Apple’s ongoing battle with Samsung has swung in favour of the South Korean technology giant after the Court of Appeals in the US overturned a ruling which banned the sale of Samsung Galaxy Nexus in the States.
The move, which follows the overturning of a US sales ban on Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 earlier this month, is likely to call into question the long-term viability of Apple’s rush to the courts.
Both companies are locked in a legal dispute in a number of territories over patent breaches.
The Galaxy Nexus was one of the products that was found to have breached Apple patents, including click-to-zoom, but the appeal ruled that the original California the injunction had “abused its discretion”.
Samsung welcomed the latest decision, in a statement it said: “[This decision] confirms that the role of patent law is to protect innovation and not to unreasonably stifle competition and restrict consumer choice.
“We will continue to take all appropriate measures to ensure the availability of our innovative products.”
Back in August, a California court awarded Apple $1.05bn (£665m) in damages from Samsung following a judgment that the South Korean company had infringed its design patents; the victory was branded Pyrrhic by some observers. Apple has since pressed for further damages while Samsung has challenged the original verdict and called for a retrial.
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