Apple Samsung Patent Battle Enters New Phase, Friday's Verdict to Upset Balance

Two rulings announced by U.S. courts and trade regulators this Friday will tip the balance in the prolonged patent battle between Apple and Samsung, once again putting their patent war under the media spotlight.

Friday will see both companies back in court at the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington D.C., where they will debate whether mistakes were made in last year’s ruling by a U.S. district court that allowed Samsung to continue selling over 20 of its products in the U.S. market. A local jury had previously found that these Samsung products infringed upon several of Apple's patents.

Also on Friday, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) is expected to announce its ruling on whether Samsung violated several different Apple patents. As a quasi-judicial federal agency, the ITC does not have the authority to award monetary damages in patent disputes. However, it can ban the importation of overseas-produced goods into the U.S. if it finds violations of U.S. patents. This is largely why the ITC has played a significant role in the global patent wars among smartphone manufacturers.

Spokespersons for both Samsung and Apple declined to comment on the matter.

In the past three years, smartphone manufacturers have been embroiled in a flurry of lawsuits around the globe using their respective patent arsenals, keeping the nearly $400 billion annual revenue global smartphone market in turmoil. To date, however, no decisive winner has emerged from these patent battles.

Last Saturday, the Obama administration overturned a previous ITC decision to ban certain iPhone and iPad models from being sold in the U.S. The two rulings this coming Friday will help clarify the strengths and weaknesses of the two smartphone giants, Apple and Samsung, in their competitive landscape.

If Apple receives favorable rulings on Friday, it could lead to bans on certain Samsung smartphones currently on sale and future releases in the U.S. market, further weakening Samsung's leadership position in the global smartphone market. If Samsung prevails, it would allow the company to continue selling all its mobile devices in the U.S. market.

The outcome of the U.S. appeals court decision will influence Apple's ability to secure injunctions against Samsung products in future similar patent cases, including one filed in the San Jose, California court, which is set to go to trial early next year.