Samsung Galaxy S2 banned in Europe in Apple legal fight

By Rich Trenholm on 24 August 2011, 5:36pm

A Dutch court has sided with Apple and banned the sale of Samsung Galaxy smart phones in Europe -- prompting Samsung to quickly change the phones in question. It's the latest salvo in the current war over mobile phone design and patents between various companies.

The court granted the injunction to Apple, forcing the Android-powered Samsung Galaxy S2 and Galaxy Ace phones to be pulled from sale in the next seven weeks. Apple is embroiled in legal action with Samsung over the Galaxy Tab tablet looking too similar to the Apple iPad, but this case is subtly different, as it refers only to the way the photo gallery app works.

The injunction was granted because the court feels the way you swipe and scroll through photos infringes one of Apple's patents, numbered EP2058868. The injunction applies in every country that recognises the patent, prompting Samsung to waste no time in announcing it would change the app.

The reason Samsung is keen to avoid a ruling against it in the Netherlands is because many of its products pass through the Dutch port of Rotterdam -- so such a ruling would affect distribution across the continent and not just in the land of clogs, windmills and recreational herb intake.

But the wider significance of the Dutch ruling is that it refers to the software on the Ace and S2 rather than the phones themselves -- which is the Android software used by many other phones and tablets made by Samsung, HTC, Sony Ericsson, LG, Asus and many more. In theory Apple could pursue them all, and even Google, the company behind Android.

Any company dragging its feet about updating to Android Honeycomb or Ice Cream Sandwich should pay attention now, as an update to the newest versions of Android dodges the legal bullet.

The Galaxy Tab tablet hasn't been lumped in with the offending devices, so won't be affected by the ruling. The Tab 10.1 remains banned in Germany, however, over claims by Apple that it borrows a little too heavily from the iPad's look and feel, right down to the packaging. The German court will rule this week on the Tab case, and may choose to apply the decision to the whole of Europe.

The Tab was briefly banned across Europe after only a week on sale, giving a taste of the possible consequences for Samsung if Apple is successful in its legal manoeuvrings. If Samsung wins, however, it'll be able to claim a chunk of lost earnings out of Apple's vast cash stockpile.

What do you think of these latest legal twists and turns? Tell us your thoughts in the comments section below or on our Facebook page.

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anonymous 24 August, 2011 18:11

Apple copy the features Android has for years but as soon as something they did get's slightly copied, they throw a hissy fit.

anonymous 24 August, 2011 18:13

Too bad Apple had to resort to this tactic. But...In the long run, it will only make the Android better.

lovejoy232 24 August, 2011 18:18

So swiping across the screen is apples idea? hmm...

Can't wait for iOS5 to come out so Google can go to town on the new notifications system, which is a blatant rip off of android.

As far as I can see. Software patents that involve software makers using common sense should be banned.

anonymous 24 August, 2011 18:22

When Apple is frantically trying to sue Android device makers every chance they can, I know how good Android devices are getting 8^)

anonymous 24 August, 2011 18:30

Scared very very scared ! Apple must be frightened beyond belief to be this petty. There greed will be their un-doing and i think it will come sooner rather than later. Enjoy it while you can apple your rotten to the core!

anonymous 24 August, 2011 18:59

I have a droid for work and it SUCKS! I have a iPod touch too. Like it BUT with apple dragging it's feet had me looking at other phones. I'm counting the minutes till I can get a fantastic samsung galaxy S2! I think it's the best of the best and WILL take it over a iPhone 4,5,or 6.

anonymous 24 August, 2011 19:37

Considering that Samsung supply many of the components for the iPhone iPad etc. They must be really desperate to employ such tactics and probably do so at their peril!!!

anonymous 24 August, 2011 20:28

Notice how apple loves to sue the real compation. This is getting out of control. Android devices have been stepping theier game up the passed year while apple has been dragging ass. Now that a true iphone killer is about to hit the US market they try to use every dirty leagal tactic in the book disqualify it. Instead of working hard to create a smartphone that can stand up to the challenge they took the cowards way out. I guess if you cant beat'em sue'em.

anonymous 24 August, 2011 20:29

Apple fell off the tree! They thought no one would ever give them competition. Thanks Google, they needed a shake up! The sore losers are mad because they lost tons of customers to the Android based phones and all manufactures opted to make phones using the Android OS. I think developers should stop making apps for them. They owe app developers a lot to their success and all they seem to do is charge everyone more and more for making the same product in just higher configuration or a minor OS change! Oh yeah, I hope someone has Apple Care!

anonymous 24 August, 2011 20:40

Samsung use KIES so the software infringement might be unique to them, also the Dutch courts have gone too far by placing a blanket ban on the phones Samsung should have been able to make the changes while selling them - Could a similar ban be placed upon Apple then next time they fall foul of patent laws

anonymous 24 August, 2011 20:41

Really Apple? The gallery app? Come on! If you're gonna sue, sue over something that can't be changed in a few lines of code! Weak move.

