Days after Verizon decided to voice its support for Samsung in an ongoing patent dispute against Apple, T-Mobile has filed a similar brief, asking a judge to block Apple's request for a ban on Samsung Galaxy products.
T-Mobile gives a different, more imploring argument. The fourth-largest carrier says that if Apple succeeds in convincing a court to temporarily ban Galaxy products, it would completely cripple T-Mobile's holiday sales, the most lucrative quarter of the year for most manufacturers.
"A preliminary injunction would unnecessarily harm T-Mobile and its customers," the filing states. "At this late date, T-Mobile could not find comparable replacement products for the 2011 holiday season. T-Mobile has already prepared its sales and marketing campaigns for the 2011 holiday sales season, which prominently feature the Galaxy S 4G and Galaxy Tab 10.1, and ordered holiday inventory of those products."
On Monday T-Mobile launched the Samsung Galaxy S 4G–which it dubs its "fastest smartphone"—and also added the Galaxy Tab 10.1 to its lineup on Wednesday.
Both devices are the focus of Apple's patent infringement lawsuits around the world. If enjoined, T-Mobile says it has "no adequate replacement" for either device and that its customers would likely end up going to another carrier.
The brief, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, resembles a brief filed by Verizon last week. Verizon argued that an injunction on Samsung products would "hinder Verizon Wireless in developing and deploying its next generation high-speed LTE network" and affect job stability.
The patent war between Apple and Samsung dates back to April, when Apple sued Samsung for copying the look and feel of its iPhone and iPad with its Galaxy S devices. Samsung quickly countersued in several different courts, including Tokyo's District Court, though it later dropped the countersuit filed in a U.S. federal court to streamline its proceedings, Bloomberg said. Since then the two companies have sued each other in dozens of countries, most recently in France.
Apple has had success in getting the Galaxy Tab 10.1 temporarily banned in Germany and delayed in Australia. In the Netherlands, a judge postponed until October 14 a decision on whether or not Samsung should be allowed to pursue an injunction on Apple products.