Apple can pursue US ban on Samsung smartphones
APPLE CAN seek a ban on sales of some Samsung Electronics’ products found to infringe its patents on smartphone features, after winning a US appeal court ruling.
The patents cover features that Apple says make its iPhone unique, such as multitouch technology. The company can block Samsung products for infringing patented designs, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit said in an opinion posted yesterday on its website. The ruling gives Apple another chance to curb sales of its top competitor in the $279.9-billion (Bt8.9 trillion) market for smartphones.
Apple must prove the features were a factor customers used in selecting which smartphone to buy, though it doesn’t have to show that it was the single driving factor, the court ruled. The trial judge, in rejecting Apple’s request for a sales block on Samsung phones, said Apple would have to prove that each feature drove sales of smartphones.
“To the extent these statements reflect the view that Apple was necessarily required to show that a patented feature is the sole reason for consumers’ purchases, the court erred,” the three-judge panel in Washington ruled. “Rather than show that a patented feature is the exclusive reason for consumer demand, Apple must show some connection between the patented feature and demand for Samsung’s products.”
While many of the phones in this case are no longer sold, Apple has another case against Samsung going to trial in March over newer models, including Samsung’s Galaxy S III. Should the US District Judge Lucy Koh, who is presiding over the case, impose a ban on the older models, Apple could argue that newer phones are the same products spruced up with new names.
“The question sent back to the judge concerns a very narrow scope of evidence presented by Apple,” Adam Yates, a Samsung spokesman, said in a statement.
Patents give their owners the power to block use of an invention, though that right can be overcome if it is in the public’s interest or if the patent owner can be compensated and won’t suffer any lasting harm.
“If consumers wouldn’t be willing to pay significantly more for it, it is unlikely the infringement is what’s causing harm to the patent owner,” said Steve Auvil, a patent lawyer with Squire Sanders in Cleveland, Ohio, who is not involved in the case.
The Federal Circuit said Koh should have considered a survey showing Samsung consumers were willing to pay extra if the smartphones had some of the features patented by Apple.
The ones Apple can seek a sales ban on cover functions to make the phone easier to use, such as a pinching motion to expand images, a double tap to zoom and a screen that bounces back at a document’s end so the user knows the image isn’t stuck. These patents, Apple said in a court filing, are the “crown jewels” of Apple’s unique user experience.