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Galaxy Nexus ban: the full story

To say Apple and Samsung haven't seen eye-to-eye on things recently would be an understatement. On June 29th, however, their differences came to US shores in a big way: Apple was granted a preliminary injunction against sales of the Galaxy Nexus smartphone. So how did we get to this point? And how will Samsung and Google get around the sales ban? Follow the full story here.

  • Matt Brian

    May 14, 2013

    Matt Brian

    Apple to add Galaxy S4 to second Samsung patent infringement lawsuit

    Galaxy S4
    Galaxy S4

    In preparation for its second patent trial against Samsung scheduled for Spring 2014, Apple has revealed it will seek to include Samsung's new Galaxy S4 smartphone in a list of 22 products it believes infringe iOS user interface patents. As part of its statement filed with the US District Court in California yesterday Apple said it analyzed the Galaxy S4 after its release, and has "concluded that it is an infringing device and accordingly intends to move for leave to add the Galaxy S4 as an infringing product."

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  • Bryan Bishop

    Jan 31, 2013

    Bryan Bishop

    Apple loses bid to revive Galaxy Nexus sales ban

    Apple vs Samsung stock
    Apple vs Samsung stock

    Last year a judge granted an injunction on Samsung's Galaxy Nexus as part of a new round of legal battles between Apple and Samsung — a sales ban that was then reversed by an appeals court last October. Apple had asked the court to reconsider, but Reuters is now reporting it has has been denied. In an order today, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit noted that it was rejecting Apple's request for an en banc review — a reconsideration of the sales ban by all nine judges of the Appeals Court. It's important to note that such a review is rare, so the move doesn't come as a complete surprise.

    The dispute in question is based around Apple's '604 patent, which both the company and the district court believe is infringed by unified search as implemented on the Galaxy Nexus. To justify the injunction, Apple would have to demonstrate that consumer demand for the Nexus was directly tied to the infringing feature — a tough standard to meet given the variety of features available on modern smartphones. That said, Cupertino does have one more option available: it could appeal to the Supreme Court itself. While it's not likely Apple's request would be accepted, one thing's for certain — the company has proven to be nothing if not tenacious.

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  • Dan Seifert

    Oct 11, 2012

    Dan Seifert

    Appeals court reverses injunction on Samsung Galaxy Nexus in the US (update)

    Apple vs Samsung stock
    Apple vs Samsung stock

    According to Reuters, an appeals court has repealed the injunction on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus in the US that was awarded to Apple in the patent lawsuit between the two companies. The ban was based on the '604 patent owned by Apple, which pertains to universal search features on a mobile device. The judge that awarded the ban back in June concluded that Apple would sustain irreparable damages and lost market share if the Galaxy Nexus were to remain on shelves. Samsung argued that the relatively low sales numbers of the Galaxy Nexus would present no harm to Apple, and it appears that the appeals court agreed, putting a temporary stay on the injunction back in July.

    The court documents in today's decision claim that Apple was unable to present evidence that directly ties consumer demand for the Galaxy Nexus and this feature. "Apple has presented no evidence that directly ties consumer demand for the Galaxy Nexus to its allegedly infringing feature," noted the court. The court added that while Siri is a very popular feature in Apple's iPhone, "there is also no dispute, however, that the Galaxy Nexus does not have a feature equivalent to Siri."

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  • Bryan Bishop

    Sep 1, 2012

    Bryan Bishop

    Apple turns up the pressure on Samsung, adds more devices to second patent suit

    iphone stock 560
    iphone stock 560

    Well, that didn't take long. A week after its $1.049 billion victory against Samsung, Apple has accused four more products of infringement in its other case against the electronics giant. It's the same lawsuit that targeted the Galaxy Nexus — for which Apple received a temporary injunction before the ban was lifted while Samsung appealed the decision.

    According to an amended complaint filed today, Apple is naming "at least 21 new smartphones, media players, and tablets that Samsung has released beginning in August 2011 and continuing through August 2012." (The full list, which actually consists of 22 devices, is reproduced below). Some of the devices named were also part of the just-concluded trial, but are being named here because Apple is citing a different set of utility patents — eight of them in total.

