Samsung Electronics scored a partial victory against arch-foe Apple Inc on Friday after a US appeals court lifted a freeze on sales of its Galaxy Nexus smartphones but upheld a lower court’s decision to temporarily halt sales of its Galaxy 10.1 tablet computer.
Apple accused its Asian rival, the leader in global mobile device sales, in lawsuits of blatantly copying its hot-selling iPhones and iPads.
Last week, a San Jose court granted rare, temporary injunctions against the sale of the Galaxy mobile devices in question, a triumph for the Silicon Valley consumer electronics giant that had asked for the bans until their trial begins July 30.
Apple has waged an international patent war since 2010 as it seeks to limit the growth of Google’s Android system, the world’s most-used mobile operating platform. Opponents of Apple say it is using patents too aggressively in a bid to stamp out competition.
Apple and Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest consumer electronics companies, are waging legal battles in about 10 countries, accusing each other of patent infringement as they vie for supremacy in a fast-growing market for mobile devices.
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit said it would temporarily stay the smartphone injunction while it considers Apple’s arguments, the court said in a brief order. It gave Apple a July 12 deadline to respond.