This is what happens when "the litle guy" suddenly gets some market share. This is just going to make Apple look like complete idiots.

Jacques Garner 24 August, 2011 21:12

Apple are stealing Android ideas (as lovejoy232 mentioned, the notifications centre is clearly an Android idea), but it can't be denied that Android is doing the same. New ideas become standard, deal with it. Instead of suing each other, come up with a way to improve what they stole. And invent new ideas that the competition hasn't even considered yet. Everyone is just getting lazy...

anonymous 24 August, 2011 21:58

Apple stop trying to ban everything that we like and goes remotely resembles any of your products... iOS vs Android? Android any day

anonymous 24 August, 2011 23:24

Will never buy Apple again.......
Support Samsung '''' the Galaxy S2 is amazing.........

anonymous 25 August, 2011 00:25

Steve Jobs resigned! :)

anonymous 25 August, 2011 00:39

Apple's smart phone: iPhone
Apple's tablet: iPad
Apple's competition strategy: iSue

anonymous 25 August, 2011 00:42

Hey, lovejoy232, I think your comment about the daftness of patents being granted for obvious things is so true. Patenting is such a complex area, but can somebody swiping a finger over a small touchscreen to manipulate pictorial objects on that screen really be regarded as a novel, non-obvious and inventive step which is unlikely to be independently thought up by people experienced in the art (to paraphrase the essence of patents)? I very much doubt it.
I also agree that Apple's action seems petty, given the scale and speed of independent manufacturer's developments in this area. A total blockade on a specific phone over the whole of Europe is disgusting; how can one company have that kind of influence? This episode will do little to damage their reputation, though, because the Apple stamp collectors will keep buying Apple kit come what may.

anonymous 25 August, 2011 02:57

this is disgusting. Apple dont innovate sh*t, they steal everything, then sue. They sat on their ass for 5 years, but then again, they had no one to steal from until Android got rolling. How can you sleep at night when you copied the iPod from Kane Kramer, copied the MacOS "dock" from Acorn computers, Was sued by Burst.com and settled for the technology used in the iPod and iTunes, copied the iPhone from LG Prada, NeoNode, and Samsung F700, copied parts of iOS (like swipe to unlock etc) from NeoNode, Sued by Nokia and settled for patents related to GSM and UMTS standards as well as 802.11 WiFi technologies, Sued by Cisco and settled for using the "iPhone" name, copied the Finder icon from a Picasso painting titled “Two Characters”, copied the App Store from Jailbreak/Cydia, Sued by Personal Audio and lost for patents related to playlist implementation on the iPod. Apple was ordered to pay Personal Audio $8 million. Was sued by Mirror Worlds and lost for patents related to Cover Flow, Time Machine, and Spotlight features found in Mac OS X and iOS. Apple was ordered to pay $625.5 million to Mirror Worlds. And copied Android features that include Notifications, Wireless syncing, Tabbed browsing, New split keyboard, Open apps from the lock screen, and Over the air updates. I hope this backfires and he loses his ass.

anonymous 25 August, 2011 07:28

Apple's smart phone: iPhone
Apple's tablet: iPad
Apple's competition strategy: iSue
Apple's CEO iResign
Apple's fanboys iDiots

anonymous 25 August, 2011 12:34

Apple need to get thier act together, as I had an Iphone 3GS but now have a Samsung Galaxy s2 and it's a far superior phone, and lightening fast. frankly the iphone is like a snail in comparison. This will give Samsung plenty media coverage anyway. I will never go back to Apple for a phone. They need to grow up!!

anonymous 26 August, 2011 12:08

When Google first developed Android they worked side by side with HTC, who have employed this swipe method in their touchflo system for the pre iPhone Windows phones. So who's ripped who off

anonymous 26 August, 2011 14:44

too right steve jobs has these designs and software patents for a reason and because they outsell any other smart phone the other companies and android feel oblidged to copy their designs, i fully agree with the courts descision in every form.

anonymous 26 August, 2011 18:45

i have an s2. and its so much better than old iphone 4!!!!
i guess when apple runs scared they do the isue!:)
this mobile isnt just about a photo album system, the graphic, the ease of use , all the apps (free apps!!!!) total freedom of choice on it beats the hell out of iphone 4:)
there is change coming and apple feels it, they are at the top of hill its looking downill, which is why they are doin this! their reason for sue is just bonkers!

anonymous 27 August, 2011 03:48

Samsung must be catching up, or simply exceeding Apple in terms of capabilities~!

