Permanent Injunction’s Causal Nexus Requirement Does Not Require That Patented Feature Be The Sole Reason For Consumer Demand

In Apple Inc. v. Samsung Electronics Co., No. 13-1129 (Fed. Cir. Nov. 18, 2013), the Federal Circuit affirmed the district court's denial of permanent injunctive relief with respect to Apple Inc.'s ("Apple") design patents and trade dress, but vacated the denial of permanent injunctive relief with respect to Apple's utility patents and remanded for further proceedings.

Apple sued Samsung Electronics Company, Ltd. ("Samsung") for infringement of several Apple patents and dilution of Apple's trade dress.  A jury found that twenty-six Samsung smartphones and tablets infringed one or more of six Apple patents, and that six Samsung smartphones diluted Apple's registered iPhone trade dress and unregistered iPhone 3G trade dress.  After trial, Apple moved for a permanent injunction to enjoin Samsung from importing or selling its infringing smartphones and tablets, or any other product not more than colorably different from an infringing product.  Apple also sought to