German court bars Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 from sale in Europe in Apple suit
A key legal victory for Apple in the European Union has reportedly blocked the sale of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 across the continent for alleged patent violations.
A judgment made in the Regional Court of Dusseldorf in Germany granted Apple a preliminary injunction barring the sale of Samsung's latest iPad-competing tablet, according to The Telegraph. The judge who made the decision has backed Apple's assertion that Samsung products infringe on the patented design of the iPad 2.
The decision means that the Galaxy Tab 10.1 has been barred from sale and marketing across all of Europe, except for the Netherlands. The device went on sale in the U.K. last week, but Samsung must now remove it from shelves and cease marketing it there as well.
"While Samsung can appeal against the judgment, the injunction will still stand in the meantime," author Shane Richmond wrote. "Any appeal would be heard in around four weeks' time and would be heard by the same judge."
The decision comes soon after a court in Australia also ruled in favor of Apple in a lawsuit alleging that Samsung has copied the look and feel of devices like the iPhone and iPad. That victory forced Samsung to delay the launch of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia.
The legal battle between the two technology giants began in April, when Apple sued Samsung in the U.S. and accused the company of violating patents relating to the iPhone and iPad.
In lawsuits with the U.S. International Trade Commission, both Samsung and Apple have asked that each others' products be banned from importation because of alleged patent infringement. But unlike in Europe and Australia, the ITC has not taken such drastic measures thus far in America.
The Galaxy Tab 10.1 was added to Apple's case against Samsung in June, along with a number of other devices, including the Nexus S 4G, Galaxy S smartphones, and Droid Charge. In that filing, Apple asserted that Samsung has become "even bolder" in copying the iPhone and iPad.
Apple has used aggressive language in its filings against Samsung, referring to its rival as "the copyist." Samsung has responded in kind, and has argued in court that some of Apple's legal team should be disqualified for an alleged conflict of interest.
Despite the bitter legal battle, Apple is said to be the largest customer of Samsung, and is expected to buy some $7.8 billion in components from its rival this year. But there have been rumors that Apple plans to move production of its custom-built chips, beginning with the a so-called "A6" processor in 2012, away from Samsung to another chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, in 2012.
A judgment made in the Regional Court of Dusseldorf in Germany granted Apple a preliminary injunction barring the sale of Samsung's latest iPad-competing tablet, according to The Telegraph. The judge who made the decision has backed Apple's assertion that Samsung products infringe on the patented design of the iPad 2.
The decision means that the Galaxy Tab 10.1 has been barred from sale and marketing across all of Europe, except for the Netherlands. The device went on sale in the U.K. last week, but Samsung must now remove it from shelves and cease marketing it there as well.
"While Samsung can appeal against the judgment, the injunction will still stand in the meantime," author Shane Richmond wrote. "Any appeal would be heard in around four weeks' time and would be heard by the same judge."
The decision comes soon after a court in Australia also ruled in favor of Apple in a lawsuit alleging that Samsung has copied the look and feel of devices like the iPhone and iPad. That victory forced Samsung to delay the launch of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia.
The legal battle between the two technology giants began in April, when Apple sued Samsung in the U.S. and accused the company of violating patents relating to the iPhone and iPad.
In lawsuits with the U.S. International Trade Commission, both Samsung and Apple have asked that each others' products be banned from importation because of alleged patent infringement. But unlike in Europe and Australia, the ITC has not taken such drastic measures thus far in America.
The Galaxy Tab 10.1 was added to Apple's case against Samsung in June, along with a number of other devices, including the Nexus S 4G, Galaxy S smartphones, and Droid Charge. In that filing, Apple asserted that Samsung has become "even bolder" in copying the iPhone and iPad.
Apple has used aggressive language in its filings against Samsung, referring to its rival as "the copyist." Samsung has responded in kind, and has argued in court that some of Apple's legal team should be disqualified for an alleged conflict of interest.
