SAN
FRANCISCO: A federal judge Thursday rejected Apple's request to ban an
array of Samsung smartphones and tablets found to have infringed on
patents held by the US tech giant.
US District Judge Lucy Koh, who
oversaw the blockbuster patent trial, finalized the damage award to be
paid by the South Korean electronics giant at $929 million.
But in
a separate order, the judge denied Apple's request to ban 23 Samsung
devices, saying there was no evidence that consumer demand was driven by
the infringing elements.
"To persuade the court to grant Apple
such an extraordinary injunction -- to bar such complex devices for
incorporating three touchscreen software features -- Apple bears the
burden to prove that these three touchscreen software features drive
consumer demand for Samsung's products," the judge wrote. "Apple has not
met this burden."
A jury last year awarded more than $1 billion
to Apple for patent infringement, but the judge threw out some of that
award and ordered a partial retrial. The final amount awarded was $929
million.
Both sides have been appealing various aspects of the
case, which is likely to be tied up in courts for some time barring an
agreement between the two companies.
But because of the fast-moving nature of the business, the devices at issue in the case are no longer being sold.
Judge Koh noted that "the only new fact is that Samsung represents that no infringing units are currently in the marketplace."
She
added that "Apple presents no evidence that any current Samsung devices
incorporate the patented features. As such, it appears that the public
interest slightly favors Samsung."
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