Samsung Drags the iPhone 5 Into the Apple Patent War
Fresh off the heels of a favorable court ruling, Samsung announced this morning that it is adding the brand new iPhone 5 to the list of Apple gadgets that it thinks rip off its patents. This is just the latest shift in the battle lines between Samsung and Apple that has played out for months—and could continue for years—in courtrooms all over the globe.
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On Monday, a U.S. District Court judge lifted the injunction that was preventing Samsung from selling its Galaxy Tab 10.1 in America, a huge victory for the South Korean company ahead of the holiday sales rush. You may recall that back in August, a jury ruled that Samsung had violated six of Apple's patents when building its Android-powered smartphones, awarding the California company $1 billion in damages. Then Apple asked for more money and tried to get the popular Galaxy S III added to the list of offenders. However, the company's tablets were found to have not violated any features, so the earlier injunction against the Tab 10.1 was no longer valid.
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Samsung had already counter-sued Apple, claiming they violated eight of their patents and despite the earlier billion-dollar setback, this latest development could swing the legal fight back in their favor. Samsung's appears to have the advantage when it comes to LTE-based patents and the iPhone 5 is the first Apple product to utilize the new technology. Samsung's stock price is on the rise today thanks both to the legal ruling on the Tab, and rumors that the company will announce record profits when it reveals third-quarter earnings this week.