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  • Dieter Bohn

    Aug 21, 2012

    Dieter Bohn

    Samsung claims 'minuscule' Galaxy Nexus sales numbers didn't harm Apple

    Galaxy Nexus
    Galaxy Nexus

    As we await the outcome of the current Apple vs. Samsung trial, there's another Apple vs. Samsung trial that's making its way through the US court system. This second trial is all about the "Universal Search" feature on the Galaxy Nexus, which led Samsung to issue a series of updates to its products to remove the feature. After a temporary injunction that banned the Galaxy Nexus, the case has now moved to an appeals court, which is deciding whether or not the device should be banned during the course of the trial. It involves a fair bit of legal wrangling, as we've all come to expect from the two companies, and the latest hearing has seen some information come out about how well the Galaxy Nexus has been doing in the US. As Bloomberg reports, Samsung claims that sales of the device have been "minuscule."

    Samsung attorney John Quinn told the court that in the first two quarters it was in the market, the Galaxy Nexus sold $250 million worth of the device, arguing that "this is a product that, at most, captured 0.5 percent of the market." In this particular instance, of course, it's in Samsung's best interest to minimize the successof the device, because the key issue before the court is whether availability of the Galaxy Nexus causes "irreparable harm" to Apple. Apple, for its part, says that the Galaxy Nexus "was the top of the line, Cadillac phone they trotted out to compete with the iPhone."

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  • T.C. Sottek

    Jul 7, 2012

    T.C. Sottek

    Galaxy Nexus available once again from Google Play following lifted ban

    Galaxy Nexus
    Galaxy Nexus

    The Galaxy Nexus is now available for purchase in the Google Play store following Samsung's successful appeal for temporary relief, but buyers will have to wait between two and three weeks to get it. Yesterday, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit suspended the ban on the handset that went into effect on June 29th, and Google confirmed on Thursday that the Galaxy Nexus had been pulled from the Play Store due to the injunction that had been issued in connection with Apple's infringement lawsuit.

    The ban will only be suspended until Apple can respond to Samsung's request and the court decides whether it should stay in effect throughout the patent infringement trial, but Google said that the phone would be back on sale sometime this week with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and a workaround to the software patent in dispute. It's not yet clear why the device will take up to three weeks to ship, but it could have something to do with the Jelly Bean upgrade: as of now the Play Store page still says that the device will "soon" have Android 4.1. In any case, you can once again fork over $349 for the unlocked HSPA+ handset direct from Google.

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  • Nilay Patel

    Jul 6, 2012

    Nilay Patel

    Galaxy Nexus ban temporarily suspended while appeals court issues decision

    The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit just suspended the ban on Galaxy Nexus sales at Samsung's request, pending a formal response from Apple. The court's decision to suspend (or "stay") the ban will last only until Apple can respond and the court decides whether or not the ban should be in effect throughout the rest of the patent infringement trial. If you're keeping track, that's a temporary stay of a temporary injunction, so that's a fun bit of legal procedure for a late Friday afternoon. The court declined to stay the ban on the Galaxy Tab 10.1, however.

    In the end, this may not matter much — although Google has already pulled the Galaxy Nexus from its Play store, the company says the phone will be back on sale next week with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and a software workaround for the Apple patent on unified search that triggered the ban in the first place.

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  • Bryan Bishop

    Jul 5, 2012

    Bryan Bishop

    Google confirms Galaxy Nexus pulled from Play Store due to injunction

    Galaxy Nexus Android 4
    Galaxy Nexus Android 4

    Google pulled the Galaxy Nexus from the Play Store on Tuesday, and while the move happened in the wake of an injunction in connection with Apple's infringement lawsuit it was still unclear if that was what caused the change. Joanna Stern at ABC News writes that Google did indeed remove the device in response to the judge's ruling, despite the fact that Mountain View has a software patch readied that it told us will resolve the issue. As we reported previously, the Galaxy Nexus is scheduled to return to the Play Store — with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean — next week. We've reached out to Google for further comment.

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  • Sean Hollister

    Jul 4, 2012

    Sean Hollister

    Galaxy Nexus no longer available to purchase from Google Play website, will return next week

    galaxy nexus not in stock
    galaxy nexus not in stock

    In April, Google started selling unlocked Samsung Galaxy Nexus smartphones from its own store, for $399 a pop. Six days ago, the price dropped to $349. Now, however, the phone is listed as "coming soon" on Google's website. We're not sure whether Google is simply updating the boxed handsets to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, obeying a preliminary injunction in federal court to stop sales, or applying a software patch to avoid said ban. Or, maybe the company just ran out of handsets due to early Android 4.1 adopters and those hoping to get a Galaxy Nexus assuming they'll be banned? No matter the reason, you can't buy a Galaxy Nexus directly from Google right now.

