Another ruling from a European court on the Apple vs. Samsung lawsuits over the Galaxy Tab’s design has come in, and it doesn’t bode well for Apple. An appeals court in The Hague, Netherlands dismissed Apple’s patent-infringement attempt to get the Galaxy Tab banned from sale in the country, following up on Apple’s appeal after a lower court’s similar decision in August. The court made its decision based on at least two pieces of prior art for each of Apple’s claims, determining that Apple’s claims were therefore narrow enough that they had not been infringed.

Next week, a German appeals court in Düsseldorf will decide whether to lift an injunction Apple was granted against Galaxy Tab sales in Germany. Meanwhile, the Düsseldorf Regional Court will be ruling on an Apple motion for an injunction against the Galaxy Tab 10.1N, which has been modified to work around Apple’s claims.

Will Samsung end up prevailing on the strength of the prior art it has gathered? I would hope so. There are only so many ways to make a tablet, and it would be ridiculous if Apple were permitted to act as a gatekeeper over any potential competitors.

(Found via CNet.)

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