German court upholds Galaxy Tab 10.1 injunction, Apple lawyers mark additional notch in belts

Matthew Ismael Ruiz  By on 09 Sep 11

A judge in a Dusseldorf, Germany court upheld a previously issued Apple-requested injunction on the sale of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 today, meaning the Samsung tablet is still barred from sale in Germany. This comes after a second injunction was issued in the same court banning the sale of Samsung’s other tablet, the Galaxy Tab 7.7.

The court did not consider the actual iPad when reaching their decision, only a submission Apple filed with the European Union intellectual property agency in Alicante, Spain. Despite the differences in back panels of the Apple and Samsung devices, the Presiding Judge Johanna Brueckner-Hoffman decided the “nearly identical” front panel was more important.

“The crucial issue was whether the Galaxy tablet looked like the drawings registered as a design right,” she said. “Also, our case had nothing to do with trademarks or patents for technology.”

Forecasts from research firm Strategy Analytics tab Germany as the third-largest tablet market in Europe. The court’s decision only affects Samsung’s German sales unit; it does not have jurisdiction to uphold the EU-wide ban that was recently lifted, prompting this most recent ruling.

While this round is certainly a minor victory for Apple in their battle of legal attrition over patent infringement with Samsung, the war is far from over.

Bloomberg via ArsTechnica

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