Apple (AAPL) can thank Siri for its latest court victory. Late Friday afternoon, U.S. District Court Judge Lucy Koh granted the Cupertino, Calif., company a preliminary injunction that prohibits U.S. sales of the Galaxy Nexus, the Android smartphone that Samsung (SSNLF) developed with Google (GOOG). Apple argued that the Galaxy Nexus infringed on four separate patents related to the iPhone. But only one patented technology was found to be significant enough to influence consumers’ purchasing decisions, and thus cause “irreparable” financial harm to Apple. That patent was the one for Siri, the iPhone’s voice-activated search engine.
Google’s voice-activated “universal search” is part of the Android 4.0 operating system, and according to Judge Koh, its implementation on the Galaxy Nexus infringes on Apple’s patent. So now the company that dominates online searches is facing the possibility that its flagship U.S. smartphone will be kept off the market because of its search engine.
For Samsung, the stakes are even higher. The Korean conglomerate recently surpassed Apple in smartphone sales, but if court losses continue that lead could evaporate. Samsung has appealed Judge Koh’s ruling and for now the Galaxy Nexus is still available through Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel, Google and Amazon.com, among others. Sprint Nextel has slashed the phone’s price to $49 with a two-year contract.
Apple’s next victim could be Samsung’s flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S III, which is launching in the United States this summer. Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile USA both have the phones in their retail stores now, as does Best Buy, but customers who want to carry it might be wise to get it while they can. Apple has filed a motion to halt sales of the S III, saying that it infringes on the same unified search patent that was the basis for Friday’s ruling in Apple’s favor.
Apple filed the motion to block sales of the Galaxy S III in the San Jose, Calif., division of the Northern District of the U.S. District Court of California, the same court that ruled on the Galaxy Nexus. Judge Koh, who presides over the court, also issued a preliminary injunction last week banning sales of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1, which Apple says copies the design of the iPad.
