Samsung won a battle in its ongoing patent war against Apple in a German court today. Reuters reports that the new court decision clears the way for Samsung"s Galaxy Tab 10.1N to officially be sold in that country, despite objections from Apple that the Android-powered tablet"s modified design still violates Apple"s design patents.
The variation of the original Galaxy Tab 10.1 was made just for German consumers and has some superficial design changes such as moving the speakers to the front instead of having them on the side of the tablet. The bezel for the Galaxy Tab 10.1N also has a silver color compared to the original"s black and white.
Apple tried to object to the Galaxy Tab 10.1N"s sale in Germany, saying that the changes that Samsung made were not enough and that the tablet was still too similar in design to Apple"s iPad. Today, the state court in Duesseldorf disagreed with Apple"s viewpoint, ruling that there were "clear differences" between the two products.
Samsung is still unable to sell the original Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Germany. A few days ago, a German court ruling upheld the sales ban on the device which was first put in place in September 2011.