Apple Inc. is attempting to renew its sales ban on Samsung products in the US and these products are the ones that are no longer available in the market and were at issue in the first patent trial of the companies in California. Yesterday, the iPhone maker requested US District Judge Lucy Koh to bar sales of around 20 tablets and smartphones such as the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and Galaxy S 4G, which had been declared as infringing patents of the smartphone maker. While the bid for a sales ban had been rejected by Koh relating to the infringing devices after the verdict in 2012, on 18th November, a federal appeals court had allowed the company to pursue an injunction that would target some of the products of its rival.

In yesterday’s filing, Apple stated that although Samsung has stopped infringing patents and stopped selling the particular models, it doesn’t mean that Apple should not seek injunctive relief. It also asserted that Apple needs an injunction because Samsung is constantly introducing new products in the market, which are quite similar to those that infringed patents and this injunction would provide Apple the relief needed to combat future infringements. According to the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, the request could be tailored by Apple Inc. to emphasize on the infringement of patents that cover smartphone features such as the multi-touch technology, which was part of the 2012 trial.

Samsung products cannot be blocked by the company for infringing the patented designs as per the opinion. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent by the world’s top two smartphone makers in legal fees dealing with claims of stealing each other’s features in a worldwide battle to dominate the market. The legal fight had been initiated by Apple in 2011, which now holds 13% market share in the third quarter of the current year. In comparison, Samsung had 31% market share as per the data provided by IDC.

No comment was made by the spokesman of the Suwon, South-Korean based firm when asked to respond to the request made by Apple. Last month, the Cupertino, California based firm had won about $290 million as damages from Samsung Electronics, a trial that had stemmed from the same case in which Apple is seeking to make the request of imposing a ban. In the 2012 verdict, Apple had been awarded about $1.05 billion, but Koh had cut about $410.5 million from it. Nevertheless, a jury had stated that the verdict had been flawed because the period of the infringement had been miscalculated by the jurors in the first trial and the cut amount had been restored.

$930 million is now owed by Samsung Electronics as damages to Apple Inc. Another case will be starting between the two companies in March, which includes newer models of Samsung such as the Galaxy SIII. If a ban on older models is placed, it could be argued by Apple that new products have the same features.

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