Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 Blocked By Apple in the European Union

After a district court in Dusseldorf, Germany, granted a preliminary injunction, Galaxy Tab 10.1 has been barred from distribution in the European Union (except for the Netherlands, because a separate lawsuit in the Netherlands is already underway). Apple spokesperson Kristin Huguet confirmed the injunction to Bloomberg:  ”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.”

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 for up to two years in the event of continued infringement. Those are standard sanctions under German tort law for contempt of a preliminary injunction.

Last week, Samsung had to delay the launch of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia in response to Apple's request for a preliminary injunction in that country.