Apple Loses Significant Court Battle Against Samsung

Apple AAPL has lost its battle to keep Samsung from selling the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the United States. According to BBC News, U.S. District Court Judge Lucy Koh decided to lift the ban this week after an appeals court gave her the freedom to rescind the ban. Collectively, Samsung's tablets have sold less than 1.5 million units in the United States, so this win is unlikely to add much value to the company's bottom line. However, it is important to the company's overall legal dispute with Apple, which continues to grow worldwide. In August, a jury ruled that Samsung was guilty of infringing on some of Apple's patents, awarding the California-based tech giant more than $1 billion in damages. Worldwide, the legal disputes have caused a number of problems for both Samsung and Apple. In South Korea, Apple recently filed a complaint with a South Korean regulator, alleging that Samsung is abusing its position as a market leader of third-generation wireless technology. At the same time a South Korean court ruled that Samsung and Apple had infringed on each other's patents and ordered both companies to stop selling several key products, including older iPads and iPhones. This morning, Samsung officially added the iPhone 5 to its domestic patent dispute. Samsung believes that the device infringes on eight of its patents. Up until this year, Apple products were largely comprised of Samsung parts, including memory, displays and processors. The Mac maker has been attempting to distance itself from Samsung by using other suppliers. That strategy might come at a price. While it is not yet known if Apple will be able to keep up with the worldwide demand for the iPhone 5, the potential shortage has been linked to the company's decision to switch to an in-cell display from another manufacturer. The new screen was an essential design component for Apple, which wanted to build a lighter and thinner iPhone. However, it might ultimately limit the company's ability to produce enough devices to satisfy the market. In doing so, Apple may be unable to beat the record sales of the iPhone 4S, which quickly became the fastest-selling smartphone of all time. Follow me @LouisBedigianBZ