Apple's attempt to ban sales of Xoom tablet likely to fail
updated 11:41 am EDT, Tue June 5, 2012
German judge said tablets aren't similar enough to warrant sales ban
Preliminary reports out of Germany see Apple being unsuccessful in its attempt to ban sales of Motorola's Xoom tablet in Germany. A final ruling is due to be delivered on July 17.
"We don’t think someone sits in a coffee house using the Xoom and hopes other people will think he owns an iPad," said Presiding Judge Johanna Brueckner-Hofmann at the Dusseldorf hearing.
Apple has been lucky enough to get an injunction against Samsung and its original Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet. Apple argues that the tablets look too similar to its own iPad and copy some of the design cues. Germany's competition law doesn't prohibit hardware makers to build similar-looking products, though the public needs to be able to tell the difference.
Apple lawyers argue that the German court's definition of a copy is too narrow. This was the second hearing in the case.
Dedicated MacNNer
Joined: Sep 1999
Xoom (ZZZZZZZZmmmmm)
and XyBORED are both heading to the landfill. No ban is required.