Apple has won a minor victory against Samsung in Germany as the Dusseldorf Higher Regional Court announced that it has upheld a preliminary injunction against Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 which includes the Galaxy Tab 8.9.

The injunction, however, was not the marker in the ground it could have been for Apple in its ongoing patent battle against the Korean firm.

The injunction was not based upon design patents, which were the basis of Apple's initial lawsuit, but were instead focused on Samsung's flouting of German unfair competition law.

'Catch all'

A preliminary injunction was initially ordered in August 2011, which was then upheld by the same Dusseldorf court. This was then appealed, leading to the current findings.

It's not all bad for Samsung though. Florian Mueller, over at Foss Patents, reckons that despite this being a win for Apple, it's likely that the unique legal landscape in Germany means that it will be an isolated case.

"Apple brought such claims only in Germany, a jurisdiction in which unfair competition law is almost a "catch-all" kind of law that is applicable to a wide variety of commercial issues," Mueller said.

"Apple can't replicate the German decision in other countries since German unfair competition law is pretty unique," he added.

"A win based on an EU-wide design right would have been strategically more valuable to Apple. Even though Samsung formally lost its appeal because the preliminary injunction remains in force, it succeeded in defeating Apple's design right."

Mueller also points out that Samsung's modified Galaxy Tab 10.1N is still on sale, though a decision is due to be made as to whether another nationwide ban will be put in place on 9 February 2012.

[source: Foss Patents]