Court rules in favor of Galaxy tab

Samsung Electronics said late on Thursday that a German court has rejected Apple’s request to impose a sales ban on a modified version of its tablet computer there.

A regional court in Dusseldorf on Wednesday rejected Apple’s bid to impose a preliminary sales ban on Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1N tablet computer, according to the Korean firm.

“The ruling confirmed that the Galaxy Tab 10.1N is distinctive and does not infringe on the rights asserted by Apple,” it said.

The device is a modified version of its predecessor, the Galaxy Tab 10.1, the sale of which was banned in Germany following a court injunction.

Samsung and Apple have been engaged in heated patent disputes in around 30 cases in 10 countries since last April, when the U.S. company accused Samsung of copying patents for its iPhone and iPad. Samsung fought back with a series of countersuits.

The patent tussles have been drowned out somewhat over time as courts around the world have mostly rejected the firms’ respective motions to impose sales bans on each others’ mainstay smart devices.

However, Samsung suffered from setbacks twice in January and February as it failed to prove that Apple infringed on its mobile telecommunication technology in Germany.

In addition, European regulators have launched a probe into Samsung to determine whether the Korean tech giant violated antitrust rules in European mobile device markets.

The European Commission has focused its probe on suspicions that Samsung abused its right to the so-called standard essential patents in pushing for lawsuits against its competitors.Yonhap