If you like old-school smartphones, then this court order will definitely make you feel sorry. Court issued a permanent ban on Samsung old smartphones since they have already vanished from the market. Well, this is due to the ongoing drama of Apple v. Samsung patent war, US District Judge Lucy Koh on Monday granted an Apple motion for permanent injunction against devices that use technology covered by patents Samsung was found to be infringing on. Those devices now banned from sale in the US include the Admire, Galaxy Nexus, Galaxy Note, Galaxy Note 2, Galaxy S2, Galaxy S2 Epic 4G Touch, Galaxy S2 Skyrocket, Galaxy S3, and Stratosphere.
One month ago, Samsung agreed to pay Apple $548 million in damages following a 2012 decision that found Samsung had violated key Apple patents. However, the case grows annually and each year brings out a different decision either from the jury or judge.
Samsung Galaxy S3 propelled the company’s profits in 2012 because of the impressive features it introduced in the tech market. Samsung is majorly known for its unpredictable nature when it comes to specs. A good example was the highly advertised Samsung GalaxyJ1. The phone is 4G enabled and comes with a pocket friendly price ideal for the Kenyan market.
In Apple’s injunction, the jury found Samsung infringed on several Apple patents including – quick links, slide-to-unlock and automatic word correction. The company had initially requested the court to ban Samsung’s products that used those patents, but Koh ruled in August 2014 that monetary damages were sufficient in resolving the harm done to Apple. Last September, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit disagreed, finding that Samsung should have been banned from using certain patented Apple features in its device.
“The court finds that Apple will suffer irreparable harm if Samsung continues to use its use of the infringing features, that monetary damages cannot adequately compensate Apple for this resulting irreparable harm, and that the balance of equities and public interest favor entry of a permanent injunction,” Koh wrote in her filing.
The case may one day lead to an eternal rivalry between smartphone companies since most features relate to one another and it’s hard to come up with an authentic app for a particular smartphone in the current tech market. Soon, patent holders will receive sales bans on competitors’ products.
A number of tech companies like Facebook, eBay and Hewlett-Packard came up to support Samsung against Apple. Legal experts filed amicus urging the US Supreme Court to consider the patent-infringement case.