The telecommunication giant Vodafone will not accept any more pre-orders for Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 after a German court issued a preliminary injunction yesterday barring the sales of the tablet in most all European countries. The Regional Court of Dusseldorf made its ruling on the basis that the tablet copied elements of Apple’s iPad 2 and therefore was infringing on Apple’s intellectual property.
Vodafone has been contacting those who placed a pre-order for the tablet and has given them a chance to cancel the order. There are expectations that the injunction will become permanent in Europe.
A spokesman for Vodaphone said, “We are aware of legal proceedings…we’re in discussions with Samsung about the position in the UK. In the meantime, we will be suspending pre-orders.”
In addition, O2 is not supplying the tablet to customers anymore, either. That company says that it’s not due to the injunction, but rather to Samsung’s inability to fill orders. There have also been several chipmakers that have the size of orders for their microchips delayed or reduced, pushing sales down lower for the second quarter.
Samsung can appeal the ruling by the Dusseldorf court, but it would take about four weeks to have another court hearing. It would be heard by the same judge that issued the original injunction. Samsung said they were never notified of the lawsuit by Apple in this court and they were never allowed to present their side of the case.
Samsung has not commented any further about the case or about Vodafone suspended pre-orders. Apple has not commented either, except to re-release a statement from earlier this year when it filed the same suit against Samsung in the United States. Apple said, “It’s no coincidence that Samsung’s latest products look a lot like the iPhone and iPad. This kind of blatant copying is wrong.”
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