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A lower Dutch court originally dismissed Apple's case in October, but Apple was hoping to change their mind with an appeal. The appeals court, however, decided that there was no basis for an injunction banning sales of Samsung's products, as it deemed that the products were sufficiently different to negate accusations of copying.

 

This is a big win for Samsung, which needs to prevent sales bans similar to that secured by Apple in Germany. Samsung lost its own case there against Apple for one of the patents it claimed the Cupertino, California-based firm infringed, and Apple has upped the heat by filing fresh German complaints against Samsung's smartphone range.

 

 

The two companies have been at each others' throats over the past year, suing and counter-suing in multiple countries, resulting in bans, appeals, reversals of bans, and a general mockery of the patent system.

 

The legal war has shown an ugly side of the technology industry, where healthy competition is replaced by lawsuits and complaints to antitrust regulators. While the giants of the smartphone and tablet arenas battle it out, it's the little guys, the consumers, that ultimately lose out.

 

Source: Reuters