Samsung Elec. banned from selling tablet PC in Europe

More than 400 executives and staff at Samsung Electronics` intellectual property center began devising responses Thursday to a German court`s preliminary injunction banning the sale of the Galaxy Tab tablet computer in Europe.

They were so busy preparing an appeal to the court ruling and holding meetings with legal experts and staff in the company’s German branch that they could not even answer phone calls.

A court in Dusseldorf, Germany ruled in favor of Apple`s request for a preliminary injunction against the Tab on Tuesday, effectively blocking the sale of the tablet PC in all of Europe except for the Netherlands.

The unexpected ruling caught Korea’s largest electronics maker completely by surprise, as it failed to clearly grasp the situation after foreign media broke the story.

On whether the ruling is applicable throughout all of Europe, the communication team at Samsung headquarters said, “Europe is bound by a single patent treaty so a ruling of one nation affects other European countries.”

This answer caused most Korean media outlets to report that the sale of the Tab will be banned in the European market.

The ruling is for design, however, not for patent. Though both patent and design are intellectual property, their legal bases are different.

German patent expert Florian Mueller told The Dong-A Ilbo via the social networking service Twitter that the sales ban on the Tab in all European countries is possible since the German court ruled that the product infringed on a Community Design on the Apple’s iPad.

The court also cited infringement of Apple’s Community Design 000181607-0001 as the reason for the ruling.

The European Community design law stipulates that all EU member countries share rights to the designs and trademarks filed at the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market. This means a ruling by a member country on a Community Design to automatically take effect in all member countries.

Unlike the Community Design law, the European patent treaty is aimed at simplifying patent application and examination processes. So approval in each EU country’s patent office is needed for the effectuation of patent rights, explaining why patent infringement suits between Samsung and Apple are underway in not only Germany but also in France and Italy.

Lee Chang-hoon, a lawyer specializing in European patent laws at the law firm Wooin, said, “The technology on which Samsung filed a patent infringement suit against Apple is very complex, so getting a court ruling will take a lot of time,” adding, “By contrast, designs are visible so if designs of the two sides are found to be similar, a court ruling is immediately delivered and becomes effective throughout Europe.”

Samsung Electronics said on Thursday, “We will file an appeal with the Dusseldorf court Thursday,” adding, “Based on the results of a court hearing, we will continue to take legal measures including the filing of a damage suit.”

kimhs@donga.com jaeyuna@donga.com