Apple v. Samsung Injunction Ruling (December 2012)
In a matter widely covered in major media outlets, a federal judge in California denied Apple, Inc.'s motion to obtain a permanent injunction against several smartphones and tablets marketed by Samsung Electronics, an Analysis Group client.
Managing Principals T. Christopher Borek, Justin McLean, and Lisa Pinheiro; Principal Jimmy Royer; and Vice President John Browning led a team in support of expert Yoram Wind, professor of marketing at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School. Professor Wind addressed Apple's analysis of consumer purchase decisions related to touchscreen-related features claimed in three utility patents in the context of sales of infringing Samsung smartphones and tablets. In his declaration, Professor Wind noted that Apple's analysis was not designed to demonstrate why respondents select Samsung smartphones or tablets over competing products or rather than choosing to make no purchase at all.
Citing Professor Wind's declaration in her decision, US District Judge Lucy Koh found that Apple had failed to establish the causal nexus requirement of the irreparable harm factor used to assess the appropriateness of a permanent injunction, and stated that Apple "did not establish that any patented feature drives consumer demand for the entire product." Apple has filed an appeal with the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, DC.