Apple on Monday asked a federal judge to block the sale of more than a half dozen Samsung smartphones, after a jury found on Friday that Samsung had infringed a series of Apple’s mobile patents.
In a filing with the federal court in San Jose, Calif., Apple requested a preliminary injunction on eight out of 28 Samsung products found to be infringing Apple patents during the jury trial. The products include the Galaxy S 4G, the Galaxy S2 for AT&T, the Galaxy S2 for Skyrocket, the Galaxy S2 for T-Mobile, the Galaxy S2 Epic 4G, the Galaxy S Showcase, the Droid Charge and the Galaxy Prevail.
Some of the Samsung products that a jury found were infringing Apple patents are no longer sold. The smartphones in Apple’s latest request are among those that still appear to be on the market.
Apple’s request was widely expected after a jury largely sided with it over Samsung in a case involving patents related to the basic appearance and functions of smartphones and tablets. But the chance that Samsung will have to pull those eight smartphones off store shelves soon are pretty slim, according to Bill Panagos, a patent lawyer with Butzel Long.
That’s because, if a judge grants Apple’s request, it’s a near certainty that Samsung will ask for the injunction to be stayed pending future hearings in the case, Mr. Panagos said. Samsung has said it will ask the judge in the case to overturn the jury’s verdict and, if that fails, it will file an appeal with a higher court.
Mr. Panagos estimates the appeals process in the case could take as long as a year or two. It’s possible Samsung could ask for and get a stay of any injunction against its products during that period. At some point though, any delay in an injunction will be irrelevant because Samsung’s smartphones will be outmoded, replaced by the latest models.
If it keeps selling products that are deemed to be infringing on Apple patents by an appeals court, Samsung could be on the hook for further damages, beyond the more than $1 billion a jury had awarded Apple already. “If Samsung loses again, it’s just more money for Apple on the damages side,” Mr. Panagos said.