Judge bans sales of Samsung Galaxy Nexus in US

Samsung Galaxy Nexus smartphone banned in the US while judge considers patent infringement case, meanwhile Apple pays £38m in China to settle iPad trademark

Apple looks likely to win its second legal dispute with Samsung in quick succession, as a judge has banned the sale of Samsung's Galaxy Nexus smartphone in the US.

While the patent dispute is still going through the US courts, US District Judge Lucy Koh decided to ban sales of the smartphone for the duration of the trial, stating her belief that Apple's claim will be upheld.

Judge Koh said Apple "has shown a likelihood of establishing both infringement and validity", according to the BBC.

Samsung was quick to appeal against the decision, which is based on its device infringing several Apple patents, and moved to stay the injunction against the sale while its appeal is considered, according to mobile patent blog FOSS Patents.

This mirrors the recent US decision to ban the sale of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1, as Apple claimed that its design was too similar to that of its iPad device.

However, Apple is not winning every legal dispute it enters into at the moment, as it has agreed to pay $60m (£38m) to little-known and cash-strapped Chinese firm Proview to end a dispute over the iPad trademark, according to Reuters.

However, even this court-mediated settlement could be seen as something of a victory, since it ends a long-running legal battle and allows Apple to sell its wildly popular iPad in the world's most populous country.

Apple, as the world's most valuable company, will not be concerned at the bill, especially given the sales potential among China's population of 1,347,350,000, with its emergent middle classes.

Elsewhere, Italian authorities have threatened Apple with fines of up to €300,000 (£242,000) if it does not offer customers a free two-year warranty in accordance with local law, according to Reuters.