Samsung has lost its bid to overturn a ban on U.S. sales of its flagship Galaxy Tab 10.1, facing a third legal setback in just one week. A judge on Monday, July 2, rejected Samsung's request to lift the ban. Apple and Samsung are preparing for a make-or-break patent trial at the end of this month, on July 30.
Apple and Samsung, the world's largest consumer electronics companies, are waging a global war in roughly 10 countries, accusing each other of patent infringements as they race for the top in a highly-competitive, rapidly growing market for mobile devices.
U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, California, issued a ban on June 26, halting sales of the Galaxy Tab 10.1, which runs on Google's Android mobile operating system and goes head-to-head with Apple's iPad. Moreover, Koh also hit Samsung with a pre-trial ban of its Galaxy Nexus smartphone on Friday, June 29.
Following the judge's decision to stick to the sales ban, the South Korean company said it would continue to appeal against the injunction. "Samsung is disappointed with the court's decision that denied our motion to stay. We believe today's ruling will ultimately reduce the availability of superior technological features to consumers in the United States," Samsung said in a statement. "Regardless, we will continue to pursue a request for an appeal of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 preliminary injunction, which we filed on 26 June to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit."
Pre-trial injunctions are rare in the United States, but analysts said the bans would not have far-reaching consequences for the South Korean company in the rapidly-growing tablet and smartphone markets. "The impact on Samsung is limited as shipment volume of Galaxy Tab 10.1 and Nexus are quite small," NH Investment & Securities analyst Lee Sun-tae told Reuters. "Even if Apple wins an injunction request on Galaxy S III, Samsung will have plenty of time to get around it, as it normally takes quite a long time for a court to process such requests."
According to research firm IDC, total sales of tablet computers are expected to reach 105 million units this year and 143 million in 2013, while total PC sales are expected to reach about 400 million, more than 60 percent of which will be laptops. Apple is expected to maintain its dominance in the tablet market, with Gartner forecasting the iPad will account for 61.4 percent of all sales this year. Meanwhile, Android tablets are forecast to make up 31.9 percent of tablet sales this year.
