9:30a ET September 9, 2011 (Dow Jones)
2nd UPDATE: Apple Wins German Tablet Court Case Over Samsung
--German court upholds injunction, banning Samsung from selling its tablet PC in Germany
--Apple scores another win over Samsung in ongoing patent war
--Intellectual property lawyer sees impact for other tablet makers in Germany
By Archibald Preuschat and Martin Rapp
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
AMSTERDAM (Dow Jones)--Apple Inc. (AAPL) Friday scored another win against rival Samsung Electronics Co. (005930.SE) in an ongoing patent war as a German court upheld an injunction banning the South Korean company from selling its tablet PCs in Germany.
The court in the German town of Duesseldorf upheld a preliminary injunction filed by Apple at the beginning of August that Samsung can't sell its tablet PC Galaxy 10.1 in Germany, a decision that Samsung is appealing. But this does not constitute a final ruling on whether the Samsung tablet is indeed too similar to Apple's iPad, to which Samsung's device is widely considered the most promising competitor.
The Duesseldorf court decision is the latest step in a global patent war centered on Google Inc.'s (GOOG) Android operating system and Apple's operating system for its iPhones and iPads. Samsung's tablet and smartphones use Android.
Earlier this week, HTC Corp. (2498.TW) of Taiwan used patents obtained from Google to sue Apple in a Delaware court for infringement of eight U.S. patents related to wireless communications and mobile-phone displays.
Five of those patents were assigned to HTC from Google last week, according to filings with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
It's difficult to gauge the impact that Friday's court decision will have on Samsung, as tablet computers account for such a small proportion of Samsung's overall business. Tablets fall under the telecom division, which accounts for a quarter of Samsung's sales and profits. But within that division, tablets remain a tiny proportion of the business. Analysts estimate the Korea-based firm, which is the world's largest technology manufacturer by revenue, shipped around 2 million tablets in the first half of the year, a small proportion of the 140 million cellphones it shipped in the period. Apple, by contrast, shipped 13.9 million iPads in the same period.
Still, Friday's court ruling will make it confusing for Samsung to do business in Europe especially in light of two different court rulings on preliminary injunctions.
A court in the Hague, Netherlands, last month ruled that Samsung's Dutch subsidiaries can't sell its Galaxy S, S II and Ace smartphones across Europe with effect from Oct. 13 because they violated Apple's patent on a scrolling method and browsing gallery. But the parent company can still sell the phones in Europe, other than in the Netherlands. Friday's court ruling in Duesseldorf meanwhile bans Samsung's German subsidiary from selling the tablet across the whole of the European Union, but Samsung Electronics Co and all its other European subsidiaries are unaffected outside of Germany. The different bans for different countries and subsidiaries could cause a logistical headache for Samsung as it strives to ensure its products remain available in as many different countries as possible.
In a written statement Friday, Samsung said it's "disappointed with this ruling and believes it severely limits consumer choice in Germany," adding that it "also believes that by imposing an injunction based on this very generic design right, this ruling restricts design innovation and progress in the industry," and said it "will actively and immediately appeal this ruling in order to ensure that consumer choice in Germany is restored."
The South Korean smartphone maker also noted the inconsistencies between the German and the Dutch ruling.
Samsung said it is confident the ongoing litigation will have no significant impact on its overall mobile business in Europe, and it will "implement the necessary measures" to ensure continued availability of its Galaxy smartphones to Dutch consumers.
Colin Fowler, associate at U.K. intellectual property law firm Rouse, said the "skirmish over the injunction is important not just for Apple and Samsung, but also for other tablet manufacturers, as well as consumers, because it means the product stays off the market in Germany."
"However, the two central issues of whether Apple's design survives a validity attack and whether Samsung's product is too close to Apple's design and therefore infringes it will not be finally decided for many months," Fowler added.
Samsung is preparing to expand its range of tablets by using a new version of Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT) Windows software to avoid further legal clashes, according to people familiar with the matter. There are currently 19 lawsuits ongoing between Apple and Samsung in nine different countries over the design and operation of their smartphones and tablet computers.
Apple said in a written statement that 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."
