Apple Loses Bid to Ban Samsung Products (Again)

An appeals court this week thwarted Apple's efforts to have Samsung products banned in the U.S. while the appeals process in the companies' patent case proceeds.

As reported by Reuters, the Federal U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday denied Apple's bid to expedite a ban on Samsung products.

At issue is a December decision from California district Judge Lucy Koh, who refused to grant Cupertino's request for a ban on infringing Samsung products. Judge Koh found that Apple had not adequately demonstrated that it would suffer irreparable harm if 26 Samsung devices were not pulled from the market.

Apple appealed the ruling, and asked that Samsung products be pulled from shelves while its appeal proceeded. The appeals court, however, ruled that Apple will have to wait until its appeal moves though the court.

Judge Koh's ruling stemmed from an August verdict that found Samsung guilty of infringing on Apple patents with a number of its tablets and smartphones, resulting in a $1.05 billion judgment for Apple. Samsung is appealing the case, but Apple went ahead and asked that the court issue an injunction against the infringing products (see slideshow below for more).

Samsung was also dealt a setback in December, when Judge Koh also refused to grant the Korean phone giant a new trial. Samsung argued juror misconduct, but Judge Koh wasn't convinced.

The battle between Samsung and Apple is expected to continue for quite some time. A similar patent case that involves more recent products is currently working its way through the same court, but it's not scheduled to go to trial until 2014.

For more from Chloe, follow her on Twitter @ChloeAlbanesius.