A German court has temporarily suspended a preliminary injunction against Samsung that was blocking the company from selling its Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet in most European countries. Apple had been granted the injunction as part of its patent infringement battle with Samsung over allegations that the company has been copying design elements from the iPhone and iPad.
The ruling looks like a victory for Samsung, but that may not be the case. The court lifted the sales ban not because of concerns over Apple’s claims, but instead over questions as to whether or not the injunction was issued by the correct jurisdiction.
“This was purely a question of competence in terms of whether the Düsseldorf district court was a court of competent jurisdiction to enjoin Samsung — the Korean parent company — from selling products outside of Germany,” FOSS Patent’s Florian Mueller said. “Therefore, the question of whether Apple’s evidence was suitable or not has, at least in a formal sense, not played a role in this decision on a suspension.”
At question is whether or not the German court had jurisdiction to block tablet imports from the Korean arm of Samsung along with the German arm. Until that question is sorted out, Samsung Korea is free to sell the Galaxy tab throughout Europe, but not in Germany.
Samsung still has its August 25th appeal date in court where it may be able to get the injunction thrown out, at least in part.
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