Apple tries to get Galaxy Tab 10.1N banned now...

In an apparent case of déja vu, Apple has applied for and been granted a hearing at the Duesseldorf Regional Court on a preliminary injunction to prevent sales of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1N, just introduced on the German market.

The banned Galaxy Tab 10.1

Having succeeded in having the Galaxy Tab 10.1 banned the first time around, Apple's legal eagles are apprently feeling confident that the modified tablet will also suffer the same fate, and Samsung will be forced to stop selling the new hardware in Germany. It doesn't stop there though. There's a probability that Apple will demand a ruling that prevents the 10.1N being sold anywhere in the European Union.

Although Apple would obviously prefer the ban to be immediate, the hearing has been set down for December 22, too late to stop sales prior to the important Christmas shopping season. In the meantime, the pending hearing will have "no effect on sales and distribution of the product" according to an oddly optimistic Samsung.


While we've heard that one before, it's entirely possible that the German court will actually review the case on its merits and find the changes Samsung has made, do indeed rectify the patent issues it found the Korean manufacturer had infringed upon. Or not...

Apple, of course, continues to claim their intellectual property has been pilfered and that it's only defending its rights. The Cupertino consumer gadget giant has scored victories against Samsung in Germany, Australia and the Netherlands. And its marketing calendar will no doubt have plenty of dates in it for legal skirmishes in other countries equally friendly to the tech colossus. Meanwhile, Samsung has accused Apple in turn of violating its telecomms tech patents and is countersuing in these and other jurisdictions like Italy and the USA.

It seems that Apple believes its marketing budget gets better returns from suing competitors than advertising, and that budget is truly galactic in scale, so expect there to be many more such courtroom dramas in the near future.

Source: Dow Jones Newswire