A GERMAN COURT has granted Apple an injunction which bans the import sale of Samsung’s Galaxy tablet in 26 EU countries, including Ireland.
The junction, handed down by a court in Dusseldorf on Tuesday, applies to every EU member state but the Netherlands – and underlines Apple’s own status as the world’s leading tablet supplier, according to the Financial Times.
Apple managed to successfully persuade the court that the design, size, user interface and packaging of the Galaxy 10.1 tablet – which runs on a version of Google’s open-source Android operating system – mimick that of its own iPad.
Stores within the EU are permitted to continue selling their stocks of the device, but the ruling means they cannot import any further supplies.
The Guardian reported that a similar injunction in Australia resulted in a delay to the launch of the Galaxy 10.1 there. Samsung has counter-sued, with similar patent complaints, in the US, Japan and its native South Korea.
The Dusseldorf injunction was granted ex parte, meaning Samsung was not present to argue its case. Samsung has vowed to appeal the injunction, granted after an application by Apple last week.
“We intend to act immediately to defend our intellectual property rights through the ongoing legal proceedings in Germany and will continue to actively defend these rights throughout the world,” it said.
The Times of India reports that Apple has filed an identical complaint against Motorola’s Xoom tablet, but it was not clear whether an injunction had been sought in that example.
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