Apple Wins Ruling to Force Samsung to Change Phones, Tablets

Apple Inc. has won a court ruling to force Samsung Electronics Co. to stop using some features in its older-model Galaxy smartphones and tablets and gives the iPhone maker a leg up in the four-year-old dispute.

A U.S. appeals court said Apple was entitled to a narrow order that prevents the Korean device maker from using Apple’s slide-to-unlock, autocorrect and quicklinks features.

Ruling otherwise would eliminate patent rights of inventors of certain features in multicomponent devices, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington said in an opinion posted on its electronic docket.

The decision could have far-reaching consequences in how disputes are resolved when it comes to complex devices, and help patent owners limit copying by rivals. The ability to block use of an invention is a powerful tool that increases the price tag when negotiating settlements.

“It’s an important precedent for Apple and any company that seeks to protect product differentiation,” said Nick Rodelli, who heads CFRA Legal Edge, a New York-based forensic accounting and legal research firm. “This broadens their moat here in the U.S. and makes it more difficult for new entrants to come into the U.S. market and rip off Apple’s features.”

Samsung said it would ask that the issue be considered by all active judges of the Federal Circuit, since it was a split decision. The court handles all patent appeals.

The iPhone maker gains additional firepower with its biggest rival when it comes to resolving a fight that began in April 2011. A past Apple settlement with HTC Corp. included a “no cloning” provision that ensured HTC’s phones didn’t look too similar to the iPhone, and the ruling Thursday helps do the same to other makers, like China’s Xiaomi Corp., that want to enter the U.S. market.

For Samsung, the ruling applies to older models including the Galaxy S2 and Note 2 that have been superseded by current devices such as the S6. It is thus unlikely to have a significant impact on the company’s business, said Lee Jae Yun, an analyst at Yuanta Securities Korea Co.

Samsung’s shares climbed 2.9 percent to 1,190,000 million won in Seoul on Friday, while the benchmark Kospi index rose 1 percent.

“The remaining litigation looks rather symbolic and I don’t expect the court rulings on older models would have a significant impact on Samsung’s business,” said Jeong Woo Sung, a patent lawyer at Lim & Jeong Patent Law Firm in Seoul.

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