The Galaxy Tab 10.1N lives on. A Düsseldorf court today denied Apple's request to ban the modified Samsung tablet in Germany. The Galaxy Tab 10.1N is different enough in appearance from the iPad to not infringe on Apple's design patents, the Düsseldorf Regional Court found, according to German news agency dpa.
The news comes about a week after a Munich court handed down a similar ruling.
In a statement, Samsung said it welcomes the decision.
"The court has denied Apple's request for a preliminary injunction and the Galaxy Tab 10.1N remains available to consumers in Germany," the company said. "Samsung will continue to take all appropriate measures, including legal action, to ensure continued consumer access to our innovative products.
The Galaxy Tab 10.1N was born amidst a patent battle over the original Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. Apple sued Samsung over the tablet and its Galaxy S line of smartphones, arguing that they copied the look and feel of the iPhone and iPad. The Düsseldorf Regional Court actually agreed with Apple on the Galaxy Tab 10.1 front, issuing a preliminary injunction against the tablet back in August. To get around the ban, Samsung introduced a modified tablet, dubbed the Galaxy Tab 10.1N, which sports a metal frame or bezel that wraps all the way around the edge of the tablet.
Recent rulings suggest that the court finds the 10.1N to be different enough from the iPad to withstand a court challenge. The original tablet is still in limbo. The Düsseldorf court last month upheld an injunction against the Galaxy Tab 10.1, though the ruling was based on a rather broad German unfair competition law rather than a violation of an Apple patent design.
Patent blogger Florian Mueller said recently that the Düsseldorf court decision "will have more commercial relevance in the short term" than the Munich decision because it is focused on design patents.
"The lower court could have found a violation of the German law against unfair competition, arguing that Samsung seeks to exploit the image of the iPad by offering a product that looks very similar," Mueller wrote in a blog post. " But it appears that Samsung's designaround (modifications of product design in order to steer clear of further violation) has done the job."
Mueller speculated that today's ruling is good news for Motorola Mobility, which is fighting a design-related patent battle against Apple over its Xoom tablet.
"If even the Galaxy Tab 10.1N steers clear of infringement, it's going to be quite difficult for Apple to win the Xoom case," Mueller wrote.
But as Mueller noted, this is not the end of the road for Samsung vs. Apple in Germany. Today's ruling just denies a request for a fast-track, preliminary injunction. "Apple continues to assert four different design-related rights against ten Samsung smartphones and five Samsung tablets, including the ones against which Apple sought preliminary injunctions," he wrote.
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