Samsung's 7-inch Galaxy tablet sees EU ban

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DUSSELDORF, Germany, July 24 (UPI) -- A German court has ruled Samsung's 7-inch Galaxy tab cannot be sold in the European Union in the latest chapter of its patent battle with Apple.

An existing ban on the Galaxy Tab 7.7 that prevented the device from being sold in the Germany should be extended across the entire European Union, the court ruled.

The Dusseldorf Higher Regional Court ruled Tuesday the ban, in place in Germany since September 2011, should be extended to all 27 European member states on the grounds the device infringes Apple patents dating to 2004, CNET reported.

South Korea-based Samsung said it was "disappointed" with the court's ruling, and repeated its intention to take measures to protect its intellectual property rights, "including legal action."

Samsung's larger, more popular Galaxy Tab 10.1N has escaped a similar fate, as the German court said design changes from a previous version -- which had been banned as being too close to the iPad-- were sufficient to differentiate the new version and the ban should no longer apply.

Samsung said it "welcomes the court's ruling which confirms our position that the Galaxy Tab 10.1N does not infringe Apple's intellectual property and does not infringe laws against unfair competition," adding that Apple's "generic design patents" risked seeing innovation and progress "restricted."