Apple tries to block four Samsung devices in U.S.
Apple is seeking to keep four of Samsung's newest mobile devices from being made or sold within the U.S. It's the latest in a two-month legal battle between the two tech giants.
In the legal battle between Apple and Samsung, things just went from bad to bold.
Apple today filed a preliminary injunction against Samsung with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, seeking to keep four of the company's latest mobile devices out of the U.S.
The filing, discovered by blog FOSS Patents this afternoon, asks the court for a preliminary injunction to keep Samsung from making, selling, and importing the Galaxy S 4G, Infuse 4G, Droid Charge smartphones, along with the Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet. Apple claims these products infringe on three of its design patents, and one utility patent.
"A preliminary injunction is necessary not only to protect Apple's rights, but also to protect the public interest," Apple said in its filing. "Because Apple has demonstrated a likelihood of success on its claims, the public interest would be served by prohibiting Samsung from infringing Apple's patents."
Apple says it's "limiting" this preliminary injunction to only include the four devices, while keeping the yet-to-be-released Galaxy S 2 phone and Galaxy Tab 8.9 tablet off the table. Even so, the company said it "reserves the right to seek a preliminary injunction against those two products as their release becomes imminent."
In a statement issued following the filing, Samsung dismissed Apple's claims:
"Samsung believes there is no legal basis for this motion. We will continue to serve our customers, and sales of Samsung products will proceed as usual. Samsung will continue to actively defend and protect our intellectual property to ensure our continued innovation and growth in the mobile communication business."
A representative from Apple did not respond to a request for comment on the filing.
Apple's legal battle with Samsung began in April, with the iPhone maker launching a lawsuit against the company in the U.S. for "copying" its cell phones and iPad tablet. Samsung fired back with its own lawsuit in the U.S. and abroad.
Along the way, the two companies have traded blows in the legal filings, including both parties asking to see unreleased and unannounced versions of products from one another. For Samsung, that was asking to see the "iPhone 4S," "iPhone 5," "iPad 3," and "third-generation iPad," along with retail packaging to make sure its own products would not infringe on Apple's intellectual property. Apple asked for similar assurances in wanting to see various Samsung products, including the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and 8.9, Galaxy S II, Droid Charge, and Infuse 4G.
As mentioned in previous coverage, Apple and Samsung are longtime business partners, with Apple once
Update at 7:11 a.m. PT on 7/2 with comment from Samsung.