Edible Apple

In what was supposed to be a redacted portion of Judge Lucy Koh’s decision denying Apple’s motion for a preliminary injunction, it was revealed that Apple licensed its ‘381 patent covering intertial scrolling to Nokia and IBM. What’s more, Apple offered a similar licence to Samsung in November of 2010 as part of a negotiation that would ultimately prove fruitless.

When unredacted portions of the the order began being discussed over the weekend, I was curious as to how some sites were able to obtain a full and true copy of the order. As it turns out, a formatting characteristic in the original electronic copy of the order allowed users to copy the redacted lines and paste them into a new document, thereby revealing the what-should-have-been redacted information.

While nothing earth shattering was revealed, there are a few interesting tidbits that wouldn’t have otherwise came to light.

For instance, one redacted portion cited an Apple study showing that existing iPhone users are unlikely to become Samsung smartphone owners. On the contrary, an uptick in Samsung sales would likely come at the expense of other Android smartphones.

Indeed, Judge Koh factored this into her decision when pointing out that Apple wouldn’t necessarily be affected by Samsung’s allegedly infringing products as they’d have a more profound impact on other smartphone manufacturers. This, however, is a bit shortsighted on Koh’s part as it doesn’t account for the user looking to purchase his or her first smartphone.

And in yet another example of a bogus Samsung legal claim, the Korean based manufacturer claimed as part of its defense that Apple wouldn’t be able to keep up with demand for the iPhone should Samsung products be subject to a preliminary injunction. Apple naturally disputed the assertion while Judge Koh accurately called the argument “dubious” in light of evidence proffered by Apple.

There’s no doubt that Koh’s decision on Friday was a victory for Samsung, but they shouldn’t get too excited just yet. The criteria for a preliminary injunction is tough to meet and a full trial on the facts is scheduled to get underway later in 2012.

via Reuters