Why is that Apple is so busy spending legal fees to the greedy lawyers to suppress competitive innovators like Samsung, HTC, Sony, Nokia, HP, Blackberry, & Google?

If Apple continues that low & dirty tricks of greedy ones, I surely think the share price will go back to $3 bucks per share. Anything is possible. Like Hitler was possible, Mao was possible, Stalin was possible, and all the leaders that are being fallen.......

Shame on Apple~!

anonymous 27 August, 2011 07:04

This is going to be like a movie. where the bad guys(apple) does a cheap shot.and then the main characters(samsung) are really sad...but then some bloke has a motivational speech..and then they come back harder than ever, and the bad guys are left to go broke

anonymous 28 August, 2011 09:54

apple had the chance to licence its OS on desktops and strengthen and add to the market, but it pulled out and kept it all niche. where are the apple desktops now? by choosing to keep Apple an exclusive club (that legally challenges others), they are now in danger of going the same way with any other products they have. They are basically saying that its their way or no way at all.
Ok, lets pitch apple against android (seeing as HP have killed their WebOS) and look at VHS vs Beta (1980s). More companies supported and built VHS so it 'won', and Betamax became an exclusive nerdy format - despite its apparent quality advantage. MMCD vs SD (1990s), and Blu ray vs HD DVD(2000s) are great examples of a split market that made a decision in favour of one format. rotten old Apple

anonymous 28 August, 2011 09:59

i used to service apple desktops. they were way ahead of the competition, built well and innovative.
in order to compete with PCs, they lowered the quality. result - more Apples sold, more repair work for me. now they only seem to market iPads and iPhones, so I think they gave up on desktops, and on pricing. instead of endorsing Apple, I now steer well clear, work with PCs and many other products that are not apple, mostly because Apple products are notoriously difficult to work with or get spares for (again, keeping prices ridiculously inflated). Apple have become a 'design before function' company and their insistance that they invented everything from the tablet computer to the moon is part of its attempt to innovate and squash innovation in one swift move. Apple believes they can be the only ones to have new ideas (based on old ideas) and they can kill the competition for doing the same.

anonymous 30 August, 2011 23:57

Really? This is starting to make me rethink buying the upcoming iPhone 5, 4s, 4GS whatever the crap it's going to be. If this is how Apple does business, I'll be taking my business else where!

anonymous 31 August, 2011 08:00

I heard time ban is only restricted to ONE country in europe now.

von dutch 31 August, 2011 15:07

i feel a reference to the it crowd fairground machine "look! i can get an iphone without having to pay apple!" coming up. :-) i hate steve jobs but admire him for what he's done

anonymous 1 September, 2011 16:06

apple is too much jelly and they scare too much , sincerely i never love apple but i now , I will never buy apple product .... jadni Hrvati sa iphonom 4 :) :) :)

anonymous 4 September, 2011 21:33

Just Got the Galaxy S2 and by God this phone is amazing......What surprises me is people are still making comparisons between the GS2 and the iPhone, it doesnt make sense whatsoever. Its like putting a BMW M3 v Ford Fiesta Diesel...for those who have an iphone please go to your local phone shop and put it up against the SG2...and if you think its a close call then you need either medical help, or you only use your phone for calls and texts..

dgc78 5 September, 2011 08:51

I owned a iPhone 3GS for less than a year, and hated it so much that I decided to pay early for an upgrade to a Samsung Galaxy S2. I'm very glad I did.

I only bought the 3GS originally because I kept being told I couldn't criticise an iPhone until I'd owned one, and everyone was raving over them. Within weeks I despised it.

GPS - rubbish. Kept losing track of me, would think I'd fallen off the road into a field, or somehow leapt over houses and into peoples gardens, or done a u-turn whilst driving 70mph along a motorway. I took it back to Apple, who originally replaced it due to these GPS issues.

