Apple’s efforts to block the launch of Samsung’s Galaxy SIII in the United States fell apart this week when Judge Lucy Koh said there wasn’t enough time to add a hearing for the smartphone to her court calendar. The Galaxy SIII is set to go on sale on Thursday, June 21, and it looks like there isn’t anything Apple can do to stop Samsung from selling its new smartphone — at least for now.
Samsung gets to sell its Galaxy SIII smartphone in the U.S.
Judge Koh’s decision, according to Reuters, doesn’t imply that Apple can’t get an injunction; instead, it’s simply a matter of timing. With only a week to review all of the information in the case, she doesn’t have enough time to work through all of the details and issue a ruling.
The decision to leave an injunction ruling off the table for now is good news for Samsung since the company doesn’t have to worry about potential launch delays. For Apple, however, it means that yet another Samsung smartphone that it claims steps on iPhone-related patents will hit the market.
According to Apple, Samsung’s strategy is to flood the market with smartphones faster than the legal system can deal with the related patent infringement claims. Samsung’s view is that Apple is trying to litigate phones off the market instead of competing.
Apple and Samsung have been locked in a legal battle over patent infringement claims for several months. Both companies have alleged that the other’s mobile devices use patented technologies without proper licensing, and have filed lawsuits against each other in the U.S. and other countries.
With the companies still fighting in court over their patent infringement claims, there’s still a chance Apple will get an injunction blocking the sale of the Galaxy SIII, but not before it hits store shelves.