Apple Again Asks Courts to Ban Samsung Devices
It seems that Apple is at it again: the iPhone-maker is looking to ban Samsung products from sale in the United States. The news comes in the wake of Apple’s partial victory over Samsung in the two companies’ ongoing patent battle, in which Samsung was found to have infringed on a few of Apple’s patents.
According to a report on CNET, Apple has filed a request to ban the sale of Samsung devices that violate its auto-correct, slide-to-unlock, and quick links patents. The list is lengthy: Admire, Galaxy Nexus, Galaxy Note, Galaxy Note II, Galaxy S II, Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch, Galaxy S II Skyrocket, Galaxy S III, and Stratosphere.
This isn’t the first time Apple has requested such bans. Back in October, Apple’s request to ban the Transform SPH-M920 and the Continuum SCH-1400 was granted. But in March, another request – that time for the ban of a whopping 23 devices that infringed on Apple’s “pinch-to-zoom,” “double-tap-to-zoom,” and “snap back” patents – was denied.
Meanwhile, news got out just last week that the two companies were looking to resume settlement talks to put this whole mess behind them. That, too, wasn’t even the first time such rumors had started swirling. With word of these new ban requests, one has to wonder whether or not those talks are going well – or going at all.
It would be swell if the two companies could figure out a settlement. If nothing else, the amount of money that it would take for Samsung to make the legal problem go away has got to be less than the cost of constant litigation, right? By the same token, Apple is a notoriously stubborn company – the legacy of founder Steve Jobs. It’s likely that Apple wants to milk Samsung for all it’s got, having successfully proven the ongoing patent infringement in court more than once.
One has to wonder how much longer this will all go on – or how long it’ll be until Apple sets its sights on another tech company that could be seen as infringing.
[Source: CNET]