Seoul/San Francisco: Apple Inc scored a major victory in its multi-country patent infringement battle against Samsung Electronics after a German court barred the Korean company from selling its Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the entire European Union except the Netherlands.
This is the second big setback for Samsung, which has been locked in a battle with Apple over smartphones and tablets patents since April, and comes after it delayed the Australian launch of its latest Galaxy tablet because of similar lawsuits.
The Galaxy gadgets are seen as among the biggest challengers to Apple's mobile devices, but Samsung has so far been unable to approach the Silicon Valley company's roaring sales growth. Galaxy products use Google's Android operating system.
Samsung said on Wednesday that it was "disappointed" with the German court's decision to back a patent suit from Apple.
"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," Samsung said in statement.
"We will take all necessary measures to ensure Samsung's innovative mobile communications devices are available to customers in Europe and around the world," it said.
The Galaxy Tab 10.1 has only been recently launched in Europe and is in the early stages of being rolled out.
Competing products including Research In Motion's PlayBook and Motorola's Xoom have received lukewarm reviews, while Hewlett Packard's TouchPad is a late entrant.
By 0020 GMT, Samsung shares were up 1.9 per cent in a broader market up 2.9 per cent after sharp falls over the past few days.
Apple spokeswoman Kristin Huguet confirmed that a district court in Dusseldorf, Germany, granted the preliminary injunction.
Apple is one participant in a web of litigation among phone makers and software firms over who owns the patents used in smartphones, as rivals aggressively rush into the smartphone and tablet market which the US company jumpstarted with the iPhone and iPad.
Apple said that Samsung's Galaxy line of mobile phones and tablets "slavishly" copied the iPhone and iPad. It has sued in the United States, Australia and elsewhere. Samsung has countersued Apple.
"This is an intellectual property right granted by an agency of the European Union," Florian Mueller, a technology specialist and blogger on patent battles, said on his blog FOSS Patents. "It can therefore be enforced on an EU-wide basis, while European patent law is still fragmented, requiring a different lawsuit in each country in which one seeks to enforce it."
Mueller said Apple has a separate lawsuit underway in the Netherlands as well.
Samsung is one of the fastest growing smartphone makers and has emerged as Apple's strongest competitor in the booming tablet market with models in three sizes but it remains a distant second in the space.
The patent battle has the potential to cripple Samsung, Brian White, analyst with Ticonderoga, said in a note to clients.
"Samsung is one of the few OEMs in the world with ability to enjoy success in both the smartphone and tablet markets," he said. "However, if Samsung is violating Apple's IP rights, we believe Apple could enjoy even further success in these markets in the coming years."
Comments
0 comment