US Appeals Court overturns Apple’s injunction against Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus, says judge abused jurisdiction

The US Court of Appeals has overturned a US sales ban on Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus smartphone, saying District Judge Lucy Koh abused her jurisdiction with the verdict.

In July, SmartCompany reported Apple had won a victory in its ongoing patent wars against Google and Samsung with District Judge Koh granting a pre-trial injunction against further sales of the Galaxy Nexus in the US.

The injunction was granted on the grounds Samsung allegedly violated an Apple patent on searching local files and the internet with a single search.

At the time, an Apple spokesperson said: “It’s no coincidence that Samsung’s latest products look a lot like the iPhone and iPad, from the shape of the hardware to the user interface and even the packaging. This kind of blatant copying is wrong and, as we’ve said many times before, we need to protect Apple’s intellectual property when companies steal our ideas.”

However, late last week the Court of Appeals reversed the injunction entirely on the grounds that Apple failed to prove that consumers purchased the Samsung product because of the infringing technology, and that there was a distinct possibility the Galaxy Nexus would have sold almost as well without incorporating the patented feature. As such, Apple had failed to demonstrate it had suffered sufficient harm or competitive injury as a result of Samsung’s infringement necessitating a sales ban.

While the appeals court ruling relates to a trial that took place before Apple’s landmark $US1 billion patent victory against Samsung, District Judge Koh presided over both cases.