Related Articles
Apple and Samsung Electronics’ legal tussle has extended to Europe, where Apple scored a preliminary injunction banning the Galaxy Tab 10.1 from nearly all European Union nations.
Samsung
Foss Patents reported today that Apple has been granted a preliminary injunction by a German court. The ban includes all nations in the EU except for the Netherlands. As with prior complaints, Apple claims the Galaxy Tab is illegally copying technology used in the iPad.
Foss said Apple is asking the district court in Dusseldorf, Germany, to impose a $350,000 fine for each violation or imprisonment for Samsung management.
The battle is part of a wider conflict between Apple and the various companies supporting Android. With Google’s mobile software gaining momentum, Apple is attempting to take the wind out of Android’s sails with lawsuits against several of its key supporters.
A Samsung spokesman said that the company is “disappointed” by the decision, and that Apple’s original filing and the subsequent judgment came without notice or a chance for the company to present any evidence of its own.
“Samsung is disappointed with the court’s decision and 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,” the company said in a statement.
“We will take all necessary measures to ensure Samsung’s innovative mobile communications devices are available to customers in Europe and around the world,” the company added. “This decision by the court in Germany in no way influences other legal proceedings filed with the courts in Europe and elsewhere.”
Apple did not respond to multiple requests for comment on the injunction, however spokeswoman Kristin Huguet reissued a statement the company delivered with its original suit against Samsung in April to Bloomberg this afternoon.
“It’s no coincidence that Samsung’s latest products look a lot like the iPhone and iPad, from the shape of the hardware to the user interface and even the packaging,” Huguet said. “This kind of blatant copying is wrong, and we need to protect Apple’s intellectual property when companies steal our ideas.”
The injunction sounds similar to efforts in Australia, where Apple has also sought to stop the sale of the Galaxy Tab 10.1. Samsung had agreed to stop selling the U.S. version, but insists it would sell an Apple-approved version.
In the U.S., Apple and Samsung have several complaints and lawsuits filed against each other, both in the courts and at the U.S. International Trade Commission.
While the various Android tablets have only seen mixed success in the market, Samsung has come the closest to rivaling the iPad. Its Galaxy Tab is thinner and lighter than Apple’s tablet, and the price is comparable.
CNET News staff writer Josh Lowensohn contributed to this report.
Updated at 3:25 p.m. PT with comment from Samsung, and once again at 4:40 p.m. PT with comment from Apple.
