December 4, 2011 - In part of their ongoing, worldwide legal battle over smartphones and tablets (referred to by this CNET blogger as "an around-the-world-in-80-lawsuits scenario"), Apple requested a preliminary injunction which would have banned the U.S. sale of four Samsung products.
U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh denied Apple's motion because allowing Samsung's Galaxy S 4G, Infuse 4G, Droid Charge, and Galaxy Tab 10.1 devices to remain on sale in the U.S. would not harm Apple enough to justify the ban, but might harm Samsung while benefiting its competitors.
"It is not clear that an injunction on Samsung's accused devices would prevent Apple from being irreparably harmed," she wrote. "Indeed, given the evidence Samsung presented, it seems likely that a major beneficiary of an injunction would be other smartphone manufacturers."
However, the judge did not base her decision on amicus briefs filed by T-Mobile and Verizon, who claimed that their businesses would be harmed if the Samsung products were banned from the U.S. market.
"If Samsung is infringing upon Apple's patents, it is no more acceptable for third parties to benefit from Samsung's unlawful actions than it is for Samsung itself to benefit," said Judge Koh.