    Update: We're still waiting to hear back from Google, but in the meanwhile the company appears to have updated its Galaxy Nexus page slightly. The description of the phone now reads "Galaxy Nexus HSPA+ (soon with Android 4.1, Jelly Bean)," which suggests that maybe the company merely stopped selling devices without the new update.

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  • Bryan Bishop

    Jul 4, 2012

    Bryan Bishop

    Google hopes to escape Galaxy Nexus sales ban with OTA software patch

    Last Friday Apple was granted a preliminary injunction on sales of the Galaxy Nexus in the United States, over alleged patent infringement. Samsung just lost its bid to stay the injunction, but that may not matter: Google and Samsung have a patch readied to address the issue that could be rolling out over the air as soon as tonight. We just spoke with a Google spokesperson, who informed us that the update, which will be rolling out to all Galaxy Nexus devices in the US regardless of carrier, will essentially dumb down the quick search bar on the Android homescreen, limiting its results to just those from the web. No local searches on the device will be performed at all, taking on-device apps, integrated Gmail, and other search results out of play. Voice search, which has been a point of contention in the trial, isn't going anywhere — but it will be restrained to the same set of limited search results.

    The searchability of Android has always been one of the operating system's greatest strengths, so the change will no doubt be a usability hit depending on how you use your device. What's more, Google couldn't confirm to us whether or not users would have the option of declining the update to retain the functionality currently present on their Galaxy Nexus phones. Much of the infringement spat has related to Android's use of a unified search interface, but according to Google the standout feature of Android 4.1 — Google Now — will be safe when 4.1 arrives for the general public. "This just relates to the Galaxy Nexus," the spokesperson told us, "and not a product on the Galaxy Nexus."

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  • Matt Macari

    Jul 4, 2012

    Matt Macari

    US judge denies Samsung's request to stay US ban on Galaxy Nexus (update: Apple posts bond)

    Nexus
    Nexus

    Almost immediately after learning of Federal Judge Lucy Koh's order granting Apple's request for a preliminary injunction on Galaxy Nexus devices, Samsung filed a motion to stay the ban — primarily until the appellate court could consider the merits of its appeal. Judge Koh has now issued an order denying Samsung's request, thus ensuring the injunction will remain in place for the time being. It looks like all Apple needs to do is post the $96 million bond for the injunction to come to life — a small monetary hurdle for the Cupertino company.

    Samsung's request for a stay was a long shot, especially given Judge Koh's unwillingness to grant a similar request by Samsung relating to the injunction on the Galaxy Tab 10.1. After all, such a stay would require the judge to disagree with her own decision from just a few days ago. That's simply not going to happen very often.

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  • Matt Macari

    Jun 29, 2012

    Matt Macari

    Apple v. Samsung: US judge grants injunction on Galaxy Nexus (update)

    Galaxy Nexus
    Galaxy Nexus

    Apple first asked for a preliminary injunction on US sales of Samsung's Galaxy Nexus devices back in February, and the court has now ruled, granting the motion and imposing a ban — at least temporarily. The Nexus is the most recent implementation of Google's pure Android experience on another manufacturer's hardware.

    Reuters legal reporter Dan Levine, who was in the courtroom for the ruling, has indicated that the injunction focuses on Samsung's infringement of US patent number 8,086,604, and that the injunction can go into effect after Apple posts a bond of around $96 million. The '604 patent covers searching multiple areas for information (on a device and elsewhere) through a single search interface, and using predetermined heuristic algorithms corresponding to each search area — a lot like Apple's Siri. That's a big deal because the infringement finding is directed to core voice and search functionality within Android. And that's before considering the recent introduction of the Google Now system. Although Apple won an injunction on Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 earlier this week — also from Judge Koh — that tablet device is already obsolete and provided Apple with little more than a hollow victory. The Galaxy Nexus is a currently relevant product and this injunction is much trickier for Samsung.

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  • T.C. Sottek

    Feb 11, 2012

    T.C. Sottek

    Apple seeks to ban Samsung's Galaxy Nexus, but it's really going after Android 4.0

    galaxy nexus verizon
    galaxy nexus verizon

    Apple's intellectual property quest has traditionally gone after manufacturers and their dubiously familiar form factors, but now it looks like the company is aiming straight at Google and Android 4.0: Apple has filed a new motion in the US for a preliminary injunction that would ban the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, Google's flagship Android device.

    While Samsung has been the target of Apple's ire with a barrage of other lawsuits, the Galaxy Nexus' hardware isn't really the center of attention here. Since the claim is specifically about key software patents in Android 4.0, other manufacturers putting the latest stock Android OS on their devices could be open to similar lawsuits if the court rules in Apple's favor.

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