Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 Banned In The EU For Infringing Apple's Patent [update]

Samsung's legal team may need to do some overtime work as it suffered a major blow today.

A judge in Germany sided with Apple and issued an injunction banning the sale and distribution of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet. The ban will apply to all European Union countries except the Netherlands.

Apple accuses Samsung of violating key patents and copyrights relating to the iPhone & iPad designs.

"Apple alleged that the Galaxy Tab imitates the iPad and infringes on various intellectual property rights owned by Apple. Apple asked the Landgericht (district court) of Düsseldorf, Germany, to order an injunction under which Samsung is threatened with fines of up to EUR 250,000 (US$ 350,000) for each violation or imprisonment of Samsung's management in the event of continued infringement. Those are standard sanctions under German tort law for contempt of a preliminary injunction." Florina Muller FOSS Patent.

The ruling apply to the UK were the Galaxy Tab when on sale last week in a big way been reported as the fastest selling tablet in that country.

An Apple spokesperson made the following comments after today's ruling:

“It’s no coincidence that Samsung’s latest products look a lot like the iPhone and iPad, from the shape of the hardware to the user interface and even the packaging. This kind of blatant copying is wrong, and we need to protect Apple’s intellectual property when companies steal our ideas.”

Samsung will appeal for sure but it will take at least four weeks to be heard and it will be by the same judge issuing the injunction.

Germany has stricter copyright and intellectual property laws but this clearly send a message to Samsung that Apple may be right all along in their claims.

This saga is all but over and no decision have made that affect the distribution and sales in the US but if some of the many pending cases in Federal Courts and the ITC come to the same conclusion as the EU case then Samsung will need to settle with Apple or see the Galaxy Tab imports banned here as well.

UPDATE: Samsung response to the ruling:

"Samsung is disappointed with the court’s decision and we intend to act immediately to defend our intellectual property rights through the ongoing legal proceedings in Germany and will continue to actively defend these rights throughout the world.

The request for injunction was filed with no notice to Samsung, and the order was issued without any hearing or presentation of evidence from Samsung.

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.”