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The US sales ban imposed on the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 could soon be lifted now Judge Lucy Koh has been cleared to consider the issue, Reuters reports.
A US court of appeal has ruled that a lower court should reconsider the ban on the Tab. Apple succeeded in having the ban imposed ahead of the trial of the century between the two tech titans.
Samsung lost the patent infringement case in just about the worst way possible — all of its counter claims were quashed, and it’ll have to hand over $1 billion to Apple, with possibly another $700 million on the way. But the jury found it hadn’t violated the patent that caused the tablet to be yanked from the shelves. Judge Koh said she couldn’t lift the ban because Samsung had already appealed.
Now though, Koh is free to consider the issue, thanks to the ruling by the Federal US Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington. We shouldn’t have to wait long to see if she will do away with the ban.
The Galaxy Tab 10.1 is an old model, and has been succeeded by the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1. But the ban still hurts Samsung, as the Tab 10.1 was a huge seller, and will have come down in price since being succeeded by a newer version.
I can’t see why Judge Koh wouldn’t lift the ban. Samsung has been found not guilty of infringing the very patent that led to the Tab’s ban, so to keep the device off the shelves would seem a little odd. And surely Samsung has suffered enough.
Though the Tab 10.1 going back on sale could be small mercy. Apple and Samsung are due back in court in December to discuss possible bans of a whole batch of Samsung devices, including much more up to date products than the Tab. So it could be a cold winter for the Korean company.
Should the Galaxy Tab 10.1 be cleared for sale? Let me know what you reckon below, or on Facebook.
