Ban on Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, 8.9 in Germany stays

Coming in as a major update to the ongoing Apple vs Samsung lawsuit, a report in Bloomberg Businessweek confirms that Samsung failed in its attempt to steer clear of the German sales ban effective on its ambitious Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet (or Galaxy Tab 10.1N as it is referred to in Germany) that was appealed to by Apple. A ruling delivered by a higher regional court in Duesseldorf, Germany revealed that the sales ban decision also covers the Galaxy Tab 8.9 tablet, and that a separate hearing announcing it wasn't required. Presiding Judge Wilhelm Berneke, while delivering the ruling stated that the decision was justified under German competition laws, and that Apple shouldn't rely heavily on a European Union design to secure victory.

Caught in the tangle 

The presiding judge, Wilhelm Berneke was quoted by this report as saying, "Samsung wrongfully takes advantage of the enormous reputation and prestige of the iPad,” Berneke said. “Samsung unfairly imitates the iPad with its tablet. Samsung unfairly imitates the iPad with its tablet." Germany, for a while now has been witnessing a bitter battle between Apple and Samsung over a host of patents, which each one says has been infringed by the other. Samsung's ambitious Galaxy Tab 10.1, Galaxy Tab 8.9 have been caught in the tangle.

Couple of months ago, we had reported about Samsung's attempt at evading the sales ban, by introducing slight changes to its Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet's design, and even went to the extent of renaming their tablet to Galaxy Tab 10.1N, while in Germany. While this did raise objections, back then, the presiding judge dismissed them stating that by slightly redesigning the tablet, Samsung had "moved away sufficiently from the legally protected design". Now, however, it seems like Samsung ran out of luck.  Needless to say what the ouster from the German market could do to the future prospects of the tablet, and Samsung, considering Germany is an important market in Europe for Samsung. 

To know more about the Apple vs Samsung lawsuit, click here.