Samsung sought to defeat Apple's bid for a permanent sales ban against some Samsung smartphones, arguing in court on Thursday that Apple's request was an attempt to instill fear among telecom carriers and retailers that carry Samsung's products.
At a hearing in federal court in San Jose, California, Samsung attorney Kathleen Sullivan told U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh that the injunction would give the iPhone maker an opening to come back to court quickly and argue that newer Samsung products should also be banned.
"An injunction would create fear and uncertainty for the carriers and retailers with whom Samsung has very important customer relationships," Sullivan said.
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Apple attorney William Lee said that a jury has already found that nearly two dozen phones infringed Apple patents, and that Apple Inc has lost sales to a direct competitor.
"The natural, inexorable result is an injunction," Lee said.
Apple's request for the permanent injunction stems from the companies' legal fight over various smartphone features patented by Apple, such as the use of fingers to pinch and zoom on the screen and design elements such as the phone's flat, black glass screen. Apple has won U.S. jury verdicts against Samsung Electronics totaling about $930 million.
