Preliminary Injunction Prohibiting Sale of Galaxy Tab Survives Despite Jury Verdict of Noninfringement

The court denied without prejudice defendant's motion to dissolve a preliminary injunction precluding the sale of defendant's Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet computer even though a jury returned a verdict finding no infringement of the patent that was the basis for the preliminary judgment. Defendant's interlocutory appeal of the injunction deprived the court of jurisdiction and the court had not yet issued a final judgment that would automatically dissolve the preliminary injunction. "First, notwithstanding [defendant's] characterization of [an earlier judgment] as 'final' in its opening brief, the parties now agree that because the [earlier judgment] referred simply to the jury verdict and did not resolve all substantive remedies, including [plaintiff's] requests for injunctive relief and enhanced damages, the judgment is not 'final' for purposes of appeal. Accordingly, the [earlier judgment] is not a final judgment as would automatically dissolve the . . . Preliminary Injunction. . . . Second, the parties agree that [defendant's] pending appeal of the. . . Preliminary Injunction deprives the Court of jurisdiction to dissolve the injunction until and unless the Federal Circuit returns jurisdiction to this Court. . . . Because the Court lacks jurisdiction to grant [defendant's] motion, the motion to dissolve must be denied."

Apple Inc. v. Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., et. al., 5-11-cv-01846 (CAND September 17, 2012, Order) (Koh, J.).