The ink is barely dry on the U.S. ban and failed Samsung appeal on sales of the Galaxy Nexus that the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has agreed to suspend the ban while it reviews Apple’s arguments.
Samsung’s victory may not last very long though. The stay on the ban will only be in effect until Apple responds. Exactly what Apple needs to provide by July 12th is unclear as you would expect that all its arguments and documents have already been submitted. The court will review whatever additional materials are needed and decide whether to reinstate the ban for the rest of the patent infringement trial.
Google halted sales of the Galaxy Nexus from its Play Store earlier this week. Sales are expected to resume next week with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean preloaded along a software update to get around the patent infringement case that led to the ban in the first place.
It was only a partial victory for Samsung. The Court of Appeals decided not to lift a similar ban on the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet.
Update: It looks like Google wasted no time! It has resumed sales of the Galaxy Nexus on Google Play. It will not ship for “2 – 3 weeks,” suggesting that it will come with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean when it does.
Read more: Reuters