Apple clearly has drawn first blood in its court battle against Samsung, who it accuses of having copied the look and feel of its iPad range of tablets. The outcome so far is that the Galaxy Tab 10.1 is banned from sale in Australia and the European Union. The ban however isn’t applicable to a small part of Europe, the Netherlands. As such, Apple is forced to start its legal proceedings from scratch in that country as a separate legal process applies to the Netherlands. So what are Apple’s or Samsung’s chances in the Netherland?
Well, to begin with, Apple did not meet with the kind of success in the Netherlands as it was perhaps expecting. The first round of legal proceedings in the Netherlands has drawn to a close and the judge presiding over the case has deferred a ruling until the 15th of September. So that means more than a month’s time the Galaxy Tab will continue to be sold in the north European country. Further, even in the best/worst case scenario for Apple or Samsung respectively on that day, that is if Apple manages to secure an injunction against the sale of the Samsung tablet, that won’t be in effect before the 13th of October. So that’s almost another month the Galaxy Tab 10.1’s life gets extended.
Also as per initial reports, things didn’t work out the way in favor of Apple as it did in the German court. So much that it makes one to wonder how the court in Dusseldorf granted the injunction in the first place. The argument put forward by Apple cites online market research to have found that for 80 percent of respondents, both Galaxy Tab 10.1 and the iPad are “identical” or “similar in general impression.”
Samsung responded by saying the allegations are just too vague so that even a digital photo frame will be liable to be considered having infringed upon Apple’s iPad design patents. So amused the judge was of the legal proceedings that he even termed the legal representatives “terriers”.
In any case, whatever the judgement be on the 15 Septemeber, Galaxy Tab 10.1 can slug it out with the iPad 2 for two months at least.
With a keen interest in tech, I make it a point to keep myself updated on the latest developments in technology and gadgets. That includes smartphones or tablet devices but stretches to even AI and self-driven automobiles, the latter being my latest fad. Besides writing, I like watching videos, reading, listening to music, or experimenting with different recipes. The motion picture is another aspect that interests me a lot, and I'll likely make a film sometime in the future.
