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Apple gains preliminary injunction against Samsung; stops European Galaxy Tab 10.1 launch

German court plays it by the book

Apple gains preliminary injunction against Samsung; stops European Galaxy Tab 10.1 launch
In what appears to be a move to widen, and gain leverage, in its ongoing US lawsuit against Samsung over iPhone hardware and software patents, Apple has been granted a preliminary injunction stopping distribution of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 throughout the European Union, excluding Holland.

The news, reported by German news agency dpa, has been further commented on by IP blog Foss Patents.

He says the case is based on a design-related intellectual property right gained by Apple. Dutch law is different to German law, but Apple has an ongoing lawsuit there too.

Rising pressure

"The Düsseldorf district court has a reputation for being our equivalent of the Eastern District of Texas in terms of a strong tendency to favor the interests of right holders over those of alleged infringers," comments its author, Florian Mueller.

In addition, German law tends to favour a patent holder. Conversely, the granting of this preliminary injunction doesn't mean the court is necessarily taking a view on the strength of Apple case.

There will be a near-term hearing at which the decision could be reversed, while the next round of the US court case will happen in mid October.

Or maybe Apple and Samsung will manage to sit around a table and sort something out like grown adults.

[source: Foss Patents]
Contributing Editor

A Pocket Gamer co-founder, Jon is Contributing Editor at PG.biz which means he acts like a slightly confused uncle who's forgotten where he's left his glasses. As well as letters and cameras, he likes imaginary numbers and legumes.