No Dutch Sales of Apple-Infringing Phone

(CN) - Apple won a small victory in the Netherlands over Samsung, securing a nationwide ban on its rival's sale of Galaxy S, SII and Ace phones.

Judge E.F. Brinkman of The Hague ruled that the "method of scrolling" used primarily in the device's photo-viewing application violated Apple's patent. Notably, the gallery application in question is the Android standard.

But the ruling was by no means a complete victory for Apple. Samsung's devices were found not in violation of patents for "recording a flag in connection with multiple screen taps" or dragging a slider to unlock the phone.

The Dutch judge also rejected all of Apple's claims regarding the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and 10.1v.

Earlier this month, a German court granted a preliminary injunction barring Samsung from selling the Galaxy tablet anywhere in the EU. That dispute centered on the device's appearance, rather than operation, and was binding in all EU member states except for the Netherlands.

Wednesday's decision will not take effect until mid-October - seven weeks away. It is also not binding in Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia and Spain, where Apple neglected to complete local registration of the patent.

Samsung says it should be able to replace the patent-infringing software before the deadline and will continue to sell the phones.

"Today's ruling is an affirmation that the GALAXY range of products is innovative and distinctive," Samsung spokeswoman Kim Titus said in a statement. "With regard to the single infringement cited in the ruling, we will take all possible measures including legal action to ensure that there is no disruption in the availability of our GALAXY smartphones to Dutch consumers. This ruling is not expected to affect sales in other European markets."

"Samsung has a proud history of innovation in the mobile industry," she added. "We will continue our plans to introduce new products and technologies that meet and exceed consumer expectations. And we will defend our intellectual property rights through the ongoing legal proceedings around the world."

Incidentally, Apple is Samsung's second largest consumer of chips and displays, with iPhone components alone accounting for 4 percent of Samsung's $142 billion of annual sales.

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