Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 was banned from sale in Europe yesterday, with the exception of the Netherlands (for now), by The Regional Court of Dusseldorf. The German court granted Apple a preliminary injunction against Samsung’s tablet due to an ongoing patent dispute, which has already seen some retailers, such as Amazon.co.uk, cease sales of the device.
Needless to say, Samsung isn’t too happy that its device is no longer on sale across Europe. In a statement released shortly after the decision, Samsung expresses its disappointment and says it is working to defend its intellectual property rights and get its tablet selling again:
“Samsung is disappointed with the court’s decision and we intend to act immediately to defend our intellectual property rights through the on-going legal proceedings in Germany and will continue to actively defend these rights throughout the world.
“We will take all necessary measures to ensure Samsung’s innovative mobile communications devices are available to customers in Europe and around the world.
“This decision by the court in Germany in no way influences other legal proceedings filed with the courts in Europe and elsewhere.”
The “other legal proceedings” Samsung refers to in its statement are in the Netherlands, where a court decision is expected to be made during the next few days.
However, Europe isn’t the only place Samsung has to worry about: Apple currently has a similar lawsuit pending in the United States, not only against the Galaxy Tab 10.1, but also against the Infuse 4G, Galaxy S 4G, and the Droid Charge.
Apple’s first victory over the Android tablet maker came earlier this month when it won a similar case to have the Galaxy Tab 10.1 banned in Australia, but the Cupertino company clearly isn’t happy to stop there. And while this may be good news for its iPad, it’s bad news for us consumers who no longer have the option to purchase Samsung’s popular Android tablet.
Do you think Apple’s courtroom battles are getting out of hand?
[via TechRadar]
