The ongoing battle between Apple and Samsung never seems to end. After Apple’s initial success in these lawsuits, Samsung now seems to have an edge in these lawsuits after their victory in Australia and now in USA. The new development comes after Apple’s failure to convince a US attorney to stop Samsung from selling its Galaxy tablets and smart phones in the market.
A ruling released by a US district judge in San Jose California denied Apple’s appeal for a preliminary injunction against Samsung. Such lawsuits are not new for both companies as they have been engaged in 20 such cases in 10 different countries for the top spot in the gadget market. On Friday, the court rejected Apple’s bid on grounds that the judge wasn’t sure how the denial of an injunction on Samsung’s devices would affect the sale of Apple product. An Apple spokeswoman said that Samsung’s policy of blatant copying ‘is wrong’. Samsung on the other hand said that the judge’s decision confirmed that Apple’s argument lacks merit. The lawsuit isn’t completely over and there is still some hope for Apple in this case. However, these lawsuits have helped in free advertising Samsung’s products.
Apple said that this is a clear case of infringement and Samsung will have to terminate the sale and production of its gadgets. The judge concluded that Apple will have to demonstrate how Samsung have violated that design patent in order to succeed in this lawsuit.
Looking at the global picture, the Apple iPad continues to dominate the tablet market. Of the 50 million tablets sold in 2011, 30 million of these have been the iPad. This has put a lot of pressure on Apple’s CEO Tim Cook who has big shoes to fill. Though the iPad was dominant as ever in the tablet market, the quarterly results weren’t as spectacular as expected.
There was some respite for Apple as there was an increase in the sales of Apple iPad. The company shipped 11.12 million units proving that other manufacturers still can’t effectively compete against the iPad. After the entry of Amazon’s latest Kindle Fire tablet, critics have started claiming that the iPad has to innovate in order to live up to the competition. Cook acknowledged the competition from Amazon and also stated that the competition won’t affect the sale of the Apple iPad.
