Apple loses bid to add Galaxy S4 to Samsung patent lawsuit

San Francisco: Apple Inc. lost its bid in a lawsuit to add Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd’s Galaxy S4 smartphone to a list of products it alleges to infringe its patents.

add_main_imageThe decision on Wednesday by US Magistrate Judge Paul S. Grewal is part of a second patent case in San Jose, California, between the companies covering technology in newer smartphones, including Apple’s iPhone 5 and Samsung’s Galaxy S III.

“Adding another product to the case is a tax on the court’s resources,” Grewal said in the ruling. “Each time these parties appear in the courtroom, they consume considerable amounts of the court’s time and energy, which takes time way from other parties who also require and are entitled to the court’s attention.”NextMAds

In an earlier case, a jury awarded Cupertino, California- based Apple $1.05 billion in damages, finding Suwon, South Korea-based Samsung infringed six of the iPhone maker’s mobile-device patents. US district judge Lucy Koh, correcting what she said was the jury’s error, lowered the damages total to $639.4 million and ordered a new damages trial in November for some of the products at issue in that case.

Josh Krevitt, a lawyer for Apple, told Grewal that excluding the Galaxy S4 would require Apple to file a new lawsuit because the Samsung products covered by the case will be out of date by trial next year.

Kristin Huguet, an Apple spokeswoman, declined to comment on the ruling.