Despite the bitter legal battle, Apple is said to be the largest customer of Samsung, and is expected to buy some $7.8 billion in components from its rival this year. But there have been rumors that Apple plans to move production of its custom-built chips, beginning with the a so-called "A6" processor in 2012, away from Samsung to another chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, in 2012.
Comments
I'm excited to see how large an impact iPhone 5 will have on Apple's global, as well as US, marketshare.
Well, blow me over ...
A judgment made in the Regional Court of Dusseldorf in Germany granted Apple a preliminary injunction barring the sale of Samsung's latest iPad-competing tablet,
Yeah, probably the author should have looked up what a "Einstweilige Verfügung" is.
It's in no way a "key legal victory", especially given the courts in germany.
Despite the bitter legal battle, Apple is said to be the largest customer of Samsung, and is expected to buy some $7.8 billion in components from its rival this year. But there have been rumors that Apple plans to move production of its custom-built chips, beginning with the a so-called "A6" processor in 2012, away from Samsung to another chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, in 2012.
Samsungs fabs have an acceptable yield and at least are capable of producing the A6.
TSMC on the other hand - once again - seems to have quite some problems in getting their manufactoring process working >.>
P.S., it's a joke, I feel sorry for the Brits and I hope the violence stops soon.
what's important to know is the judge's grounds for the ruling. the big question is, is the infringement easy for Samsung/Android to fix/workaround? or is it something important that will make a big difference?
According to foss-patents it's a community-design patent, ie. it covers the appearance of the 10.1. Samsung can fix it, but they'll have to create a completely new enclosure - and there will be no way to fix the existing units, those will have to be shipped off somewhere else.
Samsungs fabs have an acceptable yield and at least are capable of producing the A6.
TSMC on the other hand - once again - seems to have quite some problems in getting their manufactoring process working >.>
Can you link any evidence that Samsung's 28nm process is in better shape than TSMCs? Even any credible rumours - I've not seen anything particularly convincing thus far.
You know what the remote sucks, the configuration menu sucks, why can't these boneheads design a half decent interface. They don't have clue how to innovate. As far as I'm concerned die die die, and let Apple take their TV market share too
Back in the eighties, early nineties, Samsung products were so bad that they were almost at the Goldstar level. I've never been able to look at their products since that time.
As far as I'm concerned die die die, and let Apple take their TV market share too
As far as I'm concerned the the the...?
OUCH!
As far as I'm concerned the the the...?
Come on, no one who speaks German could possibly be bad!
I'm sure this court ruling is why there is rioting in London. Brits want their Galaxy Tabs!
P.S., it's a joke, I feel sorry for the Brits and I hope the violence stops soon.
Nah, they're rioting because the government put a stop to football violence years ago and let's face it, you've got to have a good old riot over something from time to time.
Especially if the product has been shipped -- then must be removed from shelves and/or returned.
There goes all of Sammy's profits... likely, a large minus to the bottom line.
They can't even sell them on OverStocked.com or the like.
At some point, resellers are going to wise up and avoid manufacturers who provide tainted goods!
BTW, AAPL is within $6 Billion market cap of XOM...
WOW the EU is not f'in around! :eek:
If you like smooth scrolling, extended battery life and the ability to read the NY times in portrait mode, get the iPad.
If you want an expensive iPad copy with a jerky, redundant interface, Europeans will have to travel to the US.
The Galaxy Tab 10.1 is a blatantly bad copy of the iPad. If I had never seen the iPad before I would think that the 10.1 is an amazing device with a horribly confusing interface. If you are not tech savvy, the Galaxy tab is not user friendly and you will need help. lame.
I just love how the bottom icon tray superimposes itself over the home screen apps. I love how there are 3 other ways to get to some variation of an app launcher. It is everything they teach you not to do in human factor training.
The way that the scrolling lists bounce at the bottom and the multitouch scrolling will need to be removed from android. I had not expected the copying to be so blatant down to fit and finish details.