EU Galaxy Tab injunction suspended, claims of altered evidence

Samsung has been granted a minor reprieve in its Galaxy Tab 10.1 patent dispute with Apple in Europe, with the German court suspending a temporary injunction on European sales and promotion for all countries in the region, except for Germany itself.

Apple had been granted the injunction earlier in the month as it pursued a claim supposing that Samsung's tablet "slavishly copied" Apple's iPad design. The temporary injunction had been set to stand under the official hearing, which begins on 25August. According to the Wall Street Journal, the reversal of the court's original decision is due to confusion as to whether the German court has the authority to create an injunction that pertains to all complying European countries.

The suspension of the injunction follows an unusual claim yesterday that Apple submitted altered images of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 to strengthen its case before the court in Germany. Dutch website Webwereld discovered that the images of the Galaxy Tab and the iPad 2 side by side had the aspect ratio of the Tab increased, so that its dimensions matched those of the iPad 2, and made the bezel surrounding the screen wider than in reality. There's no suggestion that this discovery has had any impact on the court's decision, however.

A similar injunction currently stands in Australia, with Samsung unable to promote or distribute Galaxy Tab 10.1 units until Australian courts decide whether the tablet infringes on Apple's intellectual property. This case is slated to begin on August 29. The injunction has set back Samsung's plans to launch the tablet in Australia indefinitely.