Apple on Friday won a big victory against Samsung Electronics in the Federal Court of the Northern District of California. A jury awarded Apple $1.05 billion in damages and found all seven of Apple's patents valid and that Samsung infringed on six of them. Apple had not infringed on any of Samsung's five patents.
Apple promptly filed a motion to ban eight Samsung devices. The initial speculation was that the ban decision would be made on September 20, when a hearing is scheduled to consider if the ban on the Galaxy Tab 10.1 should be lifted.
Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1
For Apple it is extremely important that the ban occurs quickly. Any delay will give Samsung time to clear the old inventory and help stores stock alternative products that are not on the ban list.
Interestingly, Judge Lucy Koh has now set December 6 as the date to hear Apple’s motion to ban eight Samsung devices. Certainly Judge Koh knew that giving so much more time to Samsung will make any ban meaningless. Why did the judge deliberately choose to delay any potential ban?
The wording of the order is such that some will question if Apple can still move for a preliminary injunction prior to December 6. Perhaps the delay is due to overlapping issues between various post-trial motions and the request for injunction or perhaps there is more to it.
In any event, the delay has made any ban meaningless. This is on top of the reasons given in my prior piece Why The Ban Apple Seeks On Samsung Devices Is Meaningless. This new development will hurt Apple as it will help Samsung not lose market share to Apple.
About Me: I am an engineer and nuclear physicist by background. I founded two Inc. 500 companies, and have been involved in over 50 entrepreneurial ventures. I am the chief investment officer at The Arora Report, which publishes four newsletters to help investors profit from change. Write me:Nigam@TheAroraReport.com. Follow me here and get email notification when I publish a new article.
Full disclosure: Subscribers to The Arora Report are long Apple from $131 and have taken partial profits at $360, $525, $629 and $568.
