Samsung has been told it cannot sell its new Galaxy Tab tablet computer in Germany after a court ruled that its design “too closely” resembles Apple’s iPad2.
The ruling by the Dusseldorf state court, however, only applies to direct sales from the South Korea-based company, meaning distributors who acquire the Galaxy Tab 10.1 from abroad can resell them in Germany.
Apple had taken Samsung to court over its Galaxy line, arguing the design is too close a copy of its own products.
Samsung said in a statement it will appeal against the ruling, which it said “severely limits consumer choice in Germany”.
In August, the court ruled in favour of Apple, forcing Samsung to withdraw its tablet from the European market. It later determined the injunction only applied to sales in Germany, where it had not yet been launched.
“We also believe that by imposing an injunction based on this very generic design right, this ruling restricts design innovation and progress in the industry,” Samsung said.
Judge Johanna Brueckner-Hofmann said in her ruling that Samsung “did not keep the necessary distance” in its design, the news agency dapd reported.
Apple patented its design in 2004, and Ms Brueckner-Hofmann cited products from Asus, Acer and Toshiba as examples of tablet computers that have a clearly different design.
Apple and Samsung are involved in a series of legal disputes in countries around the world over allegations that each copies the other’s technology.
