A regional appeals court in the western city of Duesseldorf upheld a ban on sales of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 7.7 computer for infringing on Apple's design patent, and extended it from Germany to the rest of the European Union.
But it said that the redesigned Galaxy Tab 10.1 N was now sufficiently different from the Apple iPad to be acceptable under competition law.
The two technology giants are engaged in a legal battle involving dozens of cases worldwide as they struggle for leadership in the hugely lucrative smartphone and tablet computer market.
Apple launched legal action in April last year, accusing Samsung of "slavishly" copying its iPhone and iPad designs. Samsung has focused its own lawsuits on technology patents rather than design.
In November, the Duesseldorf regional court had slapped a temporary ban on Samsung's previous model, the Galaxy Tab 10.1, saying it copied the iPad.
But changes Samsung made to the successor model for the German market to meet the court's demands rendered the tablet computer sufficiently different, it said in February. Apple appealed this decision.
Earlier that month, two other courts in Germany also quashed Apple's request to impose a preliminary ban on sales of its Galaxy Tab 10.1N and Nexus smartphone.
Meanwhile, Samsung says it has sold more than 10-million units of its newest Galaxy S III smartphone since its launch about two months ago. The company expected a record operating profit of 6,7-trillion won ($5,9-billion) in the second quarter, boosted by strong sales of its flagship Galaxy smartphones.
The Korean firm, which is battling with Apple's iPhone and iPad for supremacy in the lucrative smartphone and tablet market, has seen heavy demand for its new Galaxy S III phone, which was introduced in Europe in May.
"It appears that accumulated sales exceeded 10-million units," said J.K. Shin, head of the Samsung's mobile communications division, according to Yonhap news agency.
Shin said last month he expected the global sales of the new phone, available in more than 140 countries, would surpass 10-million by the end of July, including sales of about a million units at home.
The third version of the firm's Galaxy S series offers face-recognition technology and improved voice-activated controls as well as a more powerful processor.
It also has a 4,8-inch (12,2-centimetre) screen that is 22% larger than the previous S2 version, while it can detect eye movements and override the automatic shutdown if the user is looking at the screen.
Samsung shipped 44,5-million smartphones in the first quarter, exceeding the 35,1-million of US arch-rival Apple, according to market researcher Strategy Analytics in April.
Source: AFP via I-Net Bridge.
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