Apple and Samsung have been involved in a legal battle in Germany over the Galaxy Tab 10.1 since August, with Apple claiming that the slate infringes on the design of the iPad. The German courts initially granted Apple an injunction against the Tab 10.1 and, a few months and a couple of exchanges later, Samsung released a revised model of the device dubbed the Galaxy Tab 10.1N (shown above with an original Tab 10.1) in Germany. The Tab 10.1N differs from the original Tab 10.1 in that the new version's backside wraps around to the sides of the front of the device. However, it doesn't look like Apple feels that that change is significant enough, as the Cupertino firm has filed for a preliminary injunction against the Tab 10.1N, with a hearing set for December 22nd.
In other Apple-Samsung news, it's been noted by FOSS Patents that Apple won an injunction in Germany against the Galaxy Tab 8.9, a fact that was revealed by a filing submitted by Apple to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California for the company's case against Samsung in the U.S. That means that Apple has been awarded injunctions against the Tab 10.1, Tab 8.9, and Tab 7.7 in Germany, and it appears that the company is using that fact to support its stateside suit with Samsung here.
So there's your update on the ever-expanding legal situation between Apple and Samsung. It doesn't seem like much of a surprise that Apple has decided to go after the Tab 10.1N in Germany considering how aggressive it's been with pursuing injunctions in the past, but it'll be interesting to see how this latest case turns out. You have to imagine that Samsung tried to tweak the device enough so that it wouldn't have to worry about another suit from Apple, but now we get to find out whether a German court believes that those changes were actually substantial enough to avoid another ban. More on this as we get it!
