Carriers are taking sides in the ongoing patent war between Samsung and Apple. T-Mobile is the latest to join the fray, filing an amicus brief against Apple’s injunction to halt sales of Samsung’s Galaxy phones and tablets in the United States. The wireless carrier argues that a halt of device sales would be against the public interest as the holiday shopping season approaches.
T-Mobile is following in the footsteps of Verizon, who also filed an amicus curae brief earlier this week. Both carriers feature Samsung’s phones and tablets heavily in their advertising, and models the original Galaxy S have been solid sellers on both. Apple reacted harshly to Verizon’s brief, saying that it was too far after the initial court filing to be included in the October case. Apple has achieved a preliminary injunction against Samsung in Germany, and Samsung has postponed its Galaxy Tab 10.1 sales in Australia pending a court ruling on the local suit.
An amicus brief needs to demonstrate an immediate and irrevocable harm in order to be accepted, and T-Mobile argues that its fall and winter advertising features products like the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and Galaxy S II heavily. T-Mobile couldn’t alter their marketing or find adequate replacement products in time if Apple achieved a ban on these models. Other major carriers have yet to weigh in on the case, but with opening arguments fast approaching, expect news from both soon, either officially or off-the-record.
Sounds like they don’t have much confidence in Samsung winning….