Judge dissolves U.S. ban on Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1
A U.S. judge has removed a 3-month-old sales ban of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the U.S. following a jury decision last month.
U.S. District Court Judge Lucy Koh issued an order this evening dissolving a 3-month-old ban on Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the U.S.
The order (PDF) follows one from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit last week that enabled Koh to make a determination.
"The Court agrees with Samsung that the sole basis for the June 26 Preliminary Injunction was the Court's finding that Samsung likely infringed the D'889 Patent. The jury has found otherwise," Koh's ruling read. "Thus, the sole basis for the June 26 Preliminary Injunction no longer exists. Based on these facts alone, the Court finds it proper to dissolve the injunction."
The Korean electronics giant welcomed the news, asserting that sales ban was unnecessary.
"We are pleased with the court's action today, which vindicates our position that there was no infringement of Apple's design patent and that an injunction was not called for," Samsung said in a statement.
CNET has also contacted Apple for comment and will update this report when we learn more.
Samsung's once-flagship device was banned from sale in June with stipulation that it could be reversed if Samsung was cleared of infringing Apple's D'889 tablet design patent. That's just what happened in the jury verdict that was delivered last month, leading Samsung to appeal the decision.
The only snag in that taking effect was that Judge Koh, who was presiding over the case, said she didn't have the jurisdiction to make that decision, something that was passed down from the higher court last week.
A federal jury in San Jose, Calif., last month overwhelmingly sided with Apple in the trial between the two companies. The group rejected all of Samsung's patent infringement claims and found that the South Korea-based smartphone maker was liable for about $1.05 billion in damages arising from software patents on mobile devices. The fallout was also closely tied with other legal actions, including the injunction against the Galaxy Tab, which Samsung has since replaced with newer models.
Within tonight's decision, Judge Koh said that the court would hang on to the $2.6 million bond Apple put up to get the preliminary injunction to take effect. She also told both sides to submit a schedule for "any issues" about the dissolving of the preliminary injunction, something Apple is likely to fight.
Both companies are expected back in court on December 6 to discuss a wide range of post-trial issues, including a U.S. sales ban of eight Samsung devices that were found to infringe on Apple's patents.
