Apple doesn't like the idea of Judge Lucy Koh potentially delaying its second U.S. patent infringement lawsuit against, so the company filed an objection earlier this week. Judge Koh asked both Apple and Samsung for their thoughts on the potential delay while waiting for the appeal process to complete in the first trial between the two companies.
Apple versus Samsung: It just never ends
Apple said in its filing,
This case must proceed now, in order to stop the ongoing sales -- and relentless launch -- of Samsung's latest infringing devices, which have caused, and every day continue to cause, continuing harm to Apple.
The two companies have been fighting in courts around the world since 2011 over mobile device patent infringement claims. Apple won a high profile victory against Samsung in August 2012, which is the target of Samsung's appeal that has Judge Koh considering a delay on the second case.
While Apple wants the second case to move forward on schedule, Samsung argued it should be delayed to "promote judicial economy," according to Bloomberg, and that a delay would "allow the parties to attempt to reach a business resolution of their disputes."
So far, it hasn't appeared as if a business resolution is in the cards since both sides have been relentlessly pushing their cases through the legal system.
Judge Koh's reasoning behind considering a delay stems from the fact that there is some overlap with the first case, which could make the second redundant. Apple's legal team, however, argued that the cases are different enough to warrant moving forward.
Pursuing the second case does add complexity to the Apple and Samsung fight in the United States, especially since Judge Koh threw out US$450.5 million of the $1 billion damages Apple was awarded as part of last August's verdict because that part didn't comply with her guidelines. While the remaining portion of the $1 billion award is in place, she ordered a second tril to determine what the damages amount really should be for the part she threw out.
The fact that Apple wants the case to move forward and Samsung doesn't isn't a big surprise. Apple is pushing hard to get Samsung's Android-based devices it sees as blatant iPhone and iPad copies off store shelves, and Samsung's in-court track record hasn't shown much success.
Thanks to those courtroom losses, Samsung would no doubt like to see this case put on hold, giving it more time to build a stronger defense -- and to sell more products before they're potentially pulled from the market.
Now that both companies have submitted their filings, Judge Koh can take their arguments under consideration and decide how to proceed.