Apple and its lawyers have misled the judge of a Düsseldorf court by filing flawed evidence of the similarity between the iPad 2 and Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablets based on an inaccurate picture, an investigation by Webwereld.nl (http://macte.ch/JHmCh), a Dutch IDG publication, reports.
Last week, the German court ordered a preliminary injunction against the distribution of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in all of Europe, except the Netherlands, where a separate and broader case is under way, in what has become a global war between Apple and Samsung for intellectual property rights on their products and technologies.
However, Apple has apparently failed to provide the German judge with accurate evidence, according to “Webwereld.nl.” At least one of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 pictures that Apple provided as evidence in the German case is either wrong or manipulated, the article adds.
It’s the latest round in the Apple-Samsung legal brouhaha. A Dutch judge said last Thursday that he would rule by Sept. 15 on Apple’s bid to ban some of Samsung Electronics’ products in the Netherlands and European Union by Sept. 15, reports “Reuters” (http://macte.ch/QLNV8).
Apple has filed an injunction at a court in The Hague on three patents, copyright as well as design infringements, to stop the sale of some Samsung products in the Netherlands and block their distribution in the EU via the Netherlands. The Dutch port of Rotterdam is the largest in Europe, and a key point of entry for imported goods for the European Union.
Earlier this month it was announced that Apple had won an agreement from Samsung that the South Korean company won’t sell the newest version of its tablet computer in Australia until a patent lawsuit in the country is resolved.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 infringes 10 Apple patents, including the “look and feel,” and touchscreen technology of the iPad, Steven Burley, a lawyer for Apple, told Federal Court Justice Annabelle Bennett in Sydney.
Apple sought an Australian injunction and also wants to stop Samsung from selling the tablet in other countries, Burley said without specifying where, notes “Bloomberg.” However, in June Samsung filed an International Trade Commission complaint against Apple, asking for an import ban against the iPhone, iPad and iPod.
On June 17 Apple amended and expanded its complaint against Samsung, asserting more patents and other intellectual property rights than before against an extended list of allegedly infringing products.
In April Samsung filed patent lawsuits against Apple over the U.S. firm’s iPhone and iPad after Apple claimed Samsung’s smartphones and tablets “slavishly” copied its products. This followed an Apple lawsuit filed on April 15 in the U.S. that claimed Samsung’s mobile phones and Galaxy Tab “slavishly” copied the iPhone and iPad.
The lawsuit, filed April 15 in US District Court in Northern California, alleges Samsung copied the look, product design and product user interface of Apple’s products. Samsung violated Apple’s patents and trademarks, the suit alleges.
— Dennis Sellers
