Samsung will appeal the decision in the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court, a spokesman said.
"We
are disappointed with this ruling and believe it severely limits consumer
choice in Germany," he said via email.
Apple
had filed a lawsuit claiming that the Galaxy Tab 10.1 infringes on the design
of the iPad 2, which is registered with the E.U.'s Office for Harmonization in
the Internal Market.
"By
imposing an injunction based on this very generic design right, this ruling
restricts design innovation and progress in the industry," the Samsung
spokesman said, adding that the decision is inconsistent with the August 24
ruling by a Dutch court on a separate case involving the two companies, which
found the designs of Samsung's Galaxy products don't violate Apple's design
right.
In
the German case, Apple was granted a preliminary injunction about a month ago
preventing Samsung from selling the tablet in all E.U. countries except the
Netherlands, where a separate case is pending. A week later the ban was lifted
in all countries except Germany, because the court wasn't sure it had the
authority to stop a South Korean company from selling its products outside
Germany.
On
August 25, the injunction was upheld, following a hearing that focused on the
accuracy of evidence supplied by Apple, with Samsung accusing Apple of
deliberately distorting images of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 so that it looked more
like the iPad 2. Earlier, an investigation by IDG publication Webwereld showed
that at least one of the Galaxy Tab pictures that Apple provided as evidence in
the case was wrong or had been manipulated.
The
global legal battle between the two companies even made its presence felt
during the Internationale Funkausstellung (IFA) consumer electronics show in
Berlin, where Samsung removed from its stand all traces of the Galaxy Tab 7.7,
the 10.1's smaller brother, just two days after launching the product there.
That device is the subject of a separate injunction from the lower court. Samsung
can still challenge that ruling in the lower court.
However,
in Japan, the CEO of mobile operator NTT DoCoMo said on Thursday that his
company's launch of the Samsung Galaxy Tab next month will not be affected by a
patent-infringement lawsuit Apple has filed there against Samsung.
Meanwhile,
Samsung has vowed to keep up its legal counter-offensive. "We will take
all available legal options including continuing to aggressively pursue Apple
for its ongoing violation of Samsung's wireless technology patents around the
world," the Samsung spokesman said.
View orginal artical here- Technology
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