German court partly lifts ban on sales of Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1

Posted:
in iPad edited January 2014
A German court has reversed its decision from last week and partly lifted the ban on sales of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Europe, because it is unclear whether the court has the authority to impose the injunction outside of Germany.



The Dusseldorf regional court made the announcement that the ban would be lifted for countries outside of Germany on Tuesday, but sales of the tablet are still barred in the court's home country, according to The Wall Street Journal. A court spokesman reportedly said it's unclear whether the court can ban Samsung, a South Korean company, from selling goods outside of Germany.



However, Samsung's German-based operations are still barred from selling the device throughout the entire European Union, including the Netherlands. Samsung, in a statement, said it welcomed the court's decision.



The reversal comes just one week after the German court blocked the sale of Samsung's new Galaxy Tab 10.1 across the European Union for alleged patent violations. A judge in the Regional Court of Dusseldorf found that the touchscreen tablet infringed on the patented design of the iPad 2.



Prior to the ban, the device had gone on sale in the U.K., but the initial decision meant Samsung would have to remove it from store shelves and cease marketing it in Britain. But Tuesday's reversal would suggest that Samsung can once again begin selling the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the U.K. and other countries outside of Germany in Europe.



The Galaxy Tab 10.1 remains banned in Australia, where a local court also found that the device could be in violation of Apple's patented design for the iPad 2. As a result, Samsung was forced to delay the launch of its new tablet in Australia until the legal dispute can be resolved.







The legal spat between Apple and Samsung began in April, when Apple sued Samsung in the U.S. and accused the company of violating patents relating to the iPhone and iPad. Samsung has responded in kind with its own patent infringement suits against Apple.



Separate lawsuits filed by each company with the U.S. International Trade Commission have asked that each others' products be banned from importation because of alleged patent infringement. But the ITC has not taken to such drastic measures in America.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 38
    kerrybkerryb Posts: 270member
    Banning this might even create some desire to possess one.
  • Reply 2 of 38
    gctwnlgctwnl Posts: 278member
    Given that the EU has a free flow of goods and services, I wonder if the legal problem isn't just with the temporary ban until the case has been decided in full. The EU has complex rules about what happens between countries in cases like this, e.g. it could for instance be that the court ruling in Germany has some sort of semi-automatic working on other countries and that a case there does not need to be tried on the merits of the arguments, but only technically in a legal sense if there has been another case somewhere in the EU.



    Can someone explain what the situation is?
  • Reply 3 of 38
    srangersranger Posts: 473member
    The idea that a product could be banned without a full hearing is absolutely stupid in the first place....



    These look and feel suits with be the death of consumer electronics IMHO..... Sooner or later there will be more legal cost attached to a device that the manufacturing costs...



    The world courts are going to have to stop this crap now!!!!
  • Reply 4 of 38
    quadra 610quadra 610 Posts: 6,757member
    Important takeaway:





    A German court has reversed its decision from last week and partly lifted the ban on sales of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Europe, because it is unclear whether the court has the authority to impose the injunction outside of Germany.





    Fair enough. Time to put it before a court that *can* rule on it.



    http://www.macrumors.com/2011/08/16/...lly-suspended/



    The injunction was issued against both the Korean parent company and its German subsidiary, and there is some legal ambiguity as to whether the parent company should be considered to have an "establishment" in Germany and thus be subject to such international injunctions. If Samsung Korea is determined to not have an establishment in Germany, Apple's case for an international injunction against the company would be required to go through specific courts in Alicante, Spain.



    Sounds like a plan.



    Keep pushing, Apple.
  • Reply 5 of 38
    So what is it? Barred or not. I just woke up but the second and third paragraph seem contradictory.
  • Reply 6 of 38
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by sranger View Post


    The idea that a product could be banned without a full hearing is absolutely stupid in the first place....



    These look and feel suits with be the death of consumer electronics IMHO..... Sooner or later there will be more legal cost attached to a device that the manufacturing costs...



    The world courts are going to have to stop this crap now!!!!



    Agreed. This is ridiculous.



    "Look" = It is a slate. Big deal. All slates are flat (mostly black) and have a touch screen. Some have buttons, some don't. Who cares. This should NOT be a reason to sue or stop the sales of a product.



    "Feel" = WTF? All are touch at this point. They have icons you touch to open a program (sorry....app). None of them are exactly the same, nor are they that different. Big deal.



