. A trial is set for July 30.

The public interest “favors the enforcement of patent rights,” Koh wrote. “Although Samsung has a right to compete, it does not have a right to compete unfairly, by flooding the market with infringing products.”

Samsung said in an e-mailed statement that it is disappointed in the ruling, that the order applies only to the Galaxy Tab 10.1 computers sold in the U.S. and that other Tab products will continue to be available to U.S. consumers.

The ruling “will ultimately reduce the availability of superior technological features to consumers in the U.S.,” Samsung said in the statement. If Apple continues to sue based on “generic design” patent claims “innovation and progress in the industry could be restricted,” the Suwon, South Korea- based company said.

Koh rejected Samsung’s arguments that the injunction was overbroad because the infringement claim was based on one aspect of the overall product, and that it would hurt Samsung’s relationships with wireless carriers that provide the Galaxy Tab to their customers.