No Fast Lane for Apple’s Patent Pursuit of Samsung

Apple’s attempt to expedite its appeal requesting a sales ban on a number of Samsung smartphones was rebuffed Monday, further hamstringing the company’s bid for a permanent injunction against a handful of devices found to infringe Apple patents.

On Monday, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., declined Apple’s request to fast-track its appeal, saying the company must first make its case to a three-judge panel that will decide whether it merits the attention of the full court.

A tough break for Apple, which has been seeking this ban since last August, when it won a $1.05 billion jury verdict against Samsung in a California court (to be fair, the company’s request to expedite was a long shot to begin with). Every delay like this allows the infringing devices to remain on the market and gives Samsung more time to develop new devices that won’t run afoul of Apple’s intellectual property.