It seems that Samsung is in aggressive mode with Apple on legal patent disputes. Recently, Samsung filed preliminary injunction motions to stop iPhone 4S sales in Paris and France. Now in a fresh wave of legal dispute, Samsung has asked an European Union agency to nullify Apple’s exclusive rights to the iPad design in Europe.
“Apple claims that the iPad’s design is exclusively its own, but the design existed long before the iPad,” said Samsung spokesman Kevin Jeong. Samsung has not been able to launch the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the Australian market and is feared to miss the Christmas season which may hamper the sale.
A Spain-based agency, Alicante, oversees rights for trademarks and designs in the EU countries. The registered community design, which gives an entity the exclusive rights to make, market, import or export products, stays valid for five years and can be renewed up to a maximum of 25 years.
iPad’s community design has been filed on May 2004, this means the Cupertino giant still has the exclusive rights to use the design and to prevent others from using it within the European Union.
Leave a Reply