Judge Allows Apple to Add Galaxy Note, S III to Patent Lawsuit; Samsung Adds iPhone 5

According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple and Samsung are now allowed to add more products to their patent lawsuits against each other, based on the ruling of a federal judge Paul Grewal. 

Apple Inc. can add patent- infringement claims against the Samsung Galaxy Note, the U.S. version of the Galaxy S III and the Jelly Bean operating system, and Samsung Electronics Co. can add the iPhone 5 to its infringement claims against Apple, a federal judge ruled.

The addition of the Jelly Bean operating system is limited to the software for Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus

The ruling came in the second patent lawsuit between Apple and Samsung, with the latter being forced to pay $1.05 billion in damages (for infringing on 6 of 7 Apple patents) as determined in the first trial by jury. Judge Grewal went on to add:

“Apple should think twice before opposing similar amendments reflecting other newly released products, e.g. the iPad 4 and the iPad mini, that Samsung may propose in the future,”  

According to Reuters, Judge Grewal said Samsung acted with “reasonable diligence” in their request to add the iPhone 5 to the mix, which Apple did not oppose.

The second U.S. trial is scheduled for 2014 and Samsung is targeting iPhones, iPad and iPod touch units while Apple has 19 Samsung devices in its sights. Today’s ruling allowed both companies to add extra devices released after the initial lawsuit was filed.

Earlier this evening it was revealed Apple had acquired 1,024 patents from the Rockstar Consortium, most likely to stockpile its patent portfolio for another epic showdown in court with Samsung, whose executives are set to gather to discuss these ongoing patent wars.
 

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