Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Samsung, two of the world’s leading tech companies, have been battling against each other for over four years now. Both these tech giants decided to end this battle around the world but the war still wages in the US, the hub of technology.
Apple Inc filed a law suit against Samsung back in 2011 on the basis that Samsung infringed on Apple’s three patents. The court ruled in Apple’s favor awarding it almost $120 million in May, which was less than what Apple had expected. Things did not stop here; Apple went on to accuse Samsung once again in of infringing on its rights for intellectual property and requested a complete ban on Samsung products being sold in the US.
The court verdict on the issue came on Wednesday in which Apple’s appeal was rejected by Lucy Koh, the case’s presiding judge. According to Koh Apple failed to deliver any substantial evidence to support its claim; the other factor was that Apple’s sales also did not depict any irrevocable damage due to Samsung products. As a result of this ruling, Samsung will now continue to distribute its products within the US as before.
The sales ban was denied because it was believed that the features in question do not drive the consumer demand. Furthermore, Apple’s announcement of 35.2 million iPhones sale in its third quarter weakened its case as Apple’s profit rate rose to 12 percent. The Judge thus remarked that Apple’s performance shows a good competition among its competitors. The behavior and excitement of iPhone users and the anticipation of new models further substantiate Apple’s mounting success.
Apple had made its way to the court before with yet another infringement allegation on Samsung back in 2012; Samsung once again lost and was asked to pay $1.05 billion to Apple. Samsung however is yet to make the payments; it is believed that the company will appeal against this ruling.
Samsung decided to take action as well; the company filed an appeal against the charges made back in 2012. It hopes to dissolve the total of $930 million that Samsung owes to Apple.
The Judge, Koh, has asked both gigantic tech companies to settle their disputes outside the court instead of pulling each other’s leg in court.
Some of the features that were made the basis of infringement cases against Samsung over the years include the ability to dial a number present in an email or website, technique to unlock a device by using gestures and the presence of automatic spell checker.
Some of the devices that have been targeted by Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) over the years include Samsung Tab model 10.1, Samsung Galaxy Note II and Samsung Galaxy S III.
Apple Inc. will certainly see this as a set back because as far as the global market is concerned Samsung has already established itself as the leading smartphone selling brand. US has always been Apple’s territory; therefore it will be hard for the company to accept Samsung’s increasing success in the country. However it is unlikely that Apple will file an appeal against the latest verdict.
