In an order handed down on Thursday, U.S. Judge Paul S. Grewal granted requests from both Apple and Samsung to add additional products, such as the flagship Samsung Galaxy S III and Apple iPhone 5 handsets, to their patent dispute which is scheduled to begin hearings in 2014.
The judgment is part of Apple’s Galaxy Nexus suit, which was first filed in February. The Cupertino company first asserted a number of utility patents against the Samsung smartphone, a move countered by the Korean electronics giant’s own claims against certain Apple products. The case is being heard in the same court as the Apple v. Samsung patent trial that resulted in a $1.05 billion verdict against Samsung in August.
In the order Judge Grewal noted that the additions were granted because both companies were “diligent in amending” their claims during the early stages of the lawsuit, reports Reuters.
Included in the amended complaint were Apple’s requests to include Samsung’s Galaxy S III, the Galaxy Note 10.1 and the Galaxy Nexus version of Google’s Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system. Samsung added the iPhone 5 to its countersuit, following a September “promise” to assert claims against the device.
While agreeing to let Apple add Samsung devices that run the Jelly Bean operating system to its lawsuit, the judge ruled that allowing the inclusion of that version of Google’s Android OS in full would be be far too encompassing and would reach beyond the scope of the lawsuit.
“Such an amendment would be overbroad and may sweep any number of Samsung devices using the Jelly Bean operating system into this suit,” Judge Grewal said, reports Foss Patents. “Samsung also does not have any design control over the content of Jelly Bean as it is a Google Android product that Samsung itself did not develop.”
Adding that the court wouldn’t allow a sweeping amendment that might apply to devices other than Samsung’s, the judge implied that allowing Apple to include Android 4.1 Jelly Bean in its suit might potentially allow it to use that against other handset makers.
The case is scheduled to get underway in a California courtroom in 2014.
