Samsung sales ban hearing set for Dec. 6

A U.S. court hearing over Apple Inc.'s request for a permanent injunction against the sales of eight Samsung phones has been set for Dec. 6, court papers showed Wednesday, a move that may dilute the impact of Samsung Electronics Co.'s crushing defeat last week.

In a high-stakes legal fight between the two top smartphone makers, a U.S. federal jury concluded Friday that Samsung infringed six of Apple's patents for mobile devices and ordered the Korean company to pay $1.05 billion in damages.

Emboldened by the legal victory, Apple made a request Monday to U.S. District Judge Luch Koh to ban the sales of eight Samsung devices in the United States, including seven Galaxy models. The devices include the Galaxy S 4G, Galaxy S2 AT&T, Galaxy S2 T-Mobile, Galaxy S2 Epic 4G, Galaxy S Showcase, Droid Charge and Galaxy Prevail.

"Having considered the scope of Apple's preliminary injunction request, the additional post-trial motions that the parties have already filed and will file, and the substantial overlap between the analysis required for Apple's preliminary injunction motion and the parties' various other post-trial motions, the Court believes consolidation of the briefing and hearing on the post-trial motions is appropriate," the U.S. District Court Norther District of California court papers showed.

The court hearing on "Apple's motion for permanent injunction and willfulness enhancements" will be held at 1:30 p.m. on Dec. 6, according to the court order.

Analysts said the scheduling may overshadow the impact of last week's jury decision, which was seen as a sweeping victory for the Cupertino, California firm.

"Apple's sales ban request is relatively less significant since it doesn't include the latest models such as the Galaxy S3. Still, a later-than-expected court scheduling may reduce risks for Samsung," said Choi Do-yeon, an analyst at LIG Investment & Securities Co.

Meanwhile, the papers showed that the U.S. judge set a provisional date for the hearing on Samsung's Aug. 26 request to dissolve a preliminary sales ban on the Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet. The hearing session will be held on Sept. 20 if the judge deems it necessary.

In June, the court granted Apple a preliminary injunction blocking U.S. sales of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet for design patent infringement. Samsung had said the ruling "will ultimately reduce the availability of superior technological features to consumers in the United States." (Yonhap)