Apple Can Stop Samsung Galaxy Tab Sales in Europe
Samsung came to an agreement last week to halt sales of its Galaxy Tablet 10.1 in Australia due to a patent infringement dispute with Apple. This week it must halt all its sales across Europe, except the Netherlands, according to a regional court ruling in Dusseldorf, Germany.
The regional court ruled in favor of a preliminary injunction by Apple to block the sales and marketing of Samsung's tablet backing up Apple's claims that the Galaxy tablet infringed on various Apple intellectual property rights by resembling the iPad 2.
According to The Telegraph, such pan-European injunction allows for enforcement all across the European Union if granted by the judge.
Samsung will most likely appeal against the injunction but should suffer significant losses in sales until it is granted a hearing, which could take weeks.
If Samsung were to violate such injunction by continuing infringement it would be fined up to $350,000 or would have its management imprisoned, according to CNNMoney.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 bears similar resemblances to the iPad 2 although it is thinner.
Both companies have been in legal disputes since April when Apple filed a lawsuit against Samsung claiming that the Galaxy smartphone infringed on several of its iPhone patents.
