Apple Wins Ban on Galaxy Tab Sales in Germany

A German court ruled in favor of Apple once again, this time permanently banning the sale of Samsung’s Galaxy 10.1 tablet in Germany. 

While other Samsung divisions are still allowed to sell the device in the remaining European Union countries, Samsung Germany is prohibited from selling the slate. 

Apple had filed a lawsuit claiming design infringements of its iPad 2 by the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and last month the district court in Düsseldorf granted the iPad maker a preliminary injunction, preventing Samsung from selling the tablet in all E.U. countries, except the Netherlands. However, a week later the ban was lifted in all countries except for Germany due to jurisdiction issues. 

On Aug. 25 the German court upheld the injunction after comparing the Galaxy tablet with a design of the iPad Apple filed with the European Union Intellectual Property Agency. Samsung claims that Apple deliberately distorted images of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 to resemble the iPad 2. 

“The court is of the opinion that Apple’s minimalistic design isn’t the only technical solution to make a tablet computer, other designs are possible,” Brueckner-Hofmann claimed. “For the informed customer, there remains the predominant overall impression that the device looks” like the Apple iPad.

Samsung was forced to pull its new Galaxy Tab 7.7 out of the IFA show in Berlin last week after the Cupertino-based company won a second injunction in Germany.  

The legal battle between the two electronic giants spans globally, as Apple filed a patent-infringement lawsuit against Samsung in Japan. In addition, a separate case is pending in the Netherlands. 

 Source: Bloomberg