An American District Court Judge granted Apple's request for an injunction, blocking U.S. sales of Samsung's Galaxy Nexus smartphone while the court assesses Apple's claim that Samsung Electronics infringed its patents. The injunction order on Friday, June 29, marks Apple's second victory in one week against Android devices.
On Friday, the U.S. District Court of Northern California said that Samsung's Galaxy Nexus smartphone "likely" infringes four patents held by the Cupertino, California-based iPhone maker. One of the four patents in question is related to Apple's popular voice-operated virtual assistant, Siri, which debuted on the iPhone 4S. "Apple has clearly shown that it is likely to suffer irreparable harm in the absence of preliminary injunction relief," U.S. District Court Judge Lucy Koh wrote in the ruling on Friday.
Koh also ordered Apple to post a $96 million bond to cover estimated damages the temporary ban may cause Samsung should Apple lose in a later trial scheduled for 2014. The sales ban in the U.S. will take effect as soon as Apple posts this bond.
Meanwhile, the South Korean company said it would "take all available measures" to fight the court's decision to block sales of its Android-based Galaxy Nexus, a smartphone that aims to challenge Apple's iPhone.
"Samsung is disappointed, as the court's ruling will restrict American consumer choice in the smartphone market," Samsung said in a statement released on Saturday, June 30, according to AFP. The company said it was working closely with Google to address the issue. "Samsung will continue to take all available measures, including legal action, to ensure the Galaxy Nexus remains available to consumers."
Friday's ruling was the second victory Apple scored in one week, marking an important milestone in a fierce patent war with the South Korean tech giant. The same judge blocked the sale of Samsung's new Galaxy Tab 10.1 in a ruling on Tuesday, June 26, conceding that Apple had presented "a strong case" for the injunction.
Both the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and the Galaxy Nexus smartphone are powered by Google's Android mobile operating system. Samsung launched its Galaxy Nexus smartphone in the United States in April, and Google just gave the devices to developers at its annual Google I/O developer conference in San Francisco, as part of a "tool kit" to create apps for the Android platform.
