In a bad week for Apple, co-founder Steve Jobs has resigned, share prices in the company have fallen and its most recent court battle with Samsung has not resulted in the sweeping victory it might have hoped for.
Earlier this week, a district court in the Hague dismissed all but one of Apple's claims for
patent infringement and also dismissed other claims that a
number of Samsung devices copied its designs.
While the ruling in respect of Apple's one successful claim
could effectively prevent Samsung from selling the current versions
of its Galaxy devices - including the Galaxy S, Galaxy S II and the
Galaxy Ace - in several European Countries, the ruling relates only
to the devices' photo management application - meaning that
Samsung could simply produce the devices without the application in
question.
Samsung has adopted a defiant stance, announcing that it will
"take all possible measures, including legal
action, to ensure that there is no disruption in the availability
of our Galaxy smartphones to Dutch consumers. The ruling is not
expected to affect sales in other European markets".Given
that Samsung now has several weeks to update its software before
the injunction comes into force, perhaps this stance is
unsurprising.
With the iPhone 5 launch just months away, it remains to be seen
how this latest blow will affect one of the world's wealthiest
companies.
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