An Apple patent co-created by the late Steve Jobs helped Apple score a major legal win in Australia that lends momentum to its patent enforcement efforts against Samsung at a critical juncture, reports “FOSS Patents” (http://macte.ch/ELESe).
The Federal Court of Australia ordered an interim injunction against Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 over strong suspicions of the infringement of two technical invention patents. According to “The Sydney Morning Herald” (http://macte.ch/0TkO9), Justice Annabelle Bennett says Apple had a prima facie case that Samsung had infringed two of its patents relating to touch screens and the gestures that control them.
Earlier this month, Samsung told the court it would scrap the release of the Galaxy 10.1 if the injunction were granted because missing the Christmas season would make the new tablet “dead” by the time it reached market. However, Bennett said she had to weigh this consideration against the loss and injury that could be caused to Apple should Samsung be allowed to sell the iPad rival. The “Herald” says the dispute will proceed to a full hearing, which is unlikely to occur before next year.
