Past Unlawful Injunctions Shouldn't Cloud Samsung Galaxy S III's Future

Abstract

Can Apple leverage its August trial victory over Samsung to achieve a court-ordered prohibition on the Galaxy S III, presently the world’s best-selling smartphone? Technology and legal reporters around the world have raised the possibility. Indeed, consumers themselves appear to fear an impending Galaxy S III sales ban. Shockingly, these predictions are almost certainly wrong. One reason for widespread confusion is the surprising fact that district courts routinely issue injunctions that violate the law. This essay discusses injunction breadth, Apple's prospects for banning sales of the Galaxy S III, and possible solutions to the proliferation of unlawful injunctions.

Keywords: injunctions, patent injunctions, colorably different, colorable differences, Samsung, Apple, Apple v. Samsung, Galaxy S III, S3, SIII

JEL Classification: K41, O34