Galaxy Tab 10.1 Distribution Banned in EU As Apple Granted Injunction
It appears that the patent infringement fight between Apple and Samsung has taken another turn for the worse against old Sammy and the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, as the word is Apple has been grated an preliminary injunction that covers the whole of the European Union.
According to an article over on 9to5 Mac, Dutch website Webwereld is reporting that the Regional Court of Dusseldorf in Germany has granted Apple said preliminary injunction to halt the distribution of Samsung’s Android 3.1 Honeycomb slate in all the EU with the exception of the Netherlands due to a separate lawsuit filed in that country by Apple.
The judge came down on Apple’s side that the Galaxy Tab 10.1 does infringe on Apple’s gear and copies the look of their Apple iPad 2. However apparently can mount an appeal sometime next month, albeit according to Shane Richmond of The Telegraph, any appeal against the decision will actually be hear by the same judge that delivered the ruling in the first place.
Samsung was quick to respond though and the guys over at The Next Web have statements from both Apple and Samsung on the matter.
Kristin Huguet, a spokesperson for Apple says, “It’s no coincidence that Samsung’s latest products look a lot like the iPhone and iPad, from the shape of the hardware to the user interface and even the packaging. This kind of blatant copying is wrong, and we need to protect Apple’s intellectual property when companies steal our ideas.”
Samsung’s responded with this statement… “Samsung is disappointed with the court’s decision and we intend to act immediately to defend our intellectual property rights through the ongoing legal proceedings in Germany and will continue to actively defend these rights throughout the world.
The request for injunction was filed with no notice to Samsung, and the order was issued without any hearing or presentation of evidence from Samsung.
We will take all necessary measures to ensure Samsung’s innovative mobile communications devices are available to customers in Europe and around the world.”
This decision by the court in Germany in no way influences other legal proceedings filed with the courts in Europe and elsewhere.”
This latest blow to Sammy and their Galaxy Tab 10.1 follows the delayed release of the Android tablet in Australia where Apple was also seeking an injunction.
Thus the game continues and basically its those that have been waiting to pick up the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 that will suffer the delays in getting the device whilst these two giants of the mobile space continue to battle it out.
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2 thoughts on “Galaxy Tab 10.1 Distribution Banned in EU As Apple Granted Injunction”
Apple thinks infringement because a tablet looks like a tablet!? They all look tablety. That Samsung put it in a box to ship it is IP infringement (the box looks nothing like). The German courts would do well to remember that EU law overrides national law, and EU law favours open competition in the interests of the Community and consumers. Apple’s abuse of local German IP law (which is not consistent with other member states) should not be tolerated.
This is ridiculous!!!! Apple owns all rights to a rectangle???!!!!! Was that judge even awake for this one???!!!! The iPad revolves around the most common form factor for monitors and digital picture frames which have been around for years before Apple came along with the iPad! At least the court in the Netherlands got it right. The judge ruled against Apple in that case and ruled there was no infringement as far as the Galaxy Tab 10.1 was concerned. Even the victory Apple got in that court against Samsung for injunctions against three of its phones, thankfully, doesn’t mean anything. Judge in that court found infringement but only because of an app in Android 2.3 that Samsung just has to correct by October 13 and then the ban won’t even come into effect. Also, the “victory” Apple got in Germany only applies to the German branch of Samsung. Retail outlets can still, legally, sell the stock that they have and can even restock as long as it is from another branch of Samsung (from Netherlands, perhaps?). So take that, Apple. Man, you (I’m looking at you. Steve Jobs) are the biggest cry baby on the planet. Ironic when you consider everything your/Apple’s success is based on always stems back to something you stole! Hey buddy, I haven’t forgotten about Xerox/Parc!!!! Magical my rear!!!!