It hasn't been a great week for Samsung in their ongoing legal disputes with Apple. First, they get an ominous court ruling that sets a trial date squarely in Apple's favor, and then they have to continue to delay how far they want to push things down under.
Apple and Samsung are currently battling it out in 19 lawsuits around the world, with cases currently pending in 12 courts in 9 different countries on 4 different continents. The waters are still murky with regard to how these disputes will end up, but for this past week anyway, the tides are turning toward Cupertino.
Last week we covered a report by FOSS Patents that detailed an obscure but significant victory by Apple in United States federal court. For this original lawsuit filed by Apple against Samsung, the initial court date was set for October 2012. Apple requested the date be moved up to February 2012, implying that the evidence was clear and obvious, and that the alleged infringements were causing damages. Samsung responded by requesting that the date be moved back to sometime in 2013, implying that the case was extremely complicated and the court would need extra time to get it right.
Well, the Northern District of California ruled that the trial date will now be July 30, 2012. While this is not as early as Apple requested, it is earlier than originally scheduled, and certainly not what Samsung wanted.
This case and its start date are significant, as it is this is the primary lawsuit filed by Apple against Samsung in the United States. By moving the date up, the court is perhaps signaling that the preliminary evidence supports Apple's claims, and wants to reach a resolution as quickly as possible. The decision could, of course, go either way, but there is no question that the court does not view the arguments to be as complicated as Samsung claims.
Reports came out this past Monday that Samsung will delay the launch of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia. Again. This is the second launch delay by Samsung for this product in Australia in the past month. Now, Samsung will defer the launch of the Galaxy until after an injunction hearing, brought by Apple, scheduled for the week of September 26.
On August 2, Samsung agreed to delay selling the Galaxy 10.1 in Australia, after Apple claimed the device infringed ten different patents and copied the "look and feel" of the iPad.
In an emailed statement, Samsung stated they will continue to push for the release of the product in Australia to "ensure that consumers have a wider selection of innovative products to choose from."
Samsung's argument is that Apple's claim Down Under is based on the U.S. model of the Galaxy Tab, and that the Australian version is different. Apple responded by stating the Australian model does have "reduced functionality," but still violates at least two of Apple’s patents. So then, Samsung fired back claiming that the Australian model has "different features," but doesn’t have "reduced functionality."
Either way, Samsung is clearly unwilling to put the Galaxy on the store shelves in Australia until after the ruling, which doesn't seem to suggest they have much confidence in the case.
Adrian covers daily news as well as the weekly Law & Apple column for MacLife.com. You can follow him on Twitter, if you want to.
