Apple has struck another blow to the gut of Samsung's mobile division. A Dutch judge awarded Apple a preliminary injunction preventing the sale of Samsung Galaxy S phones in Europe.
The ban covers three phones and would take effect October 15 in the Netherlands, Ireland, the UK, Switzerland, Germany, and Sweden. The ban wont extend to other EU member states as Apple failed to pay the administrative costs needed to make the patent valid in those countries according to FOSS Patents. Also, missing from the ban is Samsung's Galaxy Tab tablets, a small win for Samsung.
The court ordered ban of sales does more than cutoff sales in those countries, it successfully dirupts Samsung's ability to ship their phones to neighboring countries. A major hub in Samsung's distribution network is the Netherlands, Samsung now must find alternate routes, or ship the devices directly to neighboring countries not mentioned in the ban.
It appears Apple's ability to patent everything that iPhone does from the device's physical appearance to user interface is going to pay off handsomely. However, the injunction only covers infringments made by Android 2.3, the companies would simply need to load their phones with Android 3.0 to null the injunction.
Source: FOSS Patents
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