US District Court Judge Lucy Koh denied Samsung’s motion to lift the injunction on its Galaxy Tab 10.1 last night. The decision comes in response to Samsung’s August 27 request to dissolve the sales ban against its tablet.
Back in June, Koh granted Apple a preliminary injunction against the Tab due to patent infringement. But after the jury in last month’s trial found that the tablet didn’t infringe on Apple’s IP, Samsung wanted the decision overturned..
But Judge Koh said no, in what appears to be a purely procedural ruling. The Judge told Samsung that the standing injunction cannot be dissolved, as the sales ban is currently being reviewed by the Court of Appeals.
AllThingsD reports:
“Judge Lucy Koh said in a ruling on Monday that it would not be proper to lift the injunction given that the matter is now before an appeals court, but did issue a declaration that Samsung’s motion rases “substantial issues” potentially paving the way for the appeals court to send that issue back to her courtroom.”
This is good news for Apple, as it means that the sales ban will stay in effect for the time being. But it’s even better news for Samsung, as it sounds like the Judge agrees that the injunction should be lifted based on the jury’s findings last month.
But even if the Court of Appeals sends the case back to Koh, and she lifts the ban, it would only be temporary. Both companies are scheduled to meet again in early December for further injunction requests.
Awesome, we can’t wait.