In an ongoing battle between Apple and Samsung over the design of their smartphones and tablets, a German court on Thursday ruled that a ban on the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet will remain in effect in Germany until at least September 9.
At that point, the two sides will reconvene for a post-hearing ruling.
Patent blogger Florian Mueller, however, said reports of the Dusseldorf judge just upholding a preliminary injunction "is an oversimplification."
"The judge only indicated that she wasn't swayed by Samsung's pleading to lift the injunction. Samsung had submitted a brief before today's court session," Mueller wrote in a blog post. "However, after that statement by the judge, counsel for the parties still had the opportunity to make presentations, and a post-hearing decision is scheduled for September 9."
As reported by Bloomberg, the judge said "Apple's EU design rights grant a medium range of protection, if not a broad one."
"Based on what I've heard so far about the hearing, it looks like a long shot for Samsung to turn that judge around," Mueller said.
Earlier this month, the same court blocked the sale of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Europe, with the exception of the Netherlands. Amidst questions over whether a German court had the right to ban a Korean company from selling its wares outside Germany, the court later tightened its ruling and only applied the ban to sales within Germany. That ruling basically still stands, at least until the September 9 hearing.
Also this week, a Dutch court imposed an EU-wide preliminary injunction against Samsung Galaxy smartphones. Samsung, meanwhile, cited Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey" in its defense against Apple here in the states.
The patent dispute between Apple and Samsung, meanwhile, began in April, when Apple sued Samsung for copying the look and feel of its iPhone and iPad in its flagship Galaxy S line of smartphones and tablets, among other devices. Samsung responded with a countersuit that targeted Apple for infringing on five patents relating to wireless networking technology.
For more, see PCMag's review of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 Wi-Fi and the slideshow below.