However, soon the new one went wrong too. A couple of weeks ago with loads of faults piling up I took it back to the Apple Store in Leicester, and was told "GPS is like that". Well, it was never like that on my Nokia 5800. Or my O2 XDA before that.

Other faults include won't charge half the time, speakerphone is next to hopeless, home button has to be pushed very hard to work, it won't send or receive emails easily (keeps saying I have the wrong password), etc. etc.

So therefore I have now owned an iPhone and earned my right to criticise it.

Now got the Galaxy S2 and loving it. It's quick, charges without a hitch, GPS knows where I am at all times, speakerphone works (people at the other end can actually hear me without cutting out), and emails send and receive first time, every time.

Oh, and the bonus - I can actually use a spare battery with the S2, and an external memory card, both things that Apple won't allow you to do (probably because they don't like the idea of you buying anything from anyone but themselves, e.g. memory cards). Even the cheapest of phones on the market allow you to have a spare battery, and insert memory cards, why not the iPhone?

All of the above is why Apple are now suing everyone they can - they know the competition are improving all the time and are starting to take back the market share. They can't have that, they have to have the monopoly. Sorry Apple, you had a new customer for a while, but have quickly lost out to Samsung.

anonymous 16 September, 2011 01:45

Its not fait boo frickin who just sue oh by the way i have a gs2 and it smashes the shitephone 4 if u wanna be the best apple make a better product rather than trying to get the better ones banned you fffing child

anonymous 17 September, 2011 19:07

To be honest samsung make the best phones by far at great prices . samsung phones have always been one step a head on apple phones apply souly try and rip you off ever chance they get it is apple phones that should be banned apple are the lowest form of phone techknowalgy ever .at least samsung make you a better phone with more power and at half the price of a apple iphone i dispise apple . i realy hope samsung win there legal battle and i realy hope they kick apple products off the shelf.

anonymous 23 September, 2011 17:10

i need the tablet. in a rush pls post me.

anonymous 23 September, 2011 17:12

i need the tablet in a rush.

anonymous 15 October, 2011 22:32

Was gonna get iphone 4s but they're a bunch of ******** and I wouldn't bother giving my money to such petty people! Samsung galaxy s2 ftw!

anonymous 16 October, 2011 14:31

These countries favor apple over Samsung traditionally. They'll do whatever appl wants them to do. Apple had a free ride on samsung's patents and are raising hell because sa,sung is getting top sales in UK and Germany for galaxy s2. Google created the software samsung is using. Motorola xoom looks just like the galacy tav. I don't see them getting sued.

anonymous 16 October, 2011 14:37

Samsung galaxy s2 Best phone of te year T3 Award!!!! Awesome!!!

anonymous 16 October, 2011 14:39

I am posting from my tab 10.1 4G!

anonymous 18 October, 2011 15:47

This fight is getting ridiculous!

anonymous 26 October, 2011 16:41

Dear All,

Samsung is copy cat of all. the company should know its limits. why every samsung phone looks like Iphone, Ipad? its not at all coincidence.

i hate copy cats. competition isn't mean to copy others design n UI. look at the Nokia at least they r not copy cats.

i must say (copy cat) companies like Samsung, micromax, lava, maxx should be banned all over the globe.

anonymous 28 October, 2011 20:56

I got samsung galexy s2 almost 1 and half months before after breaking iphone4 in a small accident, this phone is great, i recommand everyone to get one if you are thinking to buy, i dont think you need to think twice to buy it. I havent seen any problems till now, normally i dont post comments in any websites but wanted to write this just because SGs2 won my heart.

anonymous 8 November, 2011 13:35

we ask ourselves why does apple only sue android but doesnt sue Nokia'S OVI because Android is the biggest rival the reason that android is winning is not because Android has better features Actually they both have the same features but its the facts that android is soooo Much cheaper and available on so many phones like samsung and HTC but IOS is only available on apple, apples products cost at least 150 pounds but android is as cheap as 50 pounds , so APPLe get all those feautures you already have and put them in a cheaper phone then maybe ull get summ money\, and then you sueandroid for cdopying they are not copying they are just uptadating youre software and making it cheaper wich is perfectly legal, if you were to sue ppl for uptadating youre software or hardware then Alexandra Graham Bell ( who invented the telephone) can come back from the dead and sue every sing mobile phone company for making a machine that calls other machines but more uptdated DUH !