In a continuation of the court battles between technology giants, Samsung and Apple, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Thursday overturned the U.S. sales ban of the Samsung's Galaxy Nexus phone.
The appellate court reversed an earlier order by the district court in California, accusing the district court of "abusing its discretion" by imposing a preliminary injunction on the sales of Samsung's Galaxy Nexus in June.
This is a loss for Cupertino-based Apple Inc., who claimed Samsung stole its features and technology for smartphone and tablets. Apple told the district court that Samsung's Galaxy Nexus sales hurt its business; the court agreed to Apple's contention and issued the injunction.
Samsung welcomed the appellate court's decision and said it "confirms that the role of patent law is to protect innovation and not to unreasonably stifle competition and restrict consumer choice."
"We will continue to take all appropriate measures to ensure the availability of our innovative products," said Samsung, the BBC reported.
The case will now go back to the district court in California due to appellate court's order.
In August, a jury had found Samsung guilty and ordered it to pay Apple more than $1 billion. This order has been challenged by the South Korean company. Samsung and Apple are fighting numerous court battles around the world with claims and counter claims on patent infringements.
The smartphone industry is fast growing and Samsung and Apple are the big players in the field.
"The intensity of the competition is so high, that it is less about billions of dollars in fines but more about slowing the competition... Apple will try and slow the rapid growth trajectory of Samsung," said Manoj Menon, managing director of Frost & Sullivan, the BBC reported.
