Apple once again denied US sales ban on select Samsung devices

courtroom gavel

Apple has once again been shot down by US District Judge Lucy Koh in its ongoing effort to win a sales ban on Samsung devices. In San Jose, California today, Koh denied the Cupertino company’s latest bid to ban select Samsung smartphones.

Despite two US juries finding multiple Samsung products to be infringing on its patents, Apple has seen little success in its injunction attempts. This time, the company had hoped to make its request more viable, asking for a “narrowly tailored” ban.

More specifically, Apple had asked Judge Koh to ban nine [older] Samsung devices with infringing features involved in its most recent patent infringement trial, which ended in May. Apple was awarded nearly $120 million in damages from that case.

But according to Koh’s 42-page ruling today, Apple did not demonstrate irreparable harm in the form of lost sales. And it probably didn’t help the fact that the company reported last month that it sold 35 million iPhones in what is normally a slow Q3.

Earlier this month, both Samsung and Apple announced that they had reached an agreement to settle all foreign patent disputes. That deal does not, however, include cross-licensing, or litigation here in the US, which should continue for several months.

[Bloomberg]