Samsung To Take On Apple’s iPhone 4S In March
After the iPhone 4S launch Samsung was quick to file a preliminary injunction in France, Italy, Japan and Australia. Though people are expecting that they would also file in Korea, the company chose not to.
One of Samsung’s senior executives stated that “We concluded that we should engage in legal battles with Apple only in the global market, but not in order to gain more market share in Korea.”
After being beaten by Apple in almost every case the two are involved in, it seems like the wheels are finally turning as the court sided with them to have an early trial for the iPhone 4S ban.
According to Justice Annabelle Bennett, “The case will be fixed for a hearing for three weeks, commencing in March, 2012, with the date to be fixed on Friday. I stand over the application for an interlocutory injunction, that will stand over to the same date, as that of the date of the hearing.” Apple lawyers wanted to have the hearing in August but Bennett denied their request stating that, “They are trying to expand the Android market. The longer it’s left, the harder it will be for Samsung.”
Senior patent lawyer Mark Summerfield said that Bennett’s decision was a win for Samsung, as they have “managed, for the first time, to gain some control over the proceedings, which have thus far been driven largely by Apple.”
A Samsung lawyer stated in court that all these chaos could’ve been avoided if Apple wasn’t to quick to draw the gun, shooting up infringement lawsuits. They once had a good relationship, as Samsung is Apple’s biggest supplier, and were in licensing talks at one point, but Apple still managed to slap them with a patent infringement case back in April of this year.
“In effect the informal policy of not suing Apple for patent infringement was terminated when Apple sued Samsung for patent infringement in California and then elsewhere. Apple was on notice that it was infringing Samsung’s essential 3G patents from April 2011 at the very least and thereafter proceeded with its eyes wide open to take steps ultimately in Australia in October that involved infringement of patents,” Samsung’s lawyer said.
Apple retorted that, “They agreed to an irrevocable license to third parties on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms.”
Apple was successful in banning the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia, and now Samsung wants to do the same for the iPhone 4S.
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