Apple has won a court ruling in Germany for a retaining order to stop South Korea's Samsung from marketing its Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet Relevant Products/Services computer Relevant Products/Services in most of Europe, the German Press Agency dpa learned Tuesday.
In the latest legal skirmish in a patent and copyright battle between the two companies, the restraining order applies everywhere in the European Union except for the Netherlands, sources close to the negotiations told dpa.
The restraining order by a state court in Dusseldorf applies both to the German unit Samsung Electronics GmbH in Schwalbach, Germany as well as to the parent company in South Korea, the sources said.
The order comes just as Samsung was getting ready to launch the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Germany this month.
Apple has filed to have Samsung fined 250,000 euros (360,000 dollars) or punished for contempt of court if the South Korean company die not comply.
The dispute came to a head in April, when Apple sued Samsung in the United States alleging that the Galaxy phone and tablet copied features from the iPhone and iPad Relevant Products/Services. Samsung countersued.
Since then the legal wrangle has spread to several countries. In early August, Samsung postponed the launch of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia, where Apple had filed suit seeking an order to prohibit sales of the Galaxy elsewhere in the world.
The Australian court ordered Samsung to postpone advertising and marketing for the product until the dispute is resolved, with the case to be taken up by the court at the end of August.