Apple-Samsung row: sales ban court date put off to December

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/aug/29/apple-samsung-sales-ban-court-december

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A US judge on Tuesday set a 6 December court date to hear Apple's request for a permanent injunction against Samsung Electronics' smartphones, which could delay the potential impact of Apple's crushing legal victory.

On Monday, Apple identified eight devices it would seek preliminary injunctions against, and said it would file for a permanent sales ban.

A hearing about the preliminary injunctions had been scheduled for 20 September, but it is not clear if this issue will be addressed at that hearing or moved to December.

In an order on Tuesday, US district judge Lucy Koh said that due to the scope of Apple's preliminary injunction request, she believed it was appropriate that various post-trial motions be consolidated.

The hearing on 20 September will be devoted to Samsung's request to dissolve a sales ban against its Galaxy Tab 10.1. The jury sided with Samsung on that part of the case.

Apple's permanent injunction request will be considered in December, after attorneys file detailed legal arguments.

Representatives for Apple and Samsung could not immediately be reached for comment.

Apple was awarded $1.05bn (£664m) in damages last week after a US jury found Samsung had copied critical features of the iPhone and iPad.

The verdict sent Samsung's shares tumbling on Monday as investors fretted about the potential impact to its sales with the peak US holiday season just months away.

They have since regained some ground to trade 4.6% below their pre-verdict price.