Germany Upholds Galaxy Tab 10.1 Tablet Ban

Samsung took another kick in the pants on Tuesday when a German court ruled to uphold a sales ban on the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and Galaxy Tab 8.9 tablets. Unlike the original appeals court ruling that banned the tablets because they matched the design of Apple’s iPad too closely, the higher court based its ruling on German unfair competition laws.

Samsung loses another injunction appeal in GermanySamsung loses another injunction appeal in Germany

Apple won the preliminary injunction in August 2011, and Samsung lost its initial appeal in September that same year. The electronics maker filed another appeal with the Dusseldorf Higher Regional Court in hopes of reversing the ruling, but today was given the bad news.

“Today’s ruling validates Apple’s decision to bring claims against the Galaxy Tab 10.1,” Florian Mueller of Foss Patents said. “Apple’s actions may have been aggressive, but they weren’t unreasonably overreaching.”

Apple and Samsung have been locked in a legal battle over patent infringement claims for several months. Both companies have alleged that the other’s mobile devices use patented technologies without proper licensing, and have filed lawsuits against each other in the U.S. and other countries.

Samsung may have found a way to work around the block in Germany with its slightly modified Galaxy Tab 10.1N. Apple, however, isn’t satisfied with the changes and is hoping to block the revised model — a move that will likely fail, according to the judge overseeing the case.

Apple filed yet another lawsuit against Samsung in January that claims the Galaxy smartphones and tablets blatantly copy the iPhone and iPad designs.

Since the latest ruling in Germany was based on competition laws, it is applicable only in that country and not throughout the rest of the European Union.