    If we are to believe that this look and feel crap has merit then what about the Mac laptops? The look like PC laptops...which existed before Mac laptops. They all have keyboards and screens. They LOOK the same. Stop the presses!!! Block Apple from selling laptops.
  • Reply 7 of 38
    galbigalbi Posts: 968member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Quadra 610 View Post


    Important takeaway:





    A German court has reversed its decision from last week and partly lifted the ban on sales of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Europe, because it is unclear whether the court has the authority to impose the injunction outside of Germany.





    Fair enough. Time to put it before a court that *can* rule on it.



    http://www.macrumors.com/2011/08/16/...lly-suspended/



    The injunction was issued against both the Korean parent company and its German subsidiary, and there is some legal ambiguity as to whether the parent company should be considered to have an "establishment" in Germany and thus be subject to such international injunctions. If Samsung Korea is determined to not have an establishment in Germany, Apple's case for an international injunction against the company would be required to go through specific courts in Alicante, Spain.



    Sounds like a plan.



    Keep pushing, Apple.



    I'd like to see peoples faces here once Samsung wins. Apple doesn't have a strong case. Its been widely known amongst analysts and even fellow IP lawyers. There were prior art before Apple's lawsuit. What this case shows is Apple's tendency to over exaggerate.
  • Reply 8 of 38
    Stuff that Apple stole / bought



    - the mouse (stole)

    - the GUI (stole)

    - touch (stole)

    - multitouch (bought)

    - iTunes (bought)

    - iPad (bought)

    - laptop (stole)

    - OS X (most parts stolen)

    - antenna (stole)

    - ...
  • Reply 9 of 38
    The Germans apologized for telling the rest of Europe what to do. Old habit.
  • Reply 10 of 38
    kozchriskozchris Posts: 209member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by invoice View Post


    Stuff that Apple stole / bought



    - the mouse (stole)

    - the GUI (stole)

    - touch (stole)

    - multitouch (bought)

    - iTunes (bought)

    - iPad (bought)

    - laptop (stole)

    - OS X (most parts stolen)

    - antenna (stole)

    - ...



    stuff that "invoice" stole



    5 secs of everyones life reading that list.
  • Reply 11 of 38
    drdoppiodrdoppio Posts: 1,132member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by suddenly newton View Post


    the germans apologized for telling the rest of europe what to do. Old habit. :d



    rofl!
  • Reply 12 of 38
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by invoice View Post


    Stuff that Apple stole / bought



    - the mouse (stole)

    - the GUI (stole)

    - touch (stole)

    - multitouch (bought)

    - iTunes (bought)

    - iPad (bought)

    - laptop (stole)

    - OS X (most parts stolen)

    - antenna (stole)

    - ...



    Somebody keeps leaving that damn door open...
  • Reply 13 of 38
    newbeenewbee Posts: 2,055member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by lamewing View Post


    Agreed. This is ridiculous.



    "Look" = It is a slate. Big deal. All slates are flat (mostly black) and have a touch screen.



    Which none of them had until Apple did .... ergo .... copying.
  • Reply 14 of 38
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by newbee View Post


    Which none of them had until Apple did .... ergo .... copying.



    All innovations origins from copying, doesn't it? (to realize this you of course have to widen your view of the past, not just look at the recent past )
  • Reply 15 of 38
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by newbee View Post


    Which none of them had until Apple did .... ergo .... copying.



    I'm sorry, I quite vividly remember Steve Balmer presenting slates a few months BEFORE the iPad was even presented. They came from various manufacturers and had all a rectangular shape and had all touchscreens.
  • Reply 16 of 38
    bartfatbartfat Posts: 434member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by invoice View Post


    I'm sorry, I quite vividly remember Steve Balmer presenting slates a few months BEFORE the iPad was even presented. They came from various manufacturers and had all a rectangular shape and had all touchscreens.



    And they all ran Windows. Which was entirely useless and doomed them to failure.
  • Reply 17 of 38
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by invoice View Post


    Stuff that Apple stole / bought



    Stuff that companies other than Apple stole/bought:



    invoice's time, soul, sentience, self-respect, credibility, and (soon to be) place on this forum.
  • Reply 18 of 38
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bartfat View Post


    And they all ran Windows. Which was entirely useless and doomed them to failure.



    that's not the point



    The point is that Apple copied the rectangular form factor
  • Reply 19 of 38
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by invoice View Post


    that's not the point



    The point is that Apple copied the rectangular form factor



  • Reply 20 of 38
    ljocampoljocampo Posts: 657member
    Someone should ask the forum moderator to move this thread to PCworld.com because only the anti-Apple folks lurk on this topic. They love when Apple loses at anything.
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