Samsung's battle to overturn the sales ban on its Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet took a positive turn for the electronics company late last week.
On Friday, Washington, D.C.'s Federal Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Samsung's appeal in regards to August's court-enforced ban on the Galaxy Tab's sales. The jury in the appellate case decided that the Galaxy Tab had not violated the Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPhone and iPad design patent upon which Apple's original injunction against Samsung was based -- and the court granted Samsung permission to seek reconsideration on the ban.
Apple argued that the ban should remain based on the jury's finding that the Galaxy did violate other patents -- just not the patent cited in the original injunction. The appeals court said it would grant federal District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, Calif., jurisdiction over whether or not the sales ban would be lifted, and Samsung subsequently filed a new request to remove the ban.
The ruling comes after Apple requested $707 million in further damages against Samsung, after already being awarded more than $1 billion in the original ruling. Apple further asked the court to deny or refer Samsung's renewed motion to lift the sales ban.
Samsung and Apple are expected to meet in court again on Dec. 6 to review post-trial matters. The two companies have battled recently over a number of affairs, with pricey lawsuits from each accusing the other of violating various rulings.
