Court lifts Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 ban … for now


16 Aug 2011

A court in Dusseldorf, Germany, has temporarily suspended the enforcement of the preliminary injunction against the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Europe, excluding Germany.

IDG’s Webwereld (English translation) reports Samsung argued that the court does not have the power to impose the preliminary injunction on the tablet across Europe except within its own country.

According to FOSS Patents, the suspension will last between now until a hearing on 25 August, where Samsung will appeal this injunction.

This means Samsung is free to sell the Android tablet to all European countries apart from Germany for now.

Apple previously won a temporary order against Samsung, claiming the company’s Android tablet infringed on the iPad’s design registration.

However, there were questions among the media over the evidence submitted by Apple to prove that the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 infringed its design registration. Reports suggest Apple may have inadvertently submitted an inaccurate image of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 for the court to compare it with the iPad.

The court said this did not influence the decision to temporarily lift the injunction.

Both Apple and Samsung have been involved in legal disputes prior to this, mostly involving smartphone and tablet patents.