A German court has granted Apple a preliminary injunction in its ongoing patent dispute with Samsung, effectively halting all sales and advertisement of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 across the European Union. The ruling is on the grounds of community design infringement by Samsung, or what Apple calls the Galaxy Tab 10.1's imitation of the iPad 2, and does not have anything to do with specific hardware or software patents.
German trademark rulings have a multinational effect, according to EU law, impacting all fellow members with the exception of the Netherlands, where patent laws differ. Samsung must immediately remove all Galaxy Tabs from store shelves and halt all advertising, just a week after the device’s official European launch. The court’s decision is a heavy blow to Samsung, who has been fighting Apple’s accusations of patent infringement across the globe. An appeal by Samsung will take four weeks to file and must be heard by the original ruling judge.
Source: financial-informer.de; via FOSS Patents
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