German Court Upholds Ban on Samsung Tablets
Samsung has suffered a set back in its battle with Apple over the design of its tablet devices after a German court upheld a ban on the sales of the Samsung tablet in Germany.
However, the court’s interim ruling which was overturned earlier was for the entire of Europe, so the decision by the court to limit its latest decision to Germany only will be a small crumb of comfort for Samsung.Apple’s main argument is that the Samsung tablet is aesthetically too similar to its own iPad, a view that was supported by the judge, Johanna Brueckner-Hofmann, who noted that there are other ways of designing a tablet computer.

Craig Cartier, Frost & Sullivan commented: “The ruling in itself will not greatly affect Samsung but if the ruling sets precedent for other courts, it would be a significant blow. However, it is helpful to put this case into the context of the overall tablet market, which is still dominated by Apple.”
Samsung has delayed the launch of the 10.1″ tablet in Australia pending legal action by Apple and may face similar problems in Japan.