Rule against the Galaxy Tab for patent infringement once, shame on you. Rule against the Galaxy Tab for patent infringement twice, well, that’s when maybe Samsung’s screwed for real. In Germany, at least.
According to a recent tweet from the Germany press, the Düsseldorf Regional Court (say it out loud, feel the joy flow throw your morning) has upheld the preliminary injunction against Samsung that finds the company’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 to be too similar to Apple’s iPad intellectual property. No Tabs can be sold in Germany as long as the injunction stands.
Samsung has a few options here, according to FOSS Patents; Samsung could appeal Oberlandesgericht Düsseldorf (say it! out loud!), a higher court that could overturn the decision with in months. Or they could engage in a full-blown lawsuit, which could take as much as a year to play out.
Either way, Germany, no Tab 10.1 for you, for now (the Tab 7 is still fair game, but no need to punish yourselves). The question now becomes if this is a European outlier or a harbinger. [FOSS Patents]