A Dutch court ruled in favor of Apple on Wednesday and issued a preliminary injunction that blocks Samsung from selling its Galaxy smartphones in the European Union. The ruling is yet another blow for Samsung in its ongoing patent infringement battle with the iPhone and iPad maker.
According to Foss Patents, the injunction applies to countries in Europe where patent EP 2059868 is considered valid. The injunction doesn’t, however, include Samsung’s Galaxy-branded tablet products, only the company’s smartphones.
EU: No Galaxy S, Galaxy S II or Ace smartphone for you
Apple and Samsung have been locked in a legal battle over mobile device patent infringement claims in multiple countries for several months. Both sides have alleged that the other’s mobile devices use patented technologies without proper licensing. Both have filed lawsuits in the U.S. and other countries.
A German court recently imposed an injunction blocking Samsung from selling its Galaxy smartphones and Galaxy tablets in the country, and Samsung has agreed to keep its tablets off store shelves in Australia during local court proceedings.
Today’s court ruling in The Netherlands doesn’t completely block Samsung from selling its Galaxy S, Galaxy S II and Ace smartphones in the EU.
“In legal terms, the order does not bind Samsung’s Korean parent company — only three different Samsung subsidiaries registered in the Netherlands — with respect to other countries than the Netherlands. However, it is my understanding that Samsung’s European logistics use the Netherlands as the primary hub,” Florian Mueller of Foss Patents said. “If Samsung’s Korean parent company wants to exercise its freedom to ship into other European countries despite this injunction, it will have to reorganize its logistics chain in Europe accordingly.”
The ruling isn’t, however, good news for Samsung. Since the court ruled in favor of Apple, is seems likely it found the company’s arguments compelling enough to at least temporarily block Samsung from selling what Apple sees as iPhone and iPad copy cat products.
Neither company has commented yet on the Dutch ruling.