U.S. concern Apple has won a court ruling in
Germany for a retaining order to stop South Korea's Samsung from
marketing its Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet computer in most of Europe, the
German Press Agency dpa learned Tuesday.
In the latest legal skirmish in a patent and copyright battle
between the two companies, the restraining order applies everywhere
in the European Union except for the Netherlands, sources close to
the negotiations told dpa.
The restraining order by a state court in Dusseldorf applies both
to the German unit Samsung Electronics GmbH in Schwalbach, Germany as
well as to the parent company in South Korea, the sources said.
The order comes just as Samsung was getting ready to launch the
Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Germany this month.
Apple has filed to have Samsung fined 250,000 euros ($360,000) or punished for contempt of court if the South Korean
company does not comply.
The dispute came to a head in April, when Apple sued Samsung in
the United States alleging that the Galaxy phone and tablet copied
features from the iPhone and iPad. Samsung countersued.
Since then the legal wrangle has spread to several countries. In
early August, Samsung postponed the launch of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in
Australia, where Apple had filed suit seeking an order to prohibit
sales of the Galaxy elsewhere in the world.
The Australian court ordered Samsung to postpone advertising and
marketing for the product until the dispute is resolved, with the
case to be taken up by the court at the end of August.
