A German court has uphold a ban on the sale of the Samsung Galaxy Tab
10.1 Android tablet in Germany, although a final ruling on the matter is
scheduled to come down as soon as September 9. The injunction follows
Apple’s claims that the Galaxy Tab 10.1 is too similar in design and
functionality to the iPad 2—Apple was originally granted an injunction
on the sale of tablets throughout the European Union, but the court
later reduced the scope of its order to cover only Germany.
A good deal of the proceedings in this case have centered on evidence
supplied to the court by Apple, which Samsung claims Apple has
deliberately altered so that the Galaxy Tab 10.1 would appear more like
the iPad 2. The Galaxy Tab is less square than the iPad 2, but some
images supplied to the court by Apple apparently distort the image to make the Galaxy Tab’s proportions more iPad-like. Samsung also took the novel approach of citing Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey as prior art in the case; one scene in the movie features props that people today would interpret as tablet computers.
Apple has accused Samsung of essentially copying its iPad and iPhone
produces in its Samsung Galaxy product line; the litigation in Germany
over the Galaxy Tab 10.1 is just one skirmish in the companies’ legal
battle. Yesterday, Apple won an injunction barring imports of three Samsung smartphones into the Netherlands, which effectively amounts to an EU-wide ban on imports. |