Court lifts EU-wide sales ban on Samsung Galaxy Tab

 

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By Stewart Mitchell

Posted on 16 Aug 2011 at 16:03

The EU-wide sales ban on Samsung's Galaxy Tab has been lifted.

The ban was imposed by a German court after Apple claimed the Tab copied its iPad device, with a filing that contained inaccurate photo comparisons between the rival devices.

Now, the court has reversed its decision to block sales across Europe, although the provisional injunction still applies in Germany.

According to a spokesperson for the German court, the latest decision followed questions about whether or not it had jurisdiction to ban a South Korean company from making sales across Europe.

"There are two Samsung companies involved in the case - one is a German subsidiary and the other is South Korean Samsung," the spokesperson told PC Pro.

"For the Germany company nothing changes, and for the South Korean company nothing changes in Germany, but it can sell elsewhere."

The spokesperson said the lifting of restrictions had nothing to do with the questionable photos in Apple's original court filing.

The preliminary injunction will be discussed in an appeal hearing on 25 August, when Samsung will have a chance to address the accusations of patent infringement. The decision to allow sales in the rest of Europe will stand until then. Apple declined to comment.