Apple gains another victory as German court finds patent infringement claims valid

Sep 9, 2011 11:26 GMT  ·  By

Samsung may have fought Apple's lawsuit tooth and nail, but its efforts were, ultimately, proven to have been in vain, even if the plans to keep on fighting the ruling haven't changed.

Users interested in tablets probably know of all the legal issues they have caused, most of the lawsuits being started by Apple.

Apparently, the Cupertino company went hardest after Samsung, whose Galaxy Tab 10.1 may have had the potential to turn into a real contender.

After being blocked out of Australia, the tab got an injunction in Europe, after which the ruling was restricted to Germany, since it was there that the court action was filed.

Since then, Samsung has been doing its best to battle Apple in court, though it seems its efforts may have ultimately failed.

True, even with the August 25 meeting, and despite the newest ruling, Samsung can again appeal and keep contesting the decision.

Nonetheless, the simple fact is that the Galaxy tab 10.1 really did get banned in Germany by the Duesseldorf regional court.

"We are disappointed with this ruling and believe it severely limits consumer choice in Germany," Samsung said in an e-mailed statement.

"Samsung will actively and immediately appeal this ruling to protect our intellectual property rights."

This all doesn't really mean that the rest of Europe will mirror this decision, but it is easy to think that Apple will keep pushing its motion.

Already it got some other Samsung products banned in the Netherlands, as we covered in a different article some time ago (here).

As for the rest of the world, what might be the most important of the 19 Apple-Samsung cases will start in the U.S. District Court in San Jose, Calif., next month (October, 2011).

Given that Samsung might actually overtake Apple in smartphone sales, it is expected that the latter will put everything it has in its complaints.