Samsung Still Frustrated With German Courts Over Tablet Dispute
Gadget maker Samsung Electronics was disappointed with a German court today when a judge in Düsseldorf ruled that it was still not allowed to sell its Galaxy Tab 10.1 in that country due to the tablet design being too similar to Apple’s iPad. The ban also covers the Galaxy Tab 8.9, and it cannot be appealed, a spokesman at the court tells Mikael Ricknäs of IDG News.
Lawyers for Apple are fighting several rival makers of smartphones and mobile tablet computers, especially Samsung, in courts worldwide over intellectual property disputes. The Galaxy line of tablets from Samsung are seen as among the biggest challengers to Apple’s mobile products, reports Maria Sheahan and Ludwig Burger for Reuters.
Apple has claimed that particular line of mobile phones and tablets “slavishly” copied the iPhone and iPad and has sued the Korean company in the United States, Australia, Japan and Korea as well as in Europe.
Samsung, after losing a court battle in Germany previously, developed the Galaxy Tab 10.1N, with an altered design available only in German stores. A motion was filed by Apple to block the Galaxy Tab 10.1N, as well.
In December however, a judge at the district court in Düsseldorf issued a preliminary ruling that the Samsung tablet was now sufficiently different with the redesign, so it is possible that there will be no ban this time, according to a spokesman at the court. A final ruling in that case is expected on February 9.
Samsung has a counter-suit against Apple in German courts, claiming infringements of mobile technology patents. A court in Mannheim has ruled against Samsung in cases concerning two of the patents and is due to decide on a third in early March, AP reports.
A core legal claim repeatedly brought up in the courts against Samsung is that the Korean company has copied the design of Apple’s products. Apple has argued many times that it is no coincidence that Samsung’s latest products look a lot like the iPhone and iPad. Samsung is a major supplier for Apple and builds many of the components of its mobile devices.
“It’s no coincidence that Samsung’s latest products look a lot like the iPhone and iPad,” Apple has said after previous rulings. “This kind of blatant copying is wrong and, as we’ve said many times before, we need to protect Apple’s intellectual property when companies steal our ideas.”
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