Apple loses request for court ban on Samsung phones

A US judge has rejected Apple's request for a ban on sales of certain Samsung mobile products in the US. US District Court Judge Lucy Koh rejected Apple's request on the grounds that Apple had failed to prove the infringing products harmed iPhone sales enough, the Wall Street Journal reports. Furthermore, Apple failed to prove that the features the jury found Samsung infringed, including some that covered the appearance and design of Apple mobile devices, were enough of a reason consumers bought Apple devices to warrant banning the Samsung products. 

"The fact that Apple may have lost customers and downstream sales to Samsung is not enough to justify an injunction," Judge Koh ruled in a court filing. "Samsung may have cut into Apple's customer base somewhat, but there is no suggestion that Samsung will wipe out Apple's customer base or force Apple out of the business of making smartphones." 

Apple's request for a sales ban follows a jury granting it damages of more than USD 1 billion in August for patent infringement by Samsung. Apple was seeking a permanent injunction on the sale of 26 Samsung products in the US. 

In a separate filing, the judge also denied Samsung's request to seek a new trial. Samsung has argued that one of the jurors in the August trial allegedly engaged in misconduct because he failed to disclose that he had been engaged in a lawsuit in the past with Seagate, a company in which Samsung is a shareholder.