Samsung devices may be banned in U.S.

Apple and Samsung both have devices banned in South Korea; hearing set for September 20

Apple won a decisive victory against Samsung on Friday, when a jury found that Samsung had infringed on Apple’s patents for the iPhone. Samsung is going to have to pay $1.05 billion in damages to Apple, but that will be nothing if Samsung loses the next round as well.

U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh has ordered a hearing to determine whether or not Samsung products that violated Apple’s patents will be banned in the United States.

Telling a company that they cannot sell certain devices in a specific country is far from unprecedented.

Earlier on Friday, a court in South Korea found that Apple and Samsung both infringed on one another’s patents, leading to bans on products for both companies. Apple was found guilty of infringing on two of Samsung’s patents and was ordered to pay 20 million won, or about $17,600, while Samsung was found guilty of infringing on one of Apple’s patents and was ordered to pay 25 million won, or $22,000.

Apple is now barred from selling its iPhone 4 or iPad 2 in South Korea, and Samsung can no longer sell 10 of its devices in South Korea, including the Galaxy Tab and Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablets.

The hearing to decide whether or not Samsung devices will be banned in the U.S. will be held on September 20th.

Some background on the case

Apple sued Samsung for supposedly having stolen features from the iPhone and iPad to make its products, including Galaxy S, Galaxy S II, and Tab 10.1.

The big issue was not just whether Samsung copied the look and feel of the iPhone, but whether it did so intentionally.  The jury determined Samsung did “willfully” infringe on several of Apple’s patents, including the “pinch and zoom” patent, the “bounce back” scrolling patent, and patent on tapping to zoom. 

While Samsung charged in a countersuit that Apple had actually infringed on some of its patents, the jury did not find it that way and did not order Apple to pay any damages to Samsung.  Samsung, which had been asking for $422 million in damages, is expected to appeal.

The $1.05 billion that Samsung is being ordered to pay in damage is less than half of the $2.5 billion that Apple was demanding.

In a statement after the ruling Samsung said, “Today’s verdict should not be viewed as a win for Apple, but as a loss for the American consumer.”

‘It will lead to fewer choices, less innovation, and potentially higher prices. It is unfortunate that patent law can be manipulated to give one company a monopoly over rectangles with rounded corners, or technology that is being improved every day by Samsung and other companies. Consumers have the right to choices, and they know what they are buying when they purchase Samsung products.”

Apple and Samsung have been locked in a mud-slinging war over patent infringements for months. The two companies have brought more than 50 lawsuits against one another in 10 different countries. 

Neither Apple or Samsung was available for comment.

Photo by Sandy Millar on Unsplash