Apple blocks Samsung from selling Galaxy tablet

The court order comes a week after Samsung was forced to delay the Australian launch of its latest Galaxy tablet because of a similar lawsuit.

Apple said Samsung’s Galaxy line of mobile phones and tablets “slavishly” copied the iPhone and iPad. It has sued in the United States, Australia and elsewhere.

Samsung, whose tablets are based on Google Inc’s Android software, has countersued Apple.

Apple Inc scored a big victory in its patent infringement battle against Samsung Electronics after a German court temporarily barred the Korean firm from selling its flagship Galaxy tablet in the European Union except the Netherlands.

“There’s no doubt the court decision will have an adverse effect on Samsung. Samsung is clashing with Apple in many places, which could result in a temporary fall in sales and increase costs related to litigation,” said Lee Seung-woo, an analyst at Shinyoung Securities in Seoul.

Apple spokeswoman Kristin Huguet confirmed that a district court in the German city of Dusseldorf granted the preliminary injunction against the Galaxy Tab 10.1. It was not immediately clear why the order did not include the Netherlands.

Samsung’s mobile unit, which includes handsets and tablet PCs, generated 30% of the technology giant’s revenue in the second quarter. The bulk of the rest comes from memory chips and televisions, sectors where Samsung is the global leader.

Samsung shares edged up 0.3% in a broader market up 0.7% after sharp falls over the past few days.

The Korean company, Asia’s biggest technology company with revenue of won 154.6 trillion Korean ($142 billion) last year, said it would challenge the court decision.

Without patents, companies’ devices are vulnerable to challenges for royalties or, worse, demands from rivals to withdraw the products from the market place.

Apple sold 14 million iPads in the first half of this year worldwide, compared with analysts’ sales estimates of about 7.5 million units for the Galaxy Tab over 2011.

Industry executives said Samsung could launch a new variation of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 to get it on sale in Europe, as it plans to do in Australia, or settle the dispute by paying royalties to Apple.

A Samsung spokesman said, in Australia, Samsung has agreed to show Apple an Australian version of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 one week before its launch there.