Apple vs. Samsung battle started last year, in April 2011. Recently, the jury ruled out in favor of Apple and lodged damages worth $1 billion against Samsung, which it said would appeal. This latest case focuses on eight different utility patents, which Apple claims Samsung to have violated. These eight utility patents are different from the previous case and do not involve design patents, utility patents, and trade dress infringement. With a trial date set for March 2014, this case would also be heard in the same San Jose federal court with the same District Judge Lucy Koh. Lucy Koh recently assigned Dec. 6th to be the hearing date for Apple’s petition to ban eight of Samsung’s smartphones in the US market. Previously also Apple tried to add the Galaxy S III to the case back in June, well before it was released in the US market. When Samsung released Galaxy S III, the Korean manufacturer said that they have excluded all features that Apple claims to have been infringed. In the court filing on Friday, Apple added two models each of the Galaxy S III and Galaxy Note to the case. Among the utility patents Apple is listing are patent ’721, which refers to unlocking a phone with gestures on an unlock image, and patent ’172, which deals with a system and interface for offering word recommendations. Considering Samsung’s showing in the court last year, in case the jury decides to ban any of its devices, which now also includes tablets and music players, Samsung could really get a setback in the US market. The US court case between Samsung and Apple is one of the same legal battles being fought all over the world. In a latest ruling in Japan, the Tokyo court ruled out that Samsung did not infringe an Apple’s patents involved in synching mobile devices and computers, which got Samsung a victory over the latter.
