US district court judge Lucy Koh has lifted a preliminary injunction that had banned Samsung from selling the Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet in the US. The move follows an August jury verdict that Samsung did infringe on many of Apple’s patents… but that the Galaxy Tab 10.1 specifically didn’t infringe on Apple’s iPad designs.
In other words, here’s where things stand right now. Samsung still owes Apple over $1 billion, but at least the company can continue selling a year-old 10 inch tablet.
The funny thing about this kind of lawsuit is that the retail lifespan of the product in question is much shorter than the amount of time it takes for the legal challenge to work its way through the court system.
While Samsung hasn’t yet pulled the plug on the Galaxy Tab 10.1, the company has introduced a range of new tablets since the lawsuits began. Samsung offers the Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0) and Galaxy Tab 2 (10.1) tablets for budget-conscious tablet shoppers, and the high-end Galaxy Note 10.1 for those looking for a faster processor or special features such as a digital pen.
The lawsuits are far from over. There are still appeals to be heard, and this week’s ruling could always be overturned. But I have to wonder how many Galaxy Tab 10.1 units Samsung expects to sell in the US anyway. The 10 inch tablet with a Tegra 2 processor is starting to look awfully dated at a time when there are a number of other options with better specs and/or cheaper price tags.
via The Verge
According to me, This is great news for android users. I want to say that The Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 is much better than the other tablets. I recommend this tablet to all android users.
Wont buy another apple product until they stop this crap… After all they stole their mouse from xerox.
This just shows the ban was done to stifle competition. Apple should be fined for all sales lost from the ban. Take estimated sales lost and Apple should have to pay Samsung. Maybe they won’t be so quick to jump the gun on a ban before it can be ruled the device is in violation.