Apple loses against Samsung in Holland

HARDWARE SELLER Apple has lost a legal battle against Samsung that failed to get the Korean firm's tablet computers banned in the Netherlands.

The decision follows an attempt by Apple to overturn an earlier ruling and get Samsung's Galaxy Tab off Dutch shelves.

Apple argued that the Samsung gadgets are just copies of its own tablets and smartphones, and although some are sympathetic to that argument, they didn't include the court in the Netherlands. A Dutch appeals court dismissed Apple's appeal today, explaining that it could see enough differences between the two companies' hardware to deny Apple's request for the ban.

The two firms have turned the globe and its law courts into their battleground, and in the Netherlands both parties have pushed for bans on each others' hardware.

Although Apple got a preliminary injunction against the Galaxy Tab this was never firmed up properly, so now both companies have returned to harassing each other and fighting on all fronts. µ