After months of legal battles, Apple was finally granted a preliminary injunction against the Samsung Galaxy Nexus in the U.S. On the heels of Apple’s successful campaign to ban the sale of the Galaxy Tab 10.1, Apple has bested Google again this week with California judge Lucy Koh deciding in favor of the Cupertino-based iPhone maker.

The U.S. sales ban against the Samsung Galaxy Nexus will go into effect as soon as Apple posts a bond for nearly $96 million bond to cover damages in the event that the injunction is later ruled unjust. Apple initially filed for an injunction against this high-profile Samsung handset in February, citing four separate cases of copyright infringement. In the end, it was U.S. Patent Number 8,086,604  - which deals with  Siri voice commands and unified search functionality – that finally did the Galaxy Nexus in.

According to Judge Koh,

“Apple has articulated a plausible theory of irreparable harm” due to “long-term loss of market share and losses of downstream sales.”

At this point, the Galaxy Nexus kind of seems like old news. The slow pace of these lawsuits isn’t really suited for the quick turnover and development that the tech world operates on. But I have to admit that even though the Galaxy Nexus isn’t the star of the Android show anymore, it’s still definitely a bummer that it’s being treated like this. Apple makes great devices, but their legal practices are incredibly frustrating and seriously diminish the healthy dose of competition that lead to true technological innovations.

Looking forward, if Apple won a lawsuit about a patent regarding Siri-like functionality, I’m sure the company won’t be pleased with Android’s new voice search feature in Jelly Bean. I can almost hear the frenzied keyboard clicks in Apple’s legal department.

What do you guys think about this? Was Apple right to work to get the Galaxy Nexus banned in the U.S., or should they stop worrying about who’s copying who and start trying to make stuff we haven’t already seen a million times? Sound off in the comments below or hit me up on twitter @TiP_Jake.

Via: AppleInsider