Court lifts ban on Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 sales in the United States (Sammy fires back on the iPhone 5)

In a dash of good news, Samsung got a small piece of justice last night, as the United States sales injunction against the Galaxy Tab 10.1 was lifted. Of course, we’re talking about an obsolete tablet here, but a win is still a win in our books, especially when that win is against Apple.

The ban stemmed from a month-long legal battle between the world’s top two smartphone makers, which saw Apple awarded a judgement to the tune of $1.05 billion.  Now, we’re hearing the jury found that Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 did not violate Apple’s D’889 patent, so therefore the injunction is no longer valid.

“The court does not agree with Apple that Samsung’s motion for dissolution of the June 26 preliminary injunction cannot be fairly decided without resolving Apple’s post-trial motions,” Judge Lucy Koh said in her ruling.

Yes, a little bit of justice for Samsung, but is it too little, too late? For a tablet that has already been trumped, many times over, we’re left curious as to whether anyone will rush out to pick one up, now that the ban is no more. With the holiday season coming up quicker than you can shake a stick at it, the jury is still out on that one.

Samsung:

“We are pleased with the court’s action today, which vindicates our position that there was no infringement of Apple’s design patent and that an injunction was not called for.”

Separately, Samsung filed a motion against Apple saying the iPhone 5 had infringed on some of the company’s patents. We can only hope and pray that Cupertino gets a taste of its own medicine with that case, but we’ll have to wait and see how it plays out in the courtroom.

We want to hear your thoughts. Friends, followers — even you trolls — make use of the comment thread below to congratulate Sammy on its victory.

Source: Reuters