It's been a while since there have been any major developments in the legal battles between Apple and Samsung here in the U.S., but tonight Judge Lucy Koh changed that by handing down two decisions that are worth taking note of. First up, Apple had requested a permanent sales ban on the 26 Samsung-made products that were found to infringe on its patents earlier this year. That request was denied by Judge Koh, who explained that Apple did not prove that it lost sales directly because of Samsung's infringement of its patents. She added that only a small fraction of the features contained within these phones are covered by Apple patents and that a permanent ban is "particularly inappropriate" because none of those features are an integral part of the devices.

Judge Koh's second decision tonight had to do with Samsung's request for a new trial between it and Apple. Samsung argued that Velvin Hogan, jury foreman in the Apple-Samsung trial, lied about the fact that he was previously the target of a lawsuit from Seagate, which Samsung is a shareholder in. Samsung also felt that statements made by Hogan in post-verdict interviews show that he was biased against Samsung. However, Koh tossed out Samsung's request for a new trial, saying that the company could've found out about Hogan's history with Seagate had it acted "with reasonable diligence" based on what it learned from the pre-trial examination of Hogan to determine whether or not he was fit to serve on the jury.

Neither Apple nor Samsung has issued a statement on Judge Koh's decisions as of this writing, but it wouldn't be a surprise to learn that they're both a tad disappointed that both of their requests were denied. Where these two companies go from here is still a mystery for now, but FOSS Patents feels that an Apple appeal of Judge Koh's denial of a permanent ban could be coming, which wouldn't exactly be a surprise considering Apple's success with a jury back in August and the history between these two companies. Stay tuned for more as we get it in the wild and seemingly never-ending ride that is Apple v. Samsung.

Via The Verge (1), (2), Order denying Apple's injunction (PDF), Order denying Samsung's trial request (PDF), FOSS Patents