Apple Wins Preliminary Injunction Banning Sale Of Samsung’s Android-based Galaxy Tab 10.1

Apple has won a preliminary injunction banning sale of Samsung's Android-based Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet.

AllThingsD reports that U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh issued a ruling granting Apple's request for preliminary injunction banning sales of Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1.

The ruling stated:

“Although Samsung has a right to compete, it does not have a right to compete unfairly by flooding the market with infringing products,” Koh wrote in her order, adding that the strength of Apple’s case on the merits left her no choice but to grant the injunction. “While Samsung will certainly suffer lost sales from the issuance of an injunction, the hardship to Apple of having to directly compete with Samsung’s infringing products outweighs Samsung’s harm in light of the previous findings by the Court.”



This is a preliminary injunction so Samsung still has a chance to appeal it. It is also not the first time Apple has won a preliminary injunction banning the sales of Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. Apple won similar injunctions in Australia and Europe as well.

The ban will become effective as soon as Apple pays the $2.6 million bond to protect Samsung if it is later determined that the injunction should not have been granted.


Apple has issued the following statement:

“Apple sought a preliminary injunction of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1, based on a single design patent that addressed just one aspect of the product’s overall design,” Samsung said in a statement. “Should Apple continue to make legal claims based on such a generic design patent, design innovation and progress in the industry could be restricted.”
“It’s no coincidence that Samsung’s latest products look a lot like the iPhone and iPad, from the shape of the hardware to the user interface and even the packaging. This kind of blatant copying is wrong and, as we’ve said many times before, we need to protect Apple’s intellectual property when companies steal our ideas.”

Meanwhile, Samsung has issued this statement:


This is a significant victory for Apple in the patent wars with Samsung and other Andriod-based tablet makers in the U.S. But the preliminary injunction is not applicable for Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 that was launched last month, so it is not clear what kind of impact the ban will have on Samsung's revenues.