South Korea's Samsung Electronics vowed on Tuesday to take "all necessary measures" to keep its products on US store shelves, in response to Apple's request for a ban on sales of some smartphones. After winning a $1.05 billion US court judgement in a patent suit last week, Apple on Monday filed a court request to ban eight Samsung mobile devices including versions of its Galaxy and Droid smartphones.
Samsung, the world's biggest technology firm, countered in a statement: "We will take all necessary measures to ensure the availability of our products in the US market." Rival Apple says that it reserves the right to seek permanent injunctions banning the sale of all 28 Samsung devices which a jury on Friday found infringed its patents.
But it presented a shorter list of Samsung products "to address a portion of the immediate, ongoing irreparable harm that Apple is suffering". The phones that Apple included on its list for a sales ban are old models but still available through wireless carriers and online retailers. Samsung's newest flagship products - Galaxy S III and Galaxy Note - were not included.
The jury in San Jose, California decided Friday that Samsung "wilfully" infringed six Apple patents for smartphones or tablet PCs. Samsung has vowed to contest the verdict, saying courts in other countries had previously ruled it had not copied Apple's designs. The company did not elaborate on its strategy but it is considering removing or modifying features found to have infringed Apple's patents to keep its products on the market if the sales ban is granted.
"As a last resort, we can think about workarounds," a Samsung official told AFP on condition of anonymity, referring to possible modifications. Judge Lucy Koh has set a hearing for September 20 to consider enforcement of injunctions against Samsung devices. She will also hear Samsung motions to reduce or dismiss charges and Apple's request for "punitive" damages, which could triple the award.