Samsung Loses Motion for Preliminary Injunction Banning iPhone 4S in Italy

The Tribunale di Milano -- the Italian first-instance court for patent cases -- has denied a request by Samsung for a preliminary injunction banning the iPhone 4S in Italy over a patent dispute. A similar request was denied in France last month, and the Netherlands in October. The bans in Italy and France were initially requested in October.

Florian Mueller points out that both Apple and Samsung are not having any significant success asking for preliminary rulings, and instead both companies are "going to have to focus on regular, full-blown proceedings rather than the fast-track proceedings triggered by requests for preliminary injunctions."

The lawsuits in all three countries will continue for years, along with dozens of other lawsuits across the globe, but neither Apple nor Samsung appears close to winning any sort of a major decision.