Posted on 12/22/2011 2:16:59 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach
FLOGGER OF SHINY TOYS Apple has lost in an early court decision over the future of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Germany.
The two firms have been battling over patents and designs for some time now, and last month Samsung said it was going to change the design of its Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet to get Apple off its back.
"The newly modified device will be renamed the Galaxy Tab 10.1N and we've made two changes to the design," said Samsung spokesman Jason Kim. "The design of the bezel has been changed and the speaker has also been relocated."
Apple was not keen on this of course, and said so, in its oft-released statement. "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."
Then Apple appealed to have the hardware banned. The ruling in that appeal came down today. According to Reuters the judge dismissed Apple's concerns, saying that Samsung had done enough to distance its hardware from its competition.
"According to the court's assessment, the defendant has moved away sufficiently from the legally protected design," said Judge Johanna Brueckner-Hofmann.
Last week Samsung fired back at Apple in Germany and issued four patent challenges in Apple's direction.
We have asked both Apple and Samsung to comment on the court's decision. µ
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