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More bad news for Samsung in its legal battle with Apple: A U.S. district judge has just granted Apple a preliminary injunction against Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus phone.
That’s the same device Google handed out to developers just a couple of days ago at its I/O conference. Apple had requested an injunction against the smartphone in February, alleging that it infringed on several of its patents. An injunction would keep the Samsung device from being sold in stores in the U.S.
According to Reuters’ Dan Levine, the injunction can go into effect as soon as Apple posts a bond of “nearly $96 million.” He added that the decision centered around U.S. Patent 8,086,604, which covers unified search functionality. Apple had cited three others in its original complaint.
In a statement, Samsung said that it’s disappointed in the decision, and that it will take “all available measures, including legal action, to ensure the Galaxy Nexus remains available to consumers.”
An Apple representative reiterated the same statement the company has run with since it took aim at the South Korean technology giant in a patent-infringement suit last April.
“It’s no coincidence that Samsung’s latest products look a lot like the iPhone and iPad, from the shape of the hardware to the user interface and even the packaging,” Apple said in an e-mailed statement. “This kind of blatant copying is wrong and, as we’ve said many times before, we need to protect Apple’s intellectual property when companies steal our ideas.”
Reuters was the first to report the news, which was handed down in a decision from District Judge Lucy Koh in a San Jose, Calif., court this afternoon.
The win is Apple’s second against Samsung this week. Late Tuesday the iPhone, iPad, and Mac maker was awarded a preliminary injunction against Samsung’s Galaxy Tab device, a ruling that also came from Koh. Apple quickly followed through with a $2.6 million bond to back any potential damages if the decision is reversed, but there will be an additional hearing before that goes into effect.
Google began selling Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus directly to consumers in April. The device, which now costs $349, originally debuted at a Google-held event last October in hand with Android 4.0, code-named Ice Cream Sandwich. At its I/O developer conference this past Wednesday, Google said the Nexus Galaxy would be one of the first devices to get the upcoming version of Android 4.1,dubbed Jelly Bean, when it arrives next month.
Update, 5:42 p.m. PT: Adds statement from Samsung.
