The Galaxy Tab 7.7 has been banned in Germany for a while. Now, though, the 7.7" tablet is officially banned throughout the whole of the EU. Previously Apple was able to enforce a ban on the smaller of the Tabs because it has proven in German courts that it owns the design IP for black rectangles in reference to the Galaxy Tab 10.1. In Germany, Apple can enforce this injunction against the Tab 7.7 due to a principle known as "kerngleicher Verstoß", or "violation sharing the same core". Now, thanks to an appeals court, the decision can be applied to the whole of the EU.

In the lower court, initially it had been ruled that the injunction would be an EU-wide ban, but the court then modified the order such that it only applied to the German subsidiary. Apple, the court claimed, failed to prove that Samsung had an "establishment" in Germany. In what might actually be one of the few common sense decisions German courts have made in recent months, the appeals court found that, no, Samsung's German subsidiary counts as part of Samsung. Because of this distinction, the Galaxy Tab 7.7 is likewise banned throughout the rest of the EU.

Of course, Samsung's legal maneuvering to prevent the ban from extending beyond the borders of Germany by claiming its German subsidiary is a separate legal entity notwithstanding, it may be all for naught. At the moment, the hottest Android tablet on the market right now is the Nexus 7 and at a price point hundreds of dollars cheaper than the Tab 7.7 in most cases. The world may not miss this Tab.

Source: FOSS Patents