Wednesday, August 24, 2011, 05:44 pm

Apple wins against Samsung increase likelihood of global settlement

By Chris Smith

Apple’s second preliminary injunction win in a European court against Samsung products may “increase the likelihood” of a global settlement between the two rival companies, the investment banking division of the Royal Bank of Canada said Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, a Dutch court awarded Apple an injunction banning three Samsung Android handsets -- the Galaxy S, the Galaxy S II and the Galaxy S Ace -- from sale across the European Union because they were found to infringe on the iPhone maker's patents.

The news comes two weeks after a German court sided with Apple and ordered a similar injunction against a different Samsung product, the Galaxy Tab 10.1 -- an Android tablet that was similarly found to be in violation of Apple iPad-related patents.

The news, combined with the recent German ruling, is likely to pressure Samsung into pursuing “a global settlement" with Apple that would bring immediate closure to the matter,  RBC analyst Mike Abramasky told clients in a brief report.

As it stands, the Dutch ruling threatens to impact Samsung’s smartphone sales across Western European, where it ships an average 3.5-4.0 million units per quarter.

Abramasky also noted various other approaches Samsung could take in fighting the latest injunction. For example, he said, the South Korean company “may appeal the ruling, attempt a redesign and workaround the patent, or may be able to adjust its distribution strategy to mitigate the injunction.”

Apple and Samsung are currently involved in similar copyright and patent infringement suits in various countries, including the U.S., UK, The Netherlands, Germany, South Korea, Japan or Australia.

For its part, Apple in early August also secured a favorable decision in Australian courts, which prevented Samsung from selling the Galaxy Tab 10.1 across the continent.

At least one report has indicated that executives from both companies have been meeting in hopes of resolving the matter independent of the courts but no settlement has been reached.