With the epic legal battle between Apple and Samsung still moving forward as furiously as ever, FOSS Patents offers some excellent news for our favorite fruit company, reporting that Apple has been granted a preliminary injunction blocking sales of the new Samsung Galaxy Nexus in the U.S.
Judge Lucy Koh handed down a ruling very much in Apple’s favor today, finding Samsung in violation of a number of Apple patents involving Siri, as well as slide-to-unlock, data tapping, autocorrect, and more. The entire ruling spans 101 pages. FOSS Patents has selected a number of quotes summarizing the ruling:
“In sum, Apple has shown that claims 6 and 19 of the ‘604 [Siri] Patent are likely both valid and infringed. Apple has therefore shown a likelihood of prevailing on the merits of the ‘604 Patent.”
“In sum, Apple has shown a likelihood of establishing both infringement and validity.”
“Accordingly, Apple has shown a likelihood of success on the merits of its ‘647 [data tapping] Patent claim.”
“Accordingly, Apple has met its burden of establishing that the ‘721 [slide-to-unlock] Patent is likely infringed by the Galaxy Nexus, and that the ‘721 Patent will likely withstand a validity challenge at trial.”
“Accordingly, Apple has shown that it is likely to succeed on the merits at trial in its claims that the Samsung Galaxy Nexus infringes claims 18, 19, and 27 of the ‘172 [autocorrect] Patent.”
The ruling also assessed the harm that may come to Apple as a result of Samsung’s infringement, stating that “the full extent of these losses would likely be unascertainable, difficult to calculate, and irreparable.” This ruling follows a similar injunction granted to Apple blocking sales of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1.
Things are looking pretty good for Apple in the legal field right now, as this is their second major victory in the course of a few days – but it’s important to remember that these rulings are only preliminary, and the game could easily shift in Samsung’s favor in the future.
