Federal judge denies Apple request to ban Samsung phones, tablets News
Federal judge denies Apple request to ban Samsung phones, tablets

[JURIST] Judge Lucy Koh [official profile] of the US District Court for the Northern District of California [official website] on Wednesday denied a request by Apple for a permanent injunction barring Samsung Electronics [corporate websites] from selling products that infringe on Apple’s patents. The Cupertino based tech company had sought to ban [WSJ report] the sale of certain Samsung products that a jury in May had found to have violated three Apple patents. Koh found that Apple had failed to satisfy the burden of proving irreparable harm or linking that harm to the three patents infringed on by Samsung. Continuing patent litigation in US courts between the two companies is expected going forward.

The court’s rejection of Apple’s request is only the most recent salvo in an ongoing patent dispute [JURIST op-ed] between the two electronics giants. Earlier this month Apple and Samsung agreed to drop [JURIST report] all patent infringement lawsuits in courts outside of the US. In June Apple and Samsung also agreed to dismiss [JURIST report] their appeals of a patent infringement case at the US International Trade Commission (ITC) [official website] that resulted in an import ban on some older model Samsung phones.In May a jury in the US District Court for the Northern District of California ordered [JURIST report] Samsung to pay $119.6 million to Apple.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Laws of Burgos put into effect

The Spanish Crown put the Laws of Burgos into effect on December 27, 1512. These laws governed the relationship of Spanish settlers with the indigenous peoples of the Caribbean. The laws established the encomienda system of labor, promoted conversion to Catholicism, and safeguarded the indigenous peoples from physical abuse.  However, historians argue that the laws were ineffective at protecting the rights of the indigenous population. Learn more from the Library of Congress.

Prohibitionist Carrie Nation carried out her first public bar smashing

On December 27, 1900, militant Prohibitionist Carrie Nation carried out her first public smashing of a bar, at the Carey Hotel in Wichita, Kansas. Nation argued that destroying bars was an acceptable means of battling the liquor trade since the Kansas Constitution prohibited alcohol. Learn more about Carrie Nation.

World Bank created

On December 27, 1944, the World Bank was created during the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, USA. Learn more about the history of the World Bank.