In the first Apple vs Samsung patent infringement lawsuit the Cupertino company twice moved the court to grant a U.S. sales ban on all devices found to be infringing on its patents. However even though the company was awarded nearly a billion dollars in damages the court didn't grant a sales ban. That doesn't mean Apple is giving up. Arguments presented as part of the second trial today seek a “narrowly tailored” ban on some older Samsung devices.
U.S. District Judge Lucy H. Koh didn't say when she would rule on Apple's request, which targets infringing features in nine Samsung devices and offers the company a “sunset period” to design around these particular features before the ban comes into force.
In the second trial Samsung was found to infringe on three Apple patents. The Cupertino company was found to have infringed on one Samsung patent that covers functions related to classifying, organizing and retrieving digital images. Samsung was awarded $158,000 in damages and it isn't seeking a sales ban against Apple.
Apple is of the view that its latest request for a sales ban is much more modest. The company says in its filing that it is only proposing to stop Samsung from using specific features found to be infringing on its patents any further and that since the company has already shown it can design around Apple's patents completely and quickly, Samsung cannot complain that this “narrowly tailored injunction” will keep the company's products